The Taliban rejected the Afghan government's offer of a ceasefire and said they would continue with their attacks. So the militant commanders reported, while the militants ambushed three buses taking hostage almost 200 passengers traveling to Kabul for a holiday.
Two Taliban commanders said their supreme leader rejected President Ashraf Ghani's offer for a three-month ceasefire, which is expected to begin with this week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
In June, the Taliban observed a three-day ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr festival. On that occasion, there were unprecedented scenes that see regular soldiers and militants embracing on the front line.
But one of the Taliban commanders said the June ceasefire helped US forces regroup in the field. The leader of the Taliban, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhunzada, for this reason has therefore rejected the new offer.
"Our leadership believes the Americans will extend their stay in Afghanistan if we announce a ceasefire," a high-ranking Teleban commander, who declined to be identified, said by telephone.
An official in Ghani's office said the three-month ceasefire declared by the government was conditional, and if the Taliban did not respect it, the government would maintain military operations.
The Taliban have launched a wave of bloody attacks in recent weeks, which have hit the city of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul. Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting.
Government officials are trying to secure the release of at least 170 civilians and 20 members of the security forces who have been taken hostage by the Taliban by three buses in the northern province of Kunduz.
Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the governor of Kunduz, said the kidnapping occurred when the buses were traveling through Kunduz from the province of Takhar.
“The buses were stopped by the Taliban, passengers were forced to get off and they were taken to an unknown location,” Muradi said.
A Taliban commander in neighboring Pakistan said the civilian hostages were divided into small groups to be sent home. However, members of the Afghan security forces had been transferred to the secret Taliban prison. "We will most likely trade them for our prisoners," the commander said.
The Taliban then confirmed that they had captured "three buses full of passengers".
"We decided to hijack the buses after our intelligence data revealed that many men working with the Afghan security forces were on their way to Kabul," Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said over the phone.
"We are now identifying members of the security forces," he said, adding that the civilians would be released.
The Kunduz provincial council member, Sayed Assadullah Sadat, said that people on the buses were traveling to stay with the family in Kabul for the holidays.
A senior Interior Ministry official in Kabul said local officials are talking to the Taliban leaders in Kunduz to get the release of the 190 hostages.
Separately, Mujahid said the Taliban would release at least 500 prisoners, including members of the security forces, on Monday, one day before the start of the Eid celebrations.
Sporadic clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces broke out yesterday on the outskirts of Ghazni as aid workers sought help in the city, relief bureau officials said.
The government said its forces liberated the city after the Taliban besieged it for five days.
At least 150 soldiers and 95 civilians were killed and hundreds were injured. Humanitarian agency officials said their teams had entered the city, but clashes in the suburbs prevented them from starting large-scale operations.