(FILES) This file photograph taken on February 24, 2016, shows former Afghan Taliban fighters carrying their weapons before handing them over as part of a government peace and reconciliation process at a ceremony in Jalalabad. The Afghan Taliban announced on April 12, 2016, the start of their "spring offensive" even as the government in Kabul tries to bring the insurgents back to the negotiating table to end their drawn-out conflict. The Taliban said in a statement they would "employ large-scale attacks on enemy positions across the country" during the offensive they have dubbed "Operation Omari" in honour of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, whose death was announced last year. / AFP PHOTO / Noorullah Shirzada