(ALJAZEERA News): US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he cancelled peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders after the group said it was behind an attack in Kabul that killed a US soldier and 11 other people. Trump made the announcement in a series of tweets, saying he “called off” the peace negotiations and “cancelled” a secret meeting with the Taliban’s “major leaders” that was planned for Sunday at a presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland. Trump said he had also planned to meet Afghanistan’s president. “If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway,” Trump tweeted, adding that the Taliban sought to “build false leverage”. “I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations. What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?” Trump said. It is unclear if the US-Taliban talks are permanently over or only paused. The US president has been under pressure from the Afghan government, politicians and some members of his administration who mistrust the Taliban and think it’s too early to withdraw US forces. Taliban fighters, who now control more territory than at any time since 2001, launched fresh assaults on the northern Afghan cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri over the past week and carried out two major suicide bombings in the capital Kabul. Elis A Barreto Ortiz, a US Army sergeant 1st class, was killed in one of the blasts, bringing the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 16. A Romanian soldier was also killed.