Taliban Rejects Russia’s Report On Militant Presence In Afghanistan
The Taliban have rejected a Russian Foreign Ministry report estimating that between 20,000 and 23,000 members of international militant organisations are operating in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have rejected a Russian Foreign Ministry report estimating that between 20,000 and 23,000 members of international militant organisations are operating in Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the figures and their sources as inaccurate. He said no such groups were present in the country and insisted Afghanistan is under unified authority, making it impossible for outside groups to operate.
In a statement issued on 23 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said the total number of fighters from international militant organisations in Afghanistan was estimated at between 20,000 and 23,000, with more than half of them foreign nationals.
The report said the largest militant group in Afghanistan was Islamic State Khorasan Province, with about 3,000 members. It also estimated that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had between 5,000 and 7,000 members in Afghanistan, al-Qaida between 400 and 1,500, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement between 300 and 1,200, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, now known as the Turkestan Islamic Party, between 150 and 500, and Jamaat Ansarullah between 150 and 250.
The Russian ministry said the only group actively operating against the Taliban authorities was Islamic State Khorasan Province, which it said maintains training camps, bases and sleeper cells in Afghanistan.
According to the report, the group is mainly based in eastern, northern and north-eastern Afghanistan and seeks in the long term to expand into Central Asia to establish what it described as an Islamic caliphate. It added that, based on the scale and intensity of its attacks, the group does not pose a direct threat to the Taliban authorities but aims to undermine confidence in their ability to maintain stability and public order.
Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban authorities.
