Peace talks in Afghanistan have entered a presumptive gridlock after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the military to go into "offensive" mode and resume attacks against the Taliban, reversing a previous order in which Afghan forces were instructed to be in "active defense" against the militant group. Ghani's May 12 announcement comes in the wake of two large-scale attacks that have shaken Afghanistan, including the storming of a maternity hospital in Kabul that killed 24 civilians, as well as suicide bombing of a funeral procession in eastern Nangarhar province that also killed at 24. The Taliban has denied involvement in both attacks, while the Islamic State claimed the Nangarhar attack, but not the one in Kabul. President Ghani and Vice President Amrullah Saleh, however, have blamed the Taliban for both attacks.