US soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Taliban claimed responsibility after a US soldier was killed in an attack on an American convoy in Afghanistan.

The name of the US serviceman was withheld by the military. According to newswire AFP, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The latest incident comes even as US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad prepares to meet Afghan leaders to discuss the Taliban peace talks.

Khalilzad was earlier in Pakistan to discuss the latest development on the Afghan talks with Pakistan officials.

In September, President Donald Trump had declared talks with the Taliban "dead" after an attack in Kabul in which one soldier was killed.

AFP reported that Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said its outfit "blew up an American vehicle in Char Dara district of Kunduz".

Last month while making a  surprise stopover to Bagram airfield in Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving holiday with troops, President Trump had said that he was still interested in a "deal" with the Taliban.

"The Taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire," Trump had said during his visit to Bagram airbase.

Trump added that Afghanistan "will not be decided on the battlefield" and "ultimately there will need to be a political solution" decided by people in the region. 

US troops had entered Afghanistan after the 2001 September attack in New York and Washington to destroy the al-Qaida, about 13,000 troops still remain in Afghanistan even as the US president said he will cut down the number of troops in the region.

At least 20 American soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year.