The Taliban on Wednesday claimed an audacious attack in Afghanistan that killed four US troops mere hours after Washington said it would talk to the insurgents about ending more than a decade of war. The deadly rocket attack on Bagram, Afghanistan's biggest US-led military base just north of Kabul, was a stark reminder of the potency of an Islamist insurgency that has time and again hit major targets. Prior to the Bagram attack, US President Barack Obama had welcomed the planned talks in Qatar as an “important first step”.