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| - At least 29 people were killed in a raid on an Afghan prison claimed by the Islamic State group, officials said Monday, as the country waited to see if a government ceasefire with the Taliban would rupture after its formal expiration. Fighting was finally ended mid-afternoon Monday at the jail in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where some 1,700 IS and Taliban inmates were being held. IS's news outlet Amaq said its forces were behind the raid, which saw more than 1,000 inmates escape before most of them were recaptured. The attack was the most violent incident since the Taliban and Afghan security forces held a three-day ceasefire over the Eid al-Adha festival which ended Sunday. IS was not part of that truce which Afghan authorities hoped would pave the way for peace talks with the Taliban as soon as this week. The government, however, accused the Taliban of violating the ceasefire 38 times over the three days. Interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said the Taliban had killed 20 civilians and wounded 40 by "carrying out terrorist and offensive attacks as well as using landmines" during the truce. The Taliban are "not committed to what they say," he said. Under a deal signed by the Taliban and the United States in February, the "intra-Afghan" talks were slated to start in March, but were delayed amid political infighting in Kabul and as an agreed prisoner swap dragged on. Both Kabul and the Taliban have signalled they could be ready to start talks after Eid, and the Afghan government on Sunday offered to extend the ceasefire. The insurgents have not formally responded. The biggest hurdle to talks starting is a contentious prisoner swap stipulated under the US-Taliban deal. Under the exchange, Kabul is meant to free around 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for 1,000 Afghan security personnel held captive by the insurgents. The National Security Council said Sunday that more than 4,900 inmates have been freed, and the Taliban last week said they had already met their side of the commitment. Afghan authorities, however, have refused to free about 400 of Taliban inmates accused of serious crimes like murders and even attacks against foreign countries. A gathering of Afghan elders will decide their fate on August 7 in Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman said. Sediq Sediqqi said that Washington had told Kabul that if it frees 4,600 Taliban prisoners the peace talks and ceasefire could begin. "We don't see any honesty and commitment from the Taliban for peace, despite all that we have done for peace," Sediqqi told reporters. The rare respite from violence over Eid gave some Afghans the opportunity to safely visit relatives after long periods apart. "I managed to visit my village for the first time in two years," said Khalil Ahmad from volatile Uruzgan province. "There were many Taliban checkposts on the way, but they did not bother anyone." But in the northern province of Kunduz on Monday, any sense of calm felt short-lived. One resident, Atiqullah, who only uses one name, said that while there had been no attacks on Monday, rumours were circulating that the Taliban were regrouping around Kunduz city. "Today, you see that familiar fear in people's faces again and I am more careful not to leave home today unless it's absolutely necessary," he told AFP. In Jalalabad, Nangarhar governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP 29 people had been killed in the prison fighting. Sunday's raid came a day after the country's intelligence agency announced the killing of a top IS commander near Jalalabad. Nangarhar province has seen some deadly IS attacks this year including a May 12 suicide bomb that killed 32 mourners at a funeral for a police commander. The IS attacks continue despite government officials claiming last year that the group's Afghan branch had been completely defeated in Nangarhar. bur-jds/fox
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