Qatar holds round nine of pinnacle Taliban-US talks

Qatar hosted another round of talks between Taliban and US officials on Thursday, as negotiations on the future of Afghanistan enter a crucial stage.

A US source told AFP that negotiations began at around 1pm GMT - the ninth round of talks between the two sides.

As the talks commenced, NATO said two US military personnel were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, along with another spate of bloody attacks in the country.

Blasts rocked Jalalabad on Monday, with the death toll from a weekend wedding bombing reaching 80.

Washington's top commander in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller, was at the venue for the talks, according to AFP. 

The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban in 2001, wants to withdraw thousands of troops but only in return for the insurgent group renouncing Al-Qaeda and curbing attacks. 

Washington is aiming to strike a deal with the Taliban by 1 September, before elections in Afghanistan.

Taliban lead negotiator Abbas Stanikzai told AFP Thursday that overall talks had been "going well".

The talks will look to establish a timeline for the US withdrawal of its more than 13,000 troops in Afghanistan.

"We've been there for 18 years, it's ridiculous," US President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday.

"We are negotiating with the government and we are negotiating with the Taliban," he said.

"We have good talks going and we will see what happens."

The issue of power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of regional powers including Pakistan and India, and the fate of Afghanistan's incumbent administration remain key issues.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said in a tweet that he hoped 2019 is the final year that the country is at war.