The chief of field operations of the UN children's agency, Unicef, expressed cautious optimism about working with Taliban officials following their seizure of power in Afghanistan, citing their early expressions of support for girls' education.

Unicef is still delivering aid to most parts of the country and has held initial meetings with new Taliban representatives in recently seized cities like Kandahar, Herat and Jalalabad.

"We have ongoing discussions, we are quite optimistic based on those...