Afghan Taliban officials: 'US agrees to discuss troops pullout'.

Doha -- The United States has agreed to discuss the withdrawal of its troops fromAfghanistan in a direct meeting with Talibanrepresentatives in Qatar, officials from the armed group said.

In a preliminary meeting in Doha, Taliban representatives and US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad discussed the Taliban's conditions to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan, two top Taliban officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"Six US delegates arrived in Doha to have a meeting with our (Taliban) leaders [and] agreed to discuss all issues, including the pullout of foreign troops," one of the officials said.

"But, it was a preliminary meeting and all issues were discussed in general, not in detail," he added, saying more talks were expected to take place in the near future.

Last year, US President Donald Trump increased the number of US forces in the country as part of a new strategy against the Taliban. There are now about 14,000 US soldiers...