Taliban militants has vowed to continue fighting in Afghanistan and ruled out peace talks with President Hamid Karzai's government as long as foreign troops remained. Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of pro-government Afghan figures and former Taliban officials last month which analysts say could be a first small step toward more substantial dialogue.
But the Taliban have denied any involvement in the Saudi talks and said news of the meeting was leaked to try to split the movement which has managed to launch more attacks this year and extend its influence to the outskirts of the capital, Kabul.
"It will be impossible for the invader armies to delay the progress of jihad and the stop Muslim ummah (nation) in Afghanistan," the Taliban said in a statement on their website. "The Islamic emirate wants to make it clear that the only solution and the most successful path for resolving the Afghan problem is for foreign forces to leave Afghanistan unconditionally," it said.