10 Taliban fighters give up fighting in west Afghanistan

Ten Taliban militants gave up fighting and resumed normal life in the western Herat province with Herat city as its capital 640 km west of Kabul on Wednesday. "Today we are the witness of giving up fighting by 10 dissident brothers in Chasht district of Herat province and resuming normal life within society," provincial governor Sayed Fazlulah Wahidi said in his speech at the ceremony to welcome the former militants. The former fighters also handed over their weapons to the local authorities, he added. Wahidi also called upon anti-government militants to follow the step and contribute to the rebuilding process of Afghanistan. According to officials, more than 3,500 anti-government militants have given up fighting and joined the government-backed peace process over the past year, a claim rebuffed by Taliban outfit as groundless.