Amrullah Saleh: Al-Qaeda is still active in the Taliban

In an interview with France 24, Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president, said that al-Qaeda was fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Although the Taliban pledged in February 2020 that they would not host al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda is still active in Afghanistan,” Saleh said in an interview.

Mr Saleh said at least 500 foreign terrorists, most of them affiliated with al-Qaeda, were fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.

On November 10, Mohammad Hanif, known as Abdullah, the deputy head of al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, was killed in Farah province.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said the killing in Taliban-held areas proved that the group was still linked to al-Qaeda.

The Taliban had previously denied al-Qaeda links to the group, saying it was committed to reaching an agreement with the United States.