Afghan insurgents want peace deal says ex-Taliban Minister

              An Afghan police officer searches people at a checkpoint in Helmand. Taliban leader claims that a majority of Afghan insurgents want to negotiate a peace deal but says their views have been suppressed by hardliners controlling the movement's propaganda machine. The taliban ambushed an Afghan police convoy on the main highway between Herat and Kandahar on Thursday, setting off a firefight that left 15 police officers dead and grew so intense that the police called in International air support. The battle was the latest in a string of violent episodes in recent weeks on the country's western edge, suggesting a serious effort by the Taliban to control crucial areas of Farah Province, where the attack occurred. Neighboring Herat Province, long viewed as one of the most stable, has also seen an upswing in Taliban violence.

                          Afghan officials said that the police were escorting government officials when the ambush occurred. The Taliban were on the road when the police arrived, a firefight occurred and we ran out of ammunition and transportation, Said Najeeb Afghan, the Farah governor's spokesman. The police called for air support, and the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, as the American-led coalition are known, responded with airstrikes and medical evacuation for the wounded, local officials said. ISAF officials in Kabul confirmed their involvement.

                          Motasim said rank-and-file insurgents are less gung-ho. A majority of the Taliban believe there is no military solution. They accept that the way out is a dialogue leading to peace. The Taliban realise that if they succeed on the battlefield it will be no success. Previous rounds of Afghan peace talks split the Taliban rank and file and the latest effort in Qatar collapsed in June when the government of President Hamid Karzai objected to the display of a Taliban flag outside its office in Doha and a plaque on the building inscribed: "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan". the country's official name under the Taliban regime.The Taliban of today is not the same as the Taliban of 12 years ago, we were scattered across the world and have seen a lot of the world." Motasim said. Nazir Khidmat, the provincial council chairman, defended the performance of the police. This does not mean that the police are not doing enough, he said. But the enemies are trying to show their strength, and now it seems Taliban are trying to engage themselves in direct fighting."