Senior commanders caught between hopes for international recognition and pressure from their own ranks
Nearly three days after Ayman al-Zawahiriin the heart of one of the most elite neighbourhoods of the Afghan capital, the Taliban have barely responded.
A firefight in the heart of Kabul on Tuesday with Islamic State militants was a reminder that the group is under pressure inside Afghanistan from even more extremist groups, who are aiming to pick off disaffected Taliban fighters. So after Zawahiri’s death the Taliban leadership has gathered to debate whether they should respond to the strike, and if so what approach to take, Reuters reported, citing senior figures in the movement.
The Taliban had promised the US in Qatar that they would not offer haven to militant groups that may threaten America and its allies, and for nearly a year after seizing Afghanistan insisted they had stuck by that commitment.Indian news outletAt the time, Zawahiri was still alive, in a house thought to be rented by one of Haqqani’s aides, in an enclave controlled by the minister’s own faction of the Taliban.
It proved spectacularly unsuccessful and Zawahiri too seems to have operated effectively from his Kabul base, sending out messages and videos.
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