Al Qaeda affiliates heap praise on Taliban, as Taliban denies the group is in Afghanistan

Taliban fighters.
(Image credit: Aref Karimi/AFP via Getty Images)

Al Qaeda and several of its affiliates are praising the Taliban for effectively taking control of Afghanistan, with the South Asian branch on Monday calling this a great military victory against the United States.

Analyst Abdul Sayed tweeted that the branch also said its members are praying that the Taliban can successfully implement sharia law in Afghanistan, The Washington Post reports. This comes as the Taliban is attempting to distance itself from Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. At the time, Al Qaeda was operating out of Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, and the U.S. launched its war in the country to take out the extremist group and prevent another massive attack on U.S. soil.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.