The Taliban have rejected reports of al-Qaeda training centers being established in Afghanistan, calling them propaganda against the Taliban government.
Speaking to private TV channel News very recently, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, “Reports about al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan are part of a negative campaign against the Taliban government.”
Zabihullah Mujahid added that “such claims may come from certain biased circles and intelligence agencies that are trying to escalate tensions and create a situation of insecurity in the region.”
He clarified that “no foreign group, including al-Qaeda, is present in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan does not allow its soil to be used against any other country.”
On the other hand, in a report published on September 12, the American newspaper The Washington Post claimed, citing U.S. and other Western intelligence officials as well as a UN body that monitors terrorist groups, that “al-Qaeda has re-established its training centers in Afghanistan.”
