Afghanistan violence soars amid US-Taliban talks: Watchdog

Violent attacks in Afghanistan jumped to record levels in the last quarter of 2019 compared to previous years, a US government watchdog has said, underscoring the 18-year-long conflict’s continued toll on the country.

There were 8,204 attacks between October and December last year – up from 6,974 in the same period in 2018 – according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released on Friday.