Taliban maintain ties to Al Qaeda affiliate, says Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda’s regional affiliate in Afghanistan maintains close ties to the Taliban and has an “enduring interest” in attacking US and foreign troops, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Under a deal the Taliban signed with the United States in February, the insurgents agreed to stop Al Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a safe haven to plot attacks.

But in the months since, the Taliban have continued to work with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), the US Defence Department said in a report.

“AQIS routinely supports and works with low-level Taliban members in its efforts to undermine the Afghan government, and maintains an enduring interest in attacking US forces and Western targets in the region,” the Pentagon said in a security assessment compiled for the US Congress.

Afghan watchers have long questioned whether Washington is being naive in thinking the Taliban would honor a pledge to restrict Al Qaeda, the jihadist group behind the September 11, 2001 attacks that led to America’s invasion of Afghanistan.

The report added that any “core” Al Qaeda members still in Afghanistan are focused mainly on survival, and have delegated regional leadership to AQIS.