Committed to ensuring that Afghanistan never becomes a terror hub: US

WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Thursday said they remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

During the daily press briefing, Spokesperson Matthew Miller noted that the US government is vigilant against the evolving threats posed by various terrorist outfits, including Al-Qaeda, and Daesh.

“We continue to push the Taliban to fulfil all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” he said.

The spokesperson maintained that the US has made clear to the Taliban that it’s their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it’s Al-Qaeda or Daesh or any other terrorist organisation.

“Our global coalition to defeat Daesh, and the C5+1, help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent terrorists’ ability to raise funds, travel and spread propaganda,” he said.

Miller stressed that the US will “continue to work to hold Daesh accountable for its actions and prevent terrorist attacks against the US and other Western countries.”

In response to a related question, the spokesperson explained that the US administration has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Biden took office three years ago.

“Working both unilaterally and with our partners to successfully disrupt threats around the globe and degrade Daesh,” he said, adding that in February 2022, operating on the president’s orders, US military forces successfully targeted Haji Abdullah, the leader of ISIS, and then later successfully concluded airstrike in Kabul killing Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.