Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has said he does not believe that the Taliban poses a long-term threat to the stability of his country.
He was responding to a statement by a Taliban spokesman that the rebels planned to increase attacks on the capital, Kabul.
Mr Karzai said having been ousted from power, the Taliban did not have the guts to confront the government.
He also said he could not understand why NATO troops had killed so many Afghan civilians in its operations against insurgents.
Meanwhile, a US-led air strike killed 12 members of an Afghan family and 20 Taliban fighters in the southern Helmand province.
The raid took place on Thursday night as part of an operation against Taliban fighters in the region.
