Fresh Afghan violence serves as brutal reminder of problems ahead of next round of Taliban and US peace talks

Assassination attempt against senior vice-president casts shadow over latest peace talks, as Kim Sengupta explains

(AFP via Getty Images)

Direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban get underway on Saturday with flickering hopes of ending a devastating conflict, but also a violent reminder of the bitter enmities which casts  a shadow over the peace process.

The negotiations were scheduled to begin as Afghanistan marks the anniversary of the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud,  the renowned Mujaheddin leader whose death was part of al-Qaeda’s plans to eliminate domestic opposition in the run-up to the 9/11 attacks in New York.

On Wednesday, 19 years to the day Massoud was murdered by suicide bombers, Amrullah Saleh, the country’s senior vice president, an implacable enemy of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, was the target of a lethal assassination attempt.