IEA rejects claims of al-Qaeda presence in Afghanistan

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has rejected reports alleging that al-Qaeda and other militant groups are regrouping in the country, saying such groups are no longer present and that there is no evidence supporting the claims.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said groups that had previously been present in Afghanistan were linked to the circumstances and jihad of an earlier period, but that major regional developments had since changed the situation.

“Those groups are no longer present in Afghanistan, nor is there any need for their presence. There is also no evidence to prove the claims about their presence,” Fitrat said.

The comments came after The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing US and Western security officials and a United Nations organization, that al-Qaeda and other militant groups have been rebuilding their networks in Afghanistan since the Islamic Emirate returned to power in 2021.

Fitrat said such claims are made by certain intelligence circles that seek to portray Afghanistan as insecure and to make the region insecure.

He reiterated that the IEA will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any other country.