Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda congratulated its ally Taliban for the “historic victory” in Afghanistan and called for worldwide jihad.
In a statement released on Wednesday, al Qaeda urged the “Muslims masses” to “prepare for the next stage” of jihad to establish Islamic rule from Arab North Africa to the Middle East.
In light of the weak U.S. leadership on the international stage under President Joe Biden, the terrorist group gave a call to intensify jihad in Yemen, Indian Kashmir, and Palestine — a reference to Israel, al Qaeda’s official statement said.
Al Qaeda’s declaration of global jihad comes just days after the last of the remaining U.S. troops left Afghanistan after a two weeks-long evacuation.
The UK newspaper Telegraph reported al Qaeda’s statement:
Al-Qaeda has welcomed the “historic victory” of the Taliban in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops, and urged followers to respect the group’s authority.
Al-Qaeda’s leaders praised the Taliban for its “humiliating defeat” of America and proclaimed Afghanistan, where the US fought a 20-year-war, the “graveyard” of Western imperialism.
“This victory demonstrates what the Islamic nation is capable of when it unites (and) proves that the way of jihad is the only way,” the group said in its first official statement on the developments in Afghanistan. (…)
“It’s time for you to prepare for the next stage of the struggle. This historic victory will open way for Muslim masses to achieve liberation from despotic rule of tyrants who have been imposed by the West on Islamic World,” the group’s first official statement on the developments in Afghanistan.
The call for jihad in India’s neighborhood alarmed New Delhi. “While US President Joe Biden claimed victory in Afghanistan after what he called decimating of Al Qaeda and killing of their leader Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda statement shows the group is alive and kicking in Afghanistan,” commented the leading Indian newspaper Hindustan Times.
Taliban’s sweeping victory over the Afghan military has encouraged Islamic terrorist groups all over the world. The Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas has also welcomed the Taliban victory.
The Hindustan Times reported al Qaeda’s global designs after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan:
The Narendra Modi government has noted with concern the statement issued by Taliban affiliate Al Qaeda on Tuesday praising the Sunni Pashtun US-designated terrorist group for humiliating and defeating American forces and then expelling them from Afghanistan and virtually exhorting the Islamist forces to launch global jihad to liberate Palestine, Islamic Magreb, Somalia, Yemen and Kashmir from the enemies of Islam. (…)
On Tuesday, Al Qaeda called on the Taliban to “liberate” Kashmir, Palestine, Yemen and other “Islamic lands” just as they liberated Afghanistan from the US occupation. In a message congratulating the Taliban, the terrorist group said that the victory of insurgents in Afghanistan demonstrated what the Islamic nation is capable of, adding that “jihad is the only way” towards “victory and empowerment”.
While President Biden is patting his own back and celebrating his Afghanistan withdrawal’s extraordinary success, the Taliban is building its regime based on the Iranian model.
“The Taliban are preparing to set out their new Islamic government imminently, naming Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, the insurgency’s top religious leader, as the country’s supreme authority, according to a Taliban official,” The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The Bloomberg News reported the formation of the Taliban regime:
The Taliban and other Afghan leaders have reached a “consensus” on the formation of a new government and cabinet under the leadership of the group’s top spiritual leader, and an announcement could come in a few days, an official said.
Taliban supreme commander Haibatullah Akhundzada will be the top leader of any governing council, Bilal Karimi, a member of the group’s cultural commission said. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of Akhundzada’s three deputies and the main public face of the Taliban, is likely to be in charge of the daily functioning of the government.
By modeling its Islamic Emirate on the Iranian theocracy, the Sunni jihadist group Taliban paying homage to the Shia Mullah regime. Many top al Qaeda operatives, including the group’s second-in-command Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, were harbored by Iran after U.S. troops entered Afghanistan.
Reports indicate that U.S. weapons and armor that fell into the hands of the Taliban have been spotted in Iran. Following the hasty withdrawal organized by the Biden White House, an estimated $85 billion worth of American military equipment could have come into the Taliban’s possession.
It is not only a matter of U.S. military hardware falling into the hands of Iran and other international jihadi groups. The weapons cache captured by the Taliban includes state-of-the-art military technology, such as drones, aircraft, and communications gear. Iran, which has deep military ties to China and Russia, may end up acquiring these technologies.
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