US Hails Afghan Eid Cease-fire, Suspects IS Conducted Kabul School Bombing

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - The United States on Monday welcomed the Taliban’s declaration of a nationwide cease-fire in Afghanistan over this week’s Eid-al-Fitr festival, reiterating Washington’s call for the Islamist insurgency and Afghan leaders to negotiate an end to the “senseless violence.”

Addressing a routine news conference, State Department spokesman Ned Price also denounced Saturday’s bombing of a girls’ school in the Afghan capital, Kabul. “The circumstances of the bombing over the weekend, they are not yet crystal clear. … There are some indications that this may have been attributable to ISIS and not the Taliban,” Price said using an acronym for Islamic State. “We’re still looking into what or who is responsible, but I would note that ISIS has been responsible for similar attacks on Shia communities in Kabul in the past,” he said.