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Taliban risk military strikes if they host terrorists again, NATO warns

17 August 2021 20:42 (UTC +04:00)

The Taliban must not let Afghanistan become a breeding ground for terrorism again, NATO said on Tuesday, warning that the alliance after its withdrawal still has the military power to strike any terrorist group from a distance, APA reports quoting Reuters.

"Those now taking power have the responsibility to ensure that international terrorists do not regain a foothold," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in his first news conference since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

"We have the capabilities to strike terrorist groups from a distance if we see that terrorist groups again try to establish themselves and plan, organise attacks against NATO allies and their countries," he added.

The fight against al Qaeda, the militant organisation responsible for the 9/11 attacks whose leadership was hosted by the Taliban, was the main reason for the West's intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 in what was to become NATO's first major operation beyond Europe.

But as the alliance wrapped up military operations this summer after almost two decades, the Taliban rapidly advanced, capturing the biggest cities in days.