“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly made it absolutely clear that the aim of this Jihad is the end of occupation and establishment of an Islamic government,” the Taliban says in a recent statement.
On Sept. 19, Thomas Joscelyn testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at a hearing titled, “The Trump Administration’s Afghanistan Policy.” His testimony focused on the close working relationship between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The Taliban has warned civilians to stay away from places near government facilitates, including election sites, as it says these targets are fair game. However, given the scarcity of medical facilities, it is impossible for Afghan civilians to avoid hospitals such as the one in Qalat.
One of the attacks, in Parwan province, targeted an election rally while President Ghani was speaking. The Taliban has warned civilians to stay away from election sites.
A raid against a Taliban explosives warehouse in Ghazni highlights the enduring relationship between the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Taliban fighters overran a district center in Zabul and destroyed and looted several bases, including one along a main highway. Afghan officials previously downplayed the fighting in Zabul.
At least six districts have been taken over by the Taliban, while the Afghan military said it gained control of three. The Taliban has said it would “continue [its] Jihad” after President Donald Trump torpedoed a peace deal with the group.
Farah City is the third capital that has come under attack by the Taliban in the past week.
The Taliban’s military and political actions during the past several months makes it clear that the return of the Islamic Emirate is its primary goal, and not peace.
As the US government pushes for a deal with the Taliban that will pave the way for the withdrawal of US forces, the Taliban continues to promote the training of its fighters and attacks on Afghan and Coalition forces.
The Taliban continues to churn out propaganda that promotes jihad and the training of its fighters even as it is simultaneously negotiating an agreement with the United States that will lead to the withdrawal of US forces.
Mullah Hibatullah also continued to call for the “establishment of a true Islamic system,” which is merely code for the restoration of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The bombing, which leveled a police station and killed and wounded scores of people, is the latest in a series of terror attacks in the capital. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation continues to claim the Taliban can be an “effective counterterrorism partner”despite the Taliban’s repeated use of terror tactics.
While the common narrative among US military and diplomatic officials is that the Taliban is taking control of districts to boost its negotiating position in so-called peace talks, the reality is that the Taliban has a long term military plan to gain control of strategic areas in order to reestablish its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Since July 2018, the UN Security Council has published at least four reports documenting al Qaeda’s close and longstanding relationship with the Taliban.
The Taliban has denied responsibility for the deadly attack that killed and wounded scores of civilians. However the Taliban’s denial is not credible. It controls the two districts in the area where the bombing took place.
Mizan district was under siege for more than one year before it fell. Security in Zabul province, which is a known haven for al Qaeda and straddles the border with Pakistan, has deteriorated over the past five years. Al Qaeda operated a base in Mizan as recently as Sept. 2016.
Amrullah Saleh was responsible for killing and capturing thousands of Taliban commanders and fighters during his tenure as NDS chief and during his brief stint as interior minister.
Eleven people were killed and dozens more were wounded in the bombings. The Taliban has launched seven suicide attacks in Afghanistan in the past 25 days.
The Taliban has ramped up its suicide operations over the past month. It has claimed six suicide operations. Two more have gone unclaimed.
The Taliban describes al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the US as a “heavy slap on their dark faces,” claiming it “was the consequence of their interventionist policies and not our doing.” Additionally, the Taliban says it will not talk to the Afghan government, will fight Afghan security forces to the end, rejects the presence of foreign forces on Afghan soil, and calls western culture uncivilized.
Trump’s acquiescence to Pakistan, which has backed the Taliban’s deadly insurgency in Afghanistan, occurs less than two years after he accused Pakistan of providing “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror”. Trump also said Pakistan returned billions of dollars in US aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”
Security in Badakhshan has gradually worsened over the past five years since the Afghan military and police took full control of security in the province. Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups have a significant presence in the northern province.
The Taliban has used female suicide bombers in the past. Years ago, a wanted commander known as Qari Zia Rahman established training camps to indoctrinate women and young girls to carry out the gruesome attacks.
The weapons and gear were seized during an ambush that killed dozens of Afghan commandos in the northwestern province of Badghis earlier this week. Additionally, the number of commandos who are reported to have been killed has risen to 35.
US military and diplomatic officials have claimed that attacks such as these are designed by the Taliban to increase its leverage in so-called peace talks with the US. In reality, the Taliban has all the leverage it needs. The Taliban is preparing the ground for the next stage in the war by targeting and weakening Afghan forces in major cities and outlying areas.
The commandos are the most effective Afghan military formation and are at the tip of the spear in the fight against the Taliban. Yet they often take heavy casualties while battling the Taliban.
Afghan officials confirmed the Taliban took the district after security forces retreated. Paktika is in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, the influential Taliban subgroup that is closely allied with al Qaeda as well as Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
A Taliban suicide assault team attacked a hotel in the northwestern Afghan province of Badghis earlier today, killing six police officers and two civilians. The attack took place just days after the Taliban reportedly committed to protect residential areas in order to limit civilian casualties. Afghan officials said five Taliban “suicide bombers” launched the attack […]
If history is any guide, Laskahr-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and his cadre will dodge the charges and continue to provide support to a wide range of terrorist groups, including al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.