Kabul blast: What Amrullah Saleh says on Taliban, ISIS-K, Haqqani link
Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province are linked, no matter how much the Taliban dismiss their links with these groups like Pakistan does with Quetta Shura, Amrullah Saleh said.
The Taliban after taking over Afghanistan distanced themselves from the Islamic State and on Thursday, the Taliban denounced the Kabul airport attack, the responsibility of which was later claimed by the Islamic State. The Taliban in its statement blamed the United States for the attack and said that the attack took place because of the presence of foreign troops in the airport.
Commenting on the blast and how the Taliban washed their hands off the massacre that took the lives of around 100 people, Afghanistan's self-proclaimed president Amrullah Saleh said that the Taliban have learnt it from their master Pakistan to deny their links with ISIS. There is every evidence to show that Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K) has links with the Taliban and the Haqqani network.
"Every evidence we have in hand shows that IS-K cells have their roots in Talibs & Haqqani network particularly the ones operating in Kabul. Talibs denying links with ISIS is identical/similar to the denial of Pakistan on Quetta Shura. Talibs have learned very well from the master. #Kabul," Saleh said in a tweet.
Haqqani network is known as the most radical and violent branch of the Islamist movement. It has perpetrated the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan in the last 20 years. The group was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who was a valuable CIA asset in the 1980s. He later allied with the Taliban and also served as a minister between 1996 and 2001.
Watch | 'Learnt from their master Pak:' Amrullah Saleh calls out Taliban for denying role in Kabul attacks
The twin blasts near Kabul airport followed by another blast post-midnight at a time when foreign forces are deployed to evacuate their nationals from Afghanistan had all the hallmarks of a terror attack. The official stance of the Taliban, as they made it clear, is anti-terrorism and they said that Afghanistan will not be used as a breeding ground for terror. Following the withdrawal of the western troops and the fall of the Afghan government, it seems a power tussle is going on, but the former vice president and Panjshir Resistance leader Amrullah Saleh explained that the Taliban, the Haqqani and the Islamic State-Khorasan province are all together in this.