A US military spokesman called on the Taliban to stop attacking Afghan security forces and said American troops would continue to come to their aid in accordance with the agreement. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The peace deal is aimed at paving the way for the US to extricate itself from the 19-year war, America’s longest.

The spokesman confirmed that Gen. Scott Miller met with the Taliban “as part of the military channel established in the agreement” to discuss ways to reduce the violence, AP reported.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the meeting was held late Friday in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the group maintains a political office. Shaheen tweeted Saturday that the two sides held “serious” discussions. He said the Taliban called for a halt to attacks against civilians. The US military claims it does not target non-combatants.

The US-Taliban deal, touted as Afghanistan’s best chance at ending decades of war, is holding, but progress toward a broader political settlement has been slowed by squabbling within the Afghan government. That has frustrated Washington and delayed the start of the next phase of negotiations, among Afghans themselves.

The Taliban say they have reduced their attacks on Afghan forces and have not attacked US or NATO troops since the agreement was signed on Feb. 29. Most of the recent Taliban attacks have been against Afghan forces posted in remote areas.

The Afghan government meanwhile said its air force struck Taliban positions in the northeastern Badakhshan province, killing up to 27 members of the group.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said civilians were killed and wounded, blaming US and Afghan forces. The US military spokesman declined to respond to the allegation but said that the Taliban often falsely accuse the US of carrying out bombing raids launched by Afghan forces.

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The statement from the insurgents comes as local and international forces brace for another bloody winter amid renewed US-Taliban talks after US President Donald Trump called off the negotiations earlier this year over insurgent attacks.

“In the past few days, some media have been releasing untrue reports about a ceasefire… The fact is that the Taliban has no ceasefire plan,” the Taliban said, AFP reported.

The US and the Afghan government in Kabul have long called for a ceasefire with the Taliban, including during the year of negotiations between Washington and the Taliban that were abruptly called off by Trump in September.

However, the militants have repeatedly stated that any potential truce will only be ironed out after American troops withdraw from the country.

The US-Taliban talks, held mainly in Doha, were aimed at allowing Washington to begin withdrawing troops in return for various security guarantees.

They were on the brink of a deal when Trump abandoned the effort in September, citing Taliban violence. Negotiations have since restarted in Doha, but were earlier this month put on a “pause”.

Trump is looking to slash the troop presence in Afghanistan, potentially even before a deal between Washington and the Taliban is cemented.

Meanwhile, deadly bouts of fighting continue, with tens of thousands of Afghan security forces killed since they inherited combat operations from NATO at the end of 2014.

Every day Afghans also continue to bear the brunt of the bloody conflict.

Last week the UN said the country had passed a grim milestone this year, with more than 100,000 Afghan civilians killed or wounded over the past decade.

A UN tally found that last year was the deadliest on record, with at least 3,804 civilian deaths caused by the war — including 927 children.

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