The Taliban, the main Afghan insurgent group that once again aspires to run the war-ravaged country on its conservative terms, has announced a three-day ceasefire on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr that marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan for Muslims, reported TOLOnews. The Afghan government welcomed the move and reciprocated the ceasefire announcement.

The ceasefire is expected to come into effect by Wednesday or Thursday. However, Afghan political leaders demanded the group should announce a permanent ceasefire. 

The announcement came after a brutal attack on a girls’ school on Saturday in Kabul that killed around 60 people, most of them are girls aged between 12-15 years. The Taliban have denied responsibility for the Saturday attack. Attacks in the area are most often claimed by the Islamic State group’s affiliates in Afghanistan, but no group yet has claimed the attack on the school.

Hours after the Taliban announcement, a roadside bomb hit a bus in the southern province of Zabul, Tariq Arian, the spokesperson of the Afghan Interior Ministry, was quoted as saying by TOLOnews. 

The explosion killed 11 and at least 24 more people on the bus were wounded. 

Fighting has intensified in Afghanistan since the US and NATO have announced their departure from the Afghan battlefield. Reports indicated the Taliban has been mounting hundreds of attacks daily across provinces in the country.