Taliban claims 41 Australians killed in Afghanistan war ‘died in vain’
Exclusive: The Taliban has claimed the 41 Australian soldiers killed during the war in Afghanistan “died in vain”.
In a wide-ranging interview with 9News, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said the soldiers “died in our country, occupying our country”.
“If my country’s forces go invade your country, occupy your country and they die, what would you say? Would you say they come here for something illegal? It was their right to invade your country? The same applies for my country, Afghanistan,” Mr Shaheen said.
Mr Shaheen also disputed claims Australians had been attacked by the Taliban, despite video surfacing of an Adelaide father bloodied and in a tussle with the Taliban.
He has since gone into hiding.
“There is no one targeting them, or their life is at risk, no!” Mr Shaheen said.
The veteran Taliban spokesperson said the hope for his country was “peace”, as he accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of basing policy on “propaganda” and “fake news”.
“Some of the Australians are biased they should make their stand to be more pragmatic,” Mr Shaheen said.
“I think their judgment should be fair and just not based on baseless reports,” the Taliban spokesman said of the Australian government.
The Taliban spokesperson also claimed people fleeing Afghanistan were “economic migrants”.
Mr Shaheen denied reports broadcast by 9News that Afghan women had been abducted by the Taliban, and said it would be a breach of law.
The spokesperson said girls and women would be entitled to education, but he could not guarantee they would be allowed to have positions of power in a newly formed government.
“It will be up to the constitution, after that it will be clear,” he said.
Mr Shaheen also claimed the Taliban planned to “eradicate” the terror group ISIS-K, which claimed responsibility for the deadly blast at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
“We have this capability,” Mr Shaheen said.
You can watch the full in-depth interview above.
