AFF Carried Out 24 Verified Attacks On Taliban, Says UNSG

According to him, these battalions were initially trained for the "occupation" period and are now considered unnecessary.

Fitrat clarified that with the withdrawal of international forces and the fall of the previous government, such formations no longer exist within the Taliban's army, stating, "These battalions have been dissolved and practically do not exist."

However, he warned that if Afghanistan faces another aggression and invasion, the entire forces of the group would wage suicide attacks against the invaders.

The Taliban official didn't share details about how many suicide bombers or battalions were dissolved.

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they announced a new unit called "Lashkar Mansoori Suicide Bombers Battalions" to protect Afghanistan's borders in the northeastern provinces.

In December 2022, they honoured their suicide attackers by putting up a list of names on the wall of the "Hamza Suicide Bombers Battalion" in Kabul.

A reliable source told Afghanistan International that Mullah Tajmir Jawad, the Deputy Director of Taliban Intelligence, was responsible for establishing the "Hamza Suicide Bombers Battalion”.

During the Taliban's war with the security forces of the previous government and foreign troops, the group carried out extensive suicide attacks on civilian and military targets.

Human rights organisations have reported that suicide attacks were among the deadliest tactics employed during the Afghan war, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of civilian lives.

In a speech at a gathering in Kandahar in February 2022, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's Minister of Interior, announced that 1,050 members from the Haqqani network had committed suicide attacks in the past decade and a half.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, they discussed bilateral relations and the "expansion of interests" for both nations.

Mujahid wrote on X social media platform that a number of other senior Qatari and Taliban officials were also present in this meeting.

On Sunday, the Taliban's Minister of Defence and the gorup’s Chief of Staff of Army travelled to Qatar.

Earlier, it had been reported that the Taliban officials were going to participate in Qatar’s DIMDEX Defence exhibition as well as meet Qatari officials there.

Qatar does not recognise the Taliban regime. However, it is one of the countries that has diplomatic relations with the group, and the political office of the Taliban has been operating in Doha for many years.

Previously, Mullah Yaqoob had visited Qatar in 2022.

Miller added that the US is committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan.

During a press conference, in response to the question of Marzia Hosseini, Afghanistan International’s reporter, he said that one of the ways through which they continue to do so is by addressing macroeconomic issues, which provides stability for the current humanitarian response to become more effective.

He mentioned that the US provided more than USD 2 billion in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan since August 2021.

In its quarterly report to US Congress, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) revealed that the United States has provided assistance to Afghanistan totalling USD 11.21 billion following its withdrawal from the country. According to SIGAR, the US allocated over USD 2.6 billion to Afghanistan between October 2021 and December 2023.

As per the report, the US Department of Defence has spent over USD 5.82 billion in humanitarian, natural disaster, and civil aid sectors up to September 30, 2022.

Within the total aid of $11.21 billion, SIGAR mentioned the transfer of USD 3.5 billion from Afghanistan’s frozen assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan to the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland as part of the US assistance to Afghanistan.

Despite the urgent humanitarian needs of 10.3 million people in Afghanistan, the United Nations had announced last month that its partners have reduced aid.

Two former Afghan soldiers informed Afghanistan International that it has been said that the re-registration is to facilitate the situation of these refugees, though the primary objective of it remains uncertain.

As per reports received by Afghanistan International, the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs in Iran has reached out to several former Afghan security forces seeking their specifications.

A former Afghan army officer told Afghanistan International that an Iranian official from the foreign immigrants’ office contacted him and asked where he had previously served and what was his position.

At the same time, Iran has taken a census of Afghan immigrants and issued residence permits for them.

So far, the Iranian government has not officially commented on the census and the creation of facilities for the former Afghan security forces who took refuge in Iran.

Following the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans, including the security force members of the previous government, took refuge in other countries, including Iran.

However, Iran has identified hundreds of thousands of Afghans in various provinces and handed them over to the Taliban over the past months.

Like other countries, Iran does not recognise the Taliban, however, it has maintained close diplomatic and economic relations with the group.

About a week ago, the Iranian Ministry of Justice announced that Iran has handed over 1,136 Afghan prisoners to the Taliban in the past year.

This meeting comes in the wake of concerns voiced by Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister, who recently pinpointed Afghanistan as a threat to the stability of Central Asia.

Shoigu elaborated on these concerns in a briefing with Russia's high-ranking military officials, revealing a concerning 15 percent surge in ISIS fighters within Afghanistan.

Details from a statement released on Tuesday by the Taliban's Ministry of Interior revealed that Haqqani and Zhirnov's discussions also touched upon the broader situation in Afghanistan and the surrounding region, although specifics of their dialogue on security cooperation remain undisclosed.

While the Taliban persistently refute claims of terrorist factions and ISIS' presence within the country, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO)—where Russia plays a key role—has issued several warnings about the active presence of ISIS fighters near the Afghan-Tajikistan border.

In response to these escalating threats, the CSTO is set to ratify a strategy aimed at bolstering the security framework along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border within this calendar year.