The Taliban and the US envoy met, according to a spokesman for the insurgent group

A Taliban negotiating team met with Khalilzad in Doha, the capital of Qatar, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid said. The end of the US occupation and the resolution of other problems in Afghanistan were discussed, according to the Taliban release.

In its statement, the Taliban concluded that Afghanistan is an Islamic country based on Islamic principles and that the presence of foreign forces in the country makes it difficult to achieve real peace. Both groups decided to hold more meetings, the statement said.

The United States did not confirm the meeting, but the US embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement that Khalizad had held meetings in Islamabad, Riyadh and Doha and returned to Kabul on Saturday to meet with him. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other political leaders.

He also met with representatives of civil society groups and women's rights organizations "to get their views and priorities on a settlement of the conflict," said the embassy's statement. .

"The United States shares the aspirations of all Afghans for a peaceful Afghanistan where all Afghans are included, and all Afghan citizens must be part of this process of reconciliation," Khalilzad said in a statement. embassy.

Khalilzad will return to Washington for meetings with US leaders and international partners, the statement said.

The United States launched the 17-year-old Enduring Freedom Operation in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from providing a safe haven for al-Qaeda and preventing it from using Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities. More than 2,200 American soldiers have been killed, according to the US Department of Defense.

A UN report showed that air strikes, carried out by both US and Afghan aircraft, killed or wounded 649 civilians in September, 39% more than the first nine months of 2017 and more than 631 killed or injured by air strikes. year.

According to the report, 60% of this year's victims are women and children.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named Khalilzad special envoy to Afghanistan about a month ago. A former diplomat, he served as US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations.

Born in Afghanistan, Khalilzad, 67, has been a foreign policy advisor to multiple administrations and has held several diplomatic posts under the administration of President George W. Bush.