Hours after the Afghan special forces killed three al-Qaeda terrorists inside the territory controlled by the Taliban, Afghan first Vice-President Amrullah Saleh taunted the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, saying their separation is ‘harder than desalination.’

The insurgent group, the Taliban, is bound to severe ties with al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks under the US-Taliban deal which was signed on 29 February this year.

“Our brave special forces neutralized three al-Qaeda members in a Taliban compound in southern (Afghanistan), ten months (Doha 29 Feb) after the Talibs committed to separate itself from al-Qaeda. It seems their separation is harder than desalination. Verification mechanism is needed for any agreement,” Saleh said on Twitter.  

Earlier this week, the Afghan special had killed four members of al-Qaeda in an airstrike in southern Helmand province. The Afghan defense ministry said they were planting IEDs on roads. Another key al-Qaeda leader, Abu Mohsin al Misri, was also killed by Afghan forces two months back in Andar district of Ghazni province. The district has been under the control of the Taliban since 2018.

“Al-Qaeda fighters still have a presence among the Taliban and they are fighting against the government forces with the support of the Taliban,” Fawad Aman, the spokesperson of the defense ministry, was quoted as saying by the TOLOnews.

Meanwhile, Mawlawi Abdul Hakim, the head of the Taliban negotiation team, said the Afghan soil will not be used against any other countries. However, he added, “The handover of Osama Bin Laden was against Sharia. Now, too, it has not been agreed with them (the US) to hand over a Muslim to them.”

After the attack of 9/11 by al-Qaeda, the Taliban refused to hand over its head Osama Bin Laden to Americans. The Taliban's refusal then led to the invasion of Afghanistan by the US and NATO forces which overthrew the Taliban's regime.