In a continuation of previous attacks by the Taliban in May and June, multiple clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban were reported. They carried out several attacks throughout Afghanistan, resulting in multiple fatalities on both sides. Both the Taliban and government forces have accused each other responsibility over the recent surge in violence across Afghanistan. The attacks come despite the signing of a peace deal with the U.S. in February that was intended to put an end to the war. However, the peace talks stalled following disagreements over the implementation of the release and exchange of Taliban prisoners, who the Taliban claimed were being re-captured after being released by the government. The Afghan government denied this, claiming this was "incorrect". The peace deal has called for the eventual release of 5,000 Taliban militants currently being detained by the Afghan government and the release of 1,000 captive government personnel. As of July 26, the Afghan government has freed around 5,000 Taliban prisoners but has slowed the further release of militants following concerns that the released inmates were returning to the battlefield. Background On 29 February 2020, the U.S. signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in Qatar, which set the conditions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. However, despite the agreement, attacks against Afghan security forces surged in the country. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, which showed an increase of more than 70% as compared to the same period in the previous year. More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, because of a significant reduction in the number of offensives and airstrikes by Afghan and U.S. forces against the Taliban due to the agreement, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier. The Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said that although the Taliban stopped conducting attacks against the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the violence was still "unacceptably high" and "not conducive to a diplomatic solution." Attacks On July 8, four police officers were killed and 11 more wounded in Nangarhar Province by a Taliban suicide bomber. On July 11, six civilians were killed and another eight wounded in Ghazni Province by a suspected