KABUL, Aug 28 — The Taliban today said it was close to a "final agreement” with US officials on a deal that would see US forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a pledge that the country would not become a haven for other Islamist militant groups.

Negotiations over how to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan have taken place in Qatar’s capital, Doha, where the ninth round of talks began last week.

"We hope to have good news soon for our Muslim, independence seeking nation,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha said. — Reuters