The Taliban vowed to chop ties with al Qaeda, however the terror group seems to be rising in Afghanistan

Al Qaeda has established eight new coaching camps and maintains a number of safehouses in Afghanistan, in line with a report offered to the United Nations Safety Council this week. The report, compiled by the council’s committee created to watch al Qaeda, signifies that the Taliban has not honored its pledge to the U.S. – outlined within the Doha settlement – to sever ties with the fear group, and that the 2 organizations stay shut.

The Taliban has offered elevated safety and assist for al Qaeda members since regaining management over Afghanistan in 2021, when U.S. forces pulled out, the report says.

In keeping with the report offered to the Safety Council, the group behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terror assaults on the U.S. has established “as much as eight new coaching camps in Afghanistan, together with 4 in Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan and Uruzgan Provinces, with a brand new base to stockpile weaponry within the Panjshir Valley.”  

The terrorist group additionally operates 5 madrasas – spiritual colleges the place it trains and indoctrinates kids to grow to be fighters – within the east and northeast of Afghanistan, the studies stated. It additionally controls a number of safehouses within the capital, Kabul, and Herat province, from whereit facilitates the motion of its members and liaisons between its management within the nation and its prime management in neighboring Iran, the report says.

Al Qaeda’s present chief, Sayf al-Adl is believed to be based mostly in Iran, in line with the United Nations and the U.S. Justice Division, which is providing a $10 million reward for data on his actual whereabouts.

Taliban-al Qaeda relations

A 12 months after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, the U.S. killed al Qaeda’s then-leader Ayman al-Zawahri with a drone strike in Kabul’s diplomatic district. He was inside a visitor home belonging to the Taliban’s Inside Minister, who can also be the chief of the highly effective Taliban-affiliated Haqqani community, Sirajuddin Haqqani.

“The presence of al Qaeda senior figures within the nation has not modified, and the group continues to pose a risk within the area and doubtlessly past,” the U.N. report warns. It notes, nevertheless, that in its evaluation, “the group can not at current mission subtle assaults at lengthy vary.”

Analysts imagine al Qaeda is now a a lot weaker group than it was once, and plenty of doubt the Taliban would permit actions that may jeopardize the U.S. humanitarian assist offered to Afghanistan, which stays important to stopping a humanitarian disaster within the nation.

“Are there coaching camps in Afghanistan? It’s solely attainable. However their capability to hit targets exterior the fast South Asian area is minimal,” veteran regional analyst Torek Farhadi advised CBS Information. “The Taliban are cautious to not let such actions develop, as they’re involved with U.S. authorities.”

“The U.S. is at present the biggest humanitarian donor in Afghanistan by the U.N., however in the end, this assist has resulted in avoiding an additional humanitarian disaster within the nation. The Taliban acknowledge this treasured U.S. assist and won’t threat upsetting this association,” he stated.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Particular Inspector Common for Afghanistan Reconstruction stated the worldwide neighborhood had offered at the least $2.9 billion in help to Afghanistan since August 2021, some $2.6 billion of which got here from the U.S. authorities.