US holding talks with Taliban: Karzai

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KABUL: The United States is holding talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday, in the first official confirmation of such contacts after nearly 10 years of war.

Although diplomats and officials say talks are at a very early stage, Karzai's remarks highlight the increasing focus on finding a political solution in Afghanistan as foreign combat troops prepare to pull out by 2014.

"Talks with the Taliban have started... the talks are going on well," Karzai said, addressing a conference in Kabul.

"Also foreign forces, especially the United States, are carrying out the talks themselves."

But the problems surrounding any reconciliation bid were thrown into sharp focus shortly afterwards when nine people died as three Taliban attackers armed with suicide vests and machine guns stormed a Kabul police station.

A British soldier was also shot dead in an insurgent attack, bringing to 374 the number killed in operations there since 2001, the defence ministry said.

The militants have consistently rejected any efforts to talk peace in public statements.

"We have already said this and have repeated it many times. We have no negotiation with the United States and we deny any report as such," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

A US State Department spokeswoman in Washington had "no comment" on Karzai's statement.

"However, we have consistently supported an Afghan-led process of reconciliation," spokeswoman Megan Mattson told AFP.

"Currently, we have a broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region, and at many levels, to support that effort."

The US embassy in Kabul did not respond to a request for comment on the latest remarks from Karzai, who is known for dropping unscripted, headline-grabbing remarks into speeches.

Western officials acknowledge on condition of anonymity that attempts to set up contacts with the Taliban are at a very early stage, while efforts to open up a communication channel with Taliban leaders are still being made. (AFP)