Afghanistan Taliban plan 3-day cease-fire for Eid holiday

Afghanistan’s Taliban say they will participate in a three-day cease-fire for the Eid-al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's Taliban said Monday they would participate in a three-day cease-fire for the Eid-al-Fitr holiday this week marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cease-fire would begin on either Wednesday or Thursday. The Muslim calendar follows lunar cycles and the Eid holiday depends on the sighting of the new moon. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Taliban fighters have been ordered to stop all offensives, “to provide a peaceful and secure atmosphere to our compatriots . . . so that they may celebrate this joyous occasion with a greater peace of mind.” The cease-fire announcement comes amid heightened violence in the country and follows a brutal attack on a girls' school on Saturday that killed as many 60 people, most of them students between 11-15 years old. The death toll from the three explosions continues to climb.