Saif al-Adl, the leader of the al-Qaeda network, under the pseudonym Salim al-Sharif, has urged supporters of this network worldwide to go to Afghanistan to gain experience and military training. The Long War Journal reported that the current leader of al-Qaeda is based in Iran and, in the latest issue of publications by al-Qaeda’s central media outlet (As-Sahab), wrote an article titled “This is Gaza: It is a War of Existence, Not a Border War,” stating that the network’s fighters and supporters should take inspiration from the Taliban and learn from their experiences. However, the former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security says al-Qaeda is using the current situation to act as the godfather of all terrorist groups. According to him, the network has chosen Afghanistan as its strategic center to operate in Africa, the Middle East, and other vulnerable parts of the world. He adds that al-Qaeda, changing its tactics, prefers to target American interests instead of directly attacking the United States.
The Long War Journal, citing an article by Saif al-Adl, the current leader of al-Qaeda, reported that the group has called on its supporters worldwide to go to Afghanistan to gain experience and military training.
Saif al-Adl, under the pseudonym Salim al-Sharif, in the latest issue of publications by al-Qaeda’s central media outlet (As-Sahab), in an article titled “This is Gaza: It is a War of Existence, Not a Border War,” described the Taliban’s rule as an instructive experience for all terrorist groups worldwide. He stated that those hoping for change should learn from the Taliban’s experience in Afghanistan. In the text attributed to Saif al-Adl, it is mentioned: “Loyal members of the ummah who desire change should learn from the situation there and benefit from [the Taliban’s] experiences.”
In the article attributed to the al-Qaeda leader, fighters and supporters of the network are explicitly called to go to Afghanistan to gain skills, experience, and military knowledge before attacking targets related to Israel and the West.
In this article, Saif al-Adl has called on Muslim communities in all Islamic lands to attack interests related to “Jewish Zionists and Westerners.” He emphasized that these attacks should be “painful,” stating, “because it is too late to do something necessary for us.”
Meanwhile, Rahmatullah Nabil, the former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), told the Hasht-e Subh Daily: “Al-Qaeda is acting as the godfather of all terrorist groups by taking advantage of the current situation.” According to him, al-Qaeda has not yet taken a public stance and was waiting for an opportunity.
The former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security emphasizes that al-Qaeda has been waiting to expand its relations and rebuild itself, and currently, this network has chosen Afghanistan as its strategic center to operate in Africa, the Middle East, and other vulnerable parts of the world.
Mr. Nabil states that al-Qaeda, by changing its tactics, prefers to attack U.S. interests in the aforementioned areas shortly instead of directly attacking the United States. According to him, the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan has provided an opportunity for al-Qaeda to try its luck again.
The former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security adds: “Undoubtedly, the Taliban’s rule over a rugged geography like Afghanistan and the Gaza and Israel war for recruiting from the Islamic world, al-Qaeda will once again test its operational power.”
Mr. Nabil had previously written in an article for BBC Persian that after years of isolation, al-Qaeda seeks to expand its maneuvering space between Afghanistan, Waziristan (In Pakistan), Iran, and Syria with the Taliban’s takeover, and by increasing recruitment among radical Islamists, challenge the U.S. and its allies.
The UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team published a report in February 2023 stating that the Taliban have maintained their relations with al-Qaeda and that this network has established eight new training shelters in Afghanistan. Four of al-Qaeda’s training shelters have been established in the provinces of Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan, and Uruzgan, and the organization has also established a weapons depot in Panjshir province.
The UN Security Council reported that the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda remains close and that the group has managed to maintain itself in a “holding pattern” in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Ahmad Zia Saraj, the former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, in a conversation with the Combating Terrorism Center – CTC at West Point, stated that with the Taliban’s takeover, jihadist groups have regrouped and are preparing for future attacks on the world.
Mr. Saraj emphasized that al-Qaeda, by operating in Yemen and Somalia, has turned Afghanistan into the command and control center for its forces. He added that al-Qaeda members are currently working as advisors in Taliban-controlled ministries. According to him, the Taliban have provided Afghan passports to al-Qaeda members.
Mr. Saraj identified Qari Baryal, the Taliban governor of Kapisa, Mawlawi Noor Jalal, the current acting Minister of Public Health under Taliban control and former deputy minister of interior, Mohammad Agha Hakim, the Taliban governor of Panjshir, and Taj Mir Jawad, the first deputy head of Taliban intelligence, as key al-Qaeda figures within the Taliban regime.
Previously, Foreign Policy, citing a confidential diplomatic report, wrote that a vast drug trafficking network that funded the Taliban’s war against the former government of Afghanistan for the past 20 years is now accessible to al-Qaeda. According to the publication, the Taliban provide weapons, women, housing, and passports to al-Qaeda commanders and operatives.
The report states that the Taliban are helping al-Qaeda access a broad network of the “heroin empire.” According to the report, from 2022 until the publication of the Foreign Policy report, al-Qaeda has gained a 25% share, equivalent to $194.4 million, from the gold mines in the provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar.
The Taliban have repeatedly denied any relationship with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, stating that according to the Doha Agreement, they will not allow Afghan soil to be used to threaten other countries. This comes after Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in the Sherpur area of Kabul on July 30, 2022.
At that time, media reported that the al-Qaeda leader was living in a guesthouse of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister. Haqqani left Kabul after the U.S. airstrike and restricted his meetings with Taliban members for a while.
The Taliban denied the presence of the al-Qaeda leader in Kabul and also rejected his killing. Al-Qaeda has remained silent about the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
This comes as three days ago, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that American troops stationed in the region are addressing threats emanating from Afghanistan.
Concerns about al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan arose as China and Pakistan, the main allies of the Taliban, recently issued a joint statement calling for the establishment of an all-inclusive political structure and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. The statement mentioned that terrorist groups should not use Taliban-controlled territory to launch attacks against other countries.
After a four-day visit by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to China, Islamabad, and Beijing issued a statement emphasizing the creation of an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan and a serious fight against terrorism by the Taliban. The statement called on the Taliban to adopt moderate policies and respect their neighbors.
These concerns about the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan were expressed as Taliban-controlled national television (RTA) reported on Sunday that the Taliban’s 205th Al-Badr Corps suicide unit patrolled the border with Pakistan in Kandahar province.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
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