The Taliban says its political wing is ready to enter peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan, but that it will not give up its armed struggle against international forces. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, said the insurgent group has stepped up its efforts to bring about peace in the troubled nation.  But, in the e-mailed statement, he also reiterated the Taliban’s opposition to the current Afghan constitution and referred to the government led by President Hamid Karzai as a “stooge” administration. The comments come as the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, prepares to lead a delegation to Afghanistan next week in an effort to get approval from President Karzai for the resumption of preliminary talks with the Taliban. Earlier this month, the Afghan Taliban said it had reached a preliminary agreement to open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar, in a move that could help facilitate the talks. Spokesman Mujahid said in a statement that the Taliban is asking for the release of prisoners held at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. In Washington Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said no decisions have been made about releasing Taliban prisoners. Clinton said the United States was ready to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process.  But she reiterated that any power-sharing deal would have to involve insurgents renouncing violence, breaking ties with al-Qaida and accepting the Afghan constitution. The secretary also indicated progress in efforts to open a Taliban political office in Qatar, citing “positive statements” from President Karzai and the Taliban. In December, Vice President Joe Biden said the Afghan Taliban are not America’s enemies, and that the insurgent group did not represent a threat to the United States unless it continued to harbor al-Qaida terrorists. U.S.-led forces ousted Afghanistan’s Taliban government following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.  Those attacks were carried out by al-Qaida, which had training camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s statement on peace talks comes as violence continues in Afghanistan. A suicide car bomber killed five people, including a local district chief, in southern Afghanistan on Thursday. Provincial officials say the governor of Kandahar province’s Panjwayi district, Fazluddin Agha, was traveling in his car with his two sons when the bomber rammed a vehicle full of explosives into them near Kandahar city.  All three were killed, as well as two of the district governor’s guards. Officials say nine police officers and a civilian were wounded. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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A U.S. Navy ship has rescued 13 Iranians being held hostage by pirates in the Arabian Sea, days after Iran warned U.S. vessels not to return to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy announced Friday that it detected the pirates’ skiff alongside the Iranian fishing vessel, the Al Molai , on Thursday after receiving a distress call from the Iranian ship. The Navy said a team of military personnel from the destroyer USS Kidd boarded the Iranian vessel, or dhow, and detained 15 pirates who were holding the Iranians hostage. The Navy said the Iranian vessel had been under the control of the pirates for more than a month and was being used as a headquarters for pirate operations. It said the hostages are believed to have been forced to help with piracies. A U.S. Navy spokeswoman told VOA Friday that the U.S. naval team was aware before the rescue that the dhow was flying an Iranian flag.  Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich says vessels are “obligated” to assist any “distressed” sailors, regardless of nationality. Rebarich said the head of the Iranian crew expressed his “sincere gratitude” to the U.S. Navy, saying he feared that without the U.S. assistance, his crew would have been held hostage for months. The Navy said the Iranians were given food and medical care, and were released wearing USS Kidd embroidered hats. Navy officials say the sailors are now on their way home and most likely not aware of the recent tensions between Tehran and Washington. Iran has recently threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian Gulf, and warned the U.S. not to operate aircraft carriers in the area – something the U.S. routinely does. U.S. officials have made clear that operations will continue as usual in the Gulf. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday the U.S. has not communicated with Iran about the rescue that she called a “humanitarian gesture.” “The very same ship and set of vessels that the Iranians protested on its last voyage through Hormuz, the John C. Stennis carrier strike group, just rescued this Iranian dhow from pirates,” said Nuland. The pirates – believed to be Somalis – are in detention at sea on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis . Some information for this report was provided by AFP. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Mass protests erupted in Syria Friday as activists say Syrian forces killed at least 10 people after tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators turned out across the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the civilians were killed when forces opened fire in the Daraa and Hama regions.   The group also says about two dozen people were injured after forces used nail bombs and tear gas on rock-throwing protesters in Douma. Activists also say four people were killed in a government ambush near the Lebanese border. Separately, the state-run SANA news agency says “massive crowds” of supporters of President Bashar al-Assad rallied on Friday  in favor of national unity. The pro and anti-government demonstrations were held a day after Arab League peace monitors visited several flashpoint cities. The government said the monitors “met a number of citizens” in the Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Hama regions. About 60 observers are in the country to check the government’s compliance with pledges to end the crackdown on dissent and release political detainees. On Friday, Syria’s ally Russia said it is “satisfied” with the initial results of the Arab League observer mission. The foreign ministry said in a statement that the situation in the restive city of Homs “seems to be reassuring,” based on initial observer reports.   Syria pulled some of its tanks from  Homs and released about 800 prisoners. But opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun said the government continues to hold more than 100,000 people, “some of them in military barracks and aboard ships off the Syrian coast.” Syrian authorities agreed to the observers under international pressure and threats of Arab sanctions. The plan requires the government to give the monitors freedom of movement except for sensitive military sites. The United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed since March in violence linked to Syria’s unrest. Syria says armed terrorists are driving the revolt. It accuses them of killing 2,000 security personnel since March. Meanwhile, pro-Syrian government protesters chanted slogans and held pictures of Assad in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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