KABUL (SW): A number of analysts believe that Al-Qaeda still has its presence in Afghanistan but it does not pose direct or serious threats to the country now.
Question about Al-Qaeda’s presence surfaced after the death of Farooq-al-Qahtani, a commander of this global terrorist organization in the northern parts of Afghanistan, in a U.S. airstrike in Kunar province. A large chunk of the population in the country is still wary about this group.
Commenting on the issue, Dawlat Waziri, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), told Salam Watandar that for the time being, Al-Qaeda is not fully active in Afghanistan, but it is indirectly providing the Taliban, Daesh and other terrorist networks with support. Waziri noted that Al-Qaeda has access to resources, and the group’s unintended support for terrorist networks poses serious threat to the country.
The spokesperson for the MoD mentioned that Al-Qaeda is backing the Taliban militants in the bordering provinces of Kunar, Paktika and Nangarhar. He noted that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are busy chasing them there.
Meanwhile, Firdows Kawosh, an analyst on political affairs, believed that Al-Qaeda is active in Afghanistan, but it does not pose a major threat. Azizullah Pilot, another expert on military affairs, noted that all the terrorists’ networks, including Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Daesh are financed by the same sources, and they carry out their destructive activities collectively.
Al-Qaeda is a militant organization founded in 1988 by Osama Bin Laden. After Bin Laden’s death in an American raid inside Pakistan, the group has been led by Al-Zawahiri.
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