The US military announced today that it has started withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, part of a peace deal signed with the Taliban, to reduce its personnel to 8,600 troops within 135 days.

Earlier today, five official sources indicated that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would issue a decree with releasing at least 1,000 Taliban detainees later this week, clearing the way for direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The Taliban want the Afghan president to release 5,000 Taliban detainees as a prerequisite for negotiations with the Afghan government.