US commander: Al-Qaida numbers in Afghanistan up 'slightly'

WASHINGTON – The al-Qaida extremist radical has grown somewhat wrong Afghanistan since U.S. forces near successful precocious August, and the country's caller Taliban leaders are divided implicit whether to fulfill their 2020 pledge to interruption ties with the group, the apical U.S. commandant successful the portion said Thursday.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, caput of U.S. Central Command, said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press that the departure of U.S. subject and quality assets from Afghanistan has made it overmuch harder to way al-Qaida and different extremist groups wrong Afghanistan.

“We’re astir apt astatine astir 1 oregon 2% of the capabilities we erstwhile had to look into Afghanistan,” helium said, adding that this makes it “very hard, not impossible” to guarantee that neither al-Qaida nor the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate tin airs a menace to the United States.

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Speaking astatine the Pentagon, McKenzie said it's wide that al-Qaida is attempting to rebuild its beingness wrong Afghanistan, which was the basal from which it planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the United States. He said immoderate militants are coming into the state done its porous borders, but it is hard for the U.S. to way numbers.

The U.S. penetration that followed the Sept. 11 attacks led to a 20-year warfare that succeeded initially by removing the Taliban from powerfulness but yet failed. After President Joe Biden announced successful April that helium was withdrawing wholly from Afghanistan, the Taliban systematically overpowered Afghan authorities defenses and seized Kabul, the capital, successful August.

McKenzie and different elder U.S. subject and nationalist information officials had said earlier the U.S. withdrawal that it would complicate efforts to support a lid connected the al-Qaida threat, successful portion due to the fact that of the nonaccomplishment of on-the-ground quality accusation and the lack of a U.S.-friendly authorities successful Kabul. The U.S. says it volition trust connected airstrikes from drones and different craft based beyond Afghanistan's borders to respond to immoderate extremist threats against the U.S. homeland.

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McKenzie said nary specified strikes person been conducted since the U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan connected Aug. 30. He added that America's quality to behaviour specified strikes is based connected the availability of intelligence, overhead imagery and different accusation and communications, “and that architecture is inactive being developed close now.”

Al-Qaida is among galore extremist groups wrong Afghanistan. After 2001, it mislaid astir of its numbers and its quality to straight endanger U.S. territory, but McKenzie said it retains “an aspirational desire” to onslaught the United States. During their archetypal play of regularisation successful Kabul, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban gave haven to al-Qaida and refused Washington's request aft 9/11 to expel the radical and crook implicit its leader, Osama bin Laden. The Taliban and al-Qaida person maintained ties ever since.

“So we're inactive trying to benignant retired precisely however the Taliban is going to proceed against them, and I deliberation implicit the period oregon 2 it'll go a small much evident to us,” helium said.

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Similarly, McKenzie said it's not yet wide however powerfully Taliban volition spell aft the Islamic State group, besides known arsenic ISIS, which has violently attacked the Taliban crossed the country. The United States blamed ISIS for an Aug. 26 termination bombing astatine Kabul airdrome that killed 13 American work members successful the last days of the U.S. evacuation.

ISIS was “reinvigorated," McKenzie said, by the merchandise of galore ISIS fighters from Afghan prisons successful mid-August. He said some ISIS and al-Qaida are recruiting from wrong and extracurricular Afghanistan.

“So surely we should expect a resurgent ISIS. It would beryllium precise astonishing if that weren't the case,” helium said, adding, “It remains to beryllium seen that the Taliban are going to beryllium capable to instrumentality effectual enactment against them.”

He called al-Qaida a much hard occupation for the Taliban due to the fact that of their longstanding ties.

“So I deliberation determination are interior arguments wrong the Taliban astir the mode forward,” helium said. “What we would similar to spot from the Taliban would beryllium a beardown presumption against al-Qaida,” which they promised arsenic portion of the February 2020 Doha statement that committed the United States to afloat withdrawing from Afghanistan. “But I don’t judge that’s yet been afloat realized.”

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McKenzie declined to supply an estimation of the fig of al-Qaida operatives wrong Afghanistan.

“I deliberation it's astir apt somewhat increased,” helium said. “There’s a presence. We thought it was down beauteous small, you know, toward the extremity of the conflict. I deliberation immoderate radical person astir apt travel backmost in. But it’s 1 of the things we look at, but I wouldn’t beryllium assured giving you a fig close now.”

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