Taliban reject UN report on ties with Al Qaeda

KABUL’s soil against the US and allies.

The UN says Al Qaeda is operational in 12 provinces of Afghanistan and its supreme leader Aiman Al Zawaheri is hiding in Afghanistan.

The UN report published on Saturday said the Al Qaeda Leader was hiding in Afghanistan along with fighters ranging from 600-400.

The report said around 6,000 Pakistani terrorists were operating inside Afghanistan.

According to the UN report, Al Qaeda leadership continued to maintain close ties with Taliban’s Haqqani Network and that Al Qaeda leader Al Zawahiri met Haqqani Network member Yahya Haqqani in February this year.

The report said that the Indian wing of Al Qaeda was active under Taliban support in Helmand, Nimroz and Kandahar provinces. 

However, the Taliban rejected the UN report and said information in the report was untrue.

In a statement, the rebels said it was untrue that around 500 Al Qaeda fighters were active in Afghanistan, adding that no foreign fighter associated with Al Qaeda was present in Afghanistan.

US military operations had made it difficult for foreigners to stay in Afghanistan, the Taliban said, also rejecting the presence of Daesh camps in northern provinces. The Taliban said Daesh and Al Qaeda had engaged in heavy fighting in the past.

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