Noor Mohammad Saqib, the Taliban’s minister of guidance and Hajj, has claimed in recent remarks that the group’s forces were able to defeat U.S. and NATO forces by carrying out suicide attacks.
Speaking on Thursday, 22 Asad (August 13), Saqib said that during the war against foreign forces, the Taliban’s military equipment and resources were far more limited than those of U.S. forces and their European allies.
He added that Taliban fighters, through suicide attacks and military operations, paved the way for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.
In his remarks, the Taliban’s Minister of Guidance and Hajj described the group’s suicide attacks as one of the factors contributing to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. However, he did not provide further details about the attacks or the number of casualties they caused.
The remarks come as critics of the Taliban offer a different account of how the group returned to power. They argue that the Islamic Republic government led by Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and the United States, following a political agreement in Doha, Qatar, paved the way for the transfer of power to the Taliban.
The Doha peace agreement was signed between the United States and the Taliban in 2019, after which the process of withdrawing foreign forces from Afghanistan began. Ultimately, in August 2021, the Taliban seized control of Kabul and large parts of Afghanistan.
The Taliban portray their return to power as the result of years of fighting and resistance against foreign forces and the previous government. Their critics, however, emphasize the role of political negotiations and the Doha agreement in the developments that ultimately led to the collapse of the Islamic Republic.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
