KABUL, June 17, 2018 (News Wires) - The death toll from a suicide bombing against a gathering of Taliban and Afghan armed forces celebrating a holiday cease-fire in Afghanistan has risen to 36, an official said Sunday. Najibullah Kamawal, director of the health department in the eastern Nangarhar province, said another 65 people were wounded in Saturday's attack. The bomber targeted a gathering Taliban and Afghan armed forces who were celebrating a three-day truce coinciding with the Eid al-Fitr holiday. After the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a nine-day extension of the cease-fire. The three-day holiday and cease-fire ends Sunday. The chairman of the High Peace Council, a government body charged with negotiating an end to the nearly 17-year war, called on the Taliban to accept the extended cease-fire and join the peace process. "We hope that the extension of the cease-fire will be announced by the leadership of the Taliban," Mohammad Karim Khalili told a press conference in the capital, Kabul. He said there had been an "exchange of views" between the government and the Taliban over the past week, without elaborating.
