Taliban Claim They Unaware of Qaeda Leader in Afghanistan

Taliban members are seen in Kabul after the drone strike that killed Zawahiri. (Reuters)
Taliban members are seen in Kabul after the drone strike that killed Zawahiri. (Reuters)
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Taliban Claim They Unaware of Qaeda Leader in Afghanistan

Taliban members are seen in Kabul after the drone strike that killed Zawahiri. (Reuters)
Taliban members are seen in Kabul after the drone strike that killed Zawahiri. (Reuters)

The Taliban broke its silence Thursday, days after a US drone strike killing al-Qaeda’s top leader in Afghanistan’s capital, acknowledging his slaying and pledging to launch an investigation.

The killing of Ayman al-Zawahri on the balcony of a Kabul safehouse Sunday has further strained relations between the Taliban and the West, particularly as it seeks an urgent infusion of cash to handle an economic catastrophe there following the US withdrawal from the country a year ago.

“The government and the leadership weren’t aware of what is being claimed, nor any trace there,” Suhail Shaheen, the head of the group’s political office in Doha, Qatar, told The Associated Press in a text message.

That claim, however, directly conflicts with what US officials have said about the strike. They say al-Zawahri was staying at the home of a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani. Haqqani is the deputy head of the Taliban, serves as interior minister in its government and heads the Haqqani network, a powerful faction within the movement.

The Taliban had promised in the 2020 Doha Agreement with the US that they would not harbor al-Qaeda members or those seeking to attack the US.

An “investigation is underway now to find out about veracity of the claim. The leadership is in constant meeting in this regard. Findings will be shared with all,” Shaheen added.

The strike early Sunday shook awake Shirpur, once a district of historic buildings that were bulldozed in 2003 to make way for luxury homes for officials in Afghanistan’s Western-backed government and international aid organizations. After the US withdrawal in August 2021, senior Taliban moved into some of the abandoned homes there.

The Haqqani network is an Afghan insurgent group, built around the family of the same name. In the 1980s, it fought Soviet forces and over the past 20 years, it battled US-led NATO troops and the former Afghanistan government. The US government maintains a $10 million bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani for attacks on American troops and Afghan civilians.

But the Haqqanis, from Afghanistan’s eastern Khost province, have rivals within the Taliban leadership, mostly from the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. Some believe Sirajuddin Haqqani wants more power. Other Taliban figures have opposed the Haqqanis’ attacks against civilians in Kabul and elsewhere during the insurgency.

During the first half of 2022, al-Zawahri increasingly reached out to supporters with video and audio messages, including assurances that al-Qaeda can compete with the ISIS group for leadership of a global movement, a report by the United Nations’ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said.



Indonesia Landslide Death Toll Rises to 25

The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
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Indonesia Landslide Death Toll Rises to 25

The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP
The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday. Devi RAHMAN / AFP

The death toll from a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java rose to 25 as rescuers found three more bodies on Friday, a search and rescue agency official said.

Intense rainfall on Monday in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province triggered the landslide, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.

"Overall, the victims who were found dead were 25 people, with a note that two people are still unidentified," Budiono, head of the search and rescue agency from nearby Semarang, told AFP.

If those two victims are among the list of missing people, there would be only one more person left to find, he said.

The two unidentified victims were found trapped under rocks and landslide materials, making it difficult for rescuers to recover their bodies, added Budiono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Bad weather was hampering search efforts, with the operation suspended on Friday afternoon to ensure the safety of rescue teams as rain and fog descended on the area.

The rescue operation is set to resume on Saturday, Budiono said, with rescuers focusing their search around a cafe where the victims are thought to have been buried as they sought shelter from the rain.

At least 13 people were also injured in the landslide, according to the national search and rescue agency Basarnas.

Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, but some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years.

Climate change has also increased the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.