Taliban say they won’t work with US to contain extremism in Afghanistan

The Taliban said on Saturday they would not work with the United States to contain extremism in Afghanistan.

Suhail Shaheen, political spokesperson for the Taliban told The Associated Press the Taliban will deal independently with extremist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) group.

“We are able to fight Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

The post comes before the talks between senior Taliban officials and US officials in Doha, Qatar.

These are the first direct talks the two groups will have since the United States evacuated Afghanistan in August, with the United States saying these talks are not a sign that the Taliban will be recognized by the United States. , according to the AP.

Terrorism has already become a problem for the Taliban as the group called ISIS Khorasan recently claimed responsibility for a mosque suicide bombing that killed more than 40 people.

Meetings in Qatar will take place on Saturday and Sunday where officials are expected to discuss terrorism and evacuations of more Americans and Afghan allies.

Two senior administration officials told Reuters that Tom West, deputy special representative for reconciliation in Afghanistan with the State Department, and Sarah Charles, assistant to the administrator of the USAID Humanitarian Aid Office, were among the people expected at the meetings.