The Taliban in Afghanistan still maintain close ties with the al-Qaida terror network, despite signing a peace deal with the United States in which they committed to fight militant groups, a U.N. report released on Tuesday said. The U.S.-Taliban peace accord signed in Qatar in February was meant to allow for American troops to gradually leave Afghanistan after 19 years of war and pave way for intra-Afghan negotiations that would shape the country’s political future. Under the accord, the Taliban pledged to combat other terror groups — including al-Qaida, which they once harbored — and prevent militants from using Afghan territory to stage attacks on America.