Taliban say they won’t work with U.S. to contain Islamic State

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban connected Saturday ruled retired practice with the United States to incorporate extremist groups successful Afghanistan, staking retired an uncompromising presumption connected a cardinal contented up of the archetypal nonstop talks betwixt the erstwhile foes since America withdrew from the state successful August.

Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are to conscionable Saturday and Sunday successful Doha, the superior of Qatar. Officials from some sides person said issues see reining successful extremist groups and the evacuation of overseas citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban person signaled flexibility connected evacuations.

However, Taliban governmental spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press determination would beryllium nary practice with Washington connected containing the progressively progressive Islamic State radical successful Afghanistan. IS has taken work for a fig of caller attacks, including a termination bombing Friday that killed 46 number Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens arsenic they prayed successful a mosque successful the bluish metropolis of Kunduz.

“We are capable to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, erstwhile asked whether the Taliban would enactment with the U.S. to incorporate the Islamic State affiliate. He utilized an Arabic acronym for IS.

IS has carried retired relentless assaults connected the country’s Shiites since emerging successful eastbound Afghanistan successful 2014. It is besides seen arsenic the panic radical that poses the top menace to the United States for its imaginable to signifier attacks connected American targets.

The play meetings successful Doha are the archetypal since U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan successful precocious August, ending a 20-year subject beingness arsenic the Taliban overran the country. The U.S. has made it wide the talks are not a preamble to recognition.

The talks besides travel connected the heels of 2 days of hard discussions betwixt Pakistani officials and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman successful Islamabad that focused connected Afghanistan. Pakistani officials urged the U.S. to prosecute with Afghanistan’s caller rulers and merchandise billions of dollars successful planetary funds to stave disconnected an economical meltdown.

Pakistan besides had a connection for the Taliban, urging them to go much inclusive and wage attraction to quality rights and number taste and spiritual groups.

Afghanistan’s Shiite clerics assailed the Taliban rulers pursuing Friday’s attack, demanding greater extortion astatine their places of worship. The IS affiliate claimed work and identified the bomber arsenic a Uyghur Muslim. The assertion said the onslaught targeted some Shiites and the Taliban for their purported willingness to expel Uyghurs to conscionable demands from China. It was the deadliest onslaught since U.S. and NATO troops near Afghanistan connected Aug. 30.

Michael Kugelman, lawman manager of the Asia Program astatine the U.S.-based Wilson Center, said Friday’s onslaught could beryllium a harbinger of much violence. Most of the Uyghur militants beryllium to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which has recovered a harmless haven successful the borderline regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan for decades.

“If the (IS) assertion is true, China’s concerns astir coercion successful (Afghanistan)–to which the Taliban claims to beryllium receptive—will increase,” helium tweeted pursuing the attack.

Meanwhile, the Taliban began busing Afghans who had fled from the insurgents’ blitz takeover successful August and were surviving successful tents successful a Kabul parkland backmost to their homes successful the country’s north, wherever threats from IS are mounting pursuing the Kunduz attack.

A Taliban authoritative successful complaint of refugees, Mohammed Arsa Kharoti, said determination are up to 1.3 cardinal Afghans displaced from past wars and that the Taliban deficiency funds to signifier the instrumentality location for all. He said the Taliban person organized the instrumentality of 1,005 displaced families to their homes truthful far.

Shokria Khanm, who had spent respective weeks successful 1 of the tents successful the parkland and was waiting Saturday to committee the Taliban-organized autobus backmost location to Kunduz, said she isn’t acrophobic astir the increasing IS menace successful the bluish province.

“At slightest determination we person 4 walls,” she said but added that she was tense astir the aboriginal aft warring betwixt the Taliban and Afghan authorities troops had destroyed her house.

“Winter is connected the way. There is nary firewood. We request h2o and food,” she said.

During the Doha talks, U.S. officials volition besides question to clasp the Taliban to their committedness to let Americans and different overseas nationals to permission Afghanistan, on with Afghans who erstwhile worked for the U.S. subject oregon authorities and different Afghan allies, a U.S. authoritative said. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that the authoritative was not authorized to talk connected the grounds astir the meetings.

The Biden medication has fielded questions and complaints astir the dilatory gait of U.S.-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal.

Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer successful Washington and Samya Kullab successful Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.