Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Afghan National Security Department announced the elimination of Mohammad Hanif, a high-ranking al-Qaeda member in the Indian subcontinent, assistant to the former head of the cell, Asim Omar (killed in December 2019 by Afghan security forces).

According to the official report, the operation to eliminate the high-ranking militant took place in the partially Taliban-controlled Bakwa district of western Farah province, where he received "refuge and protection" from the Taliban Movement (TM). In a raid by Afghan security forces, two Pakistani women were also arrested. At the same time, there is no information on the exact date of the special operation.

According to the intelligence agency of Afghanistan, M. Hanif was originally from the Pakistani city of Karachi and was previously a member of the Taliban, later joined Al-Qaeda. He worked in the provinces of Helmand and Nimroz, teaching the Taliban how to make explosive devices, after which he moved to Farah. According to the information of the American media, M. Hanif was involved in the assassination attempt on the ex-president of the IRP P. Musharraf and the explosion at the US Consulate in Karachi in 2002.

It should be noted that this is the second time that al-Qaeda authorities have been reported killed in Afghanistan in the past 20 days. At the end of October this year, the Afghan authorities also announced the elimination in Ghazni province of a key member of a terrorist group in the Indian subcontinent and the organization's chief propagandist, Husam al-Rauf, also known as Abu Mohsen al-Masri.

The Afghan government and the international community point to the active cooperation of the Taliban with the terrorist organization (during October of this year, the UN twice expressed concern about this). According to UN representatives, "the leadership of the TM continues to hold regular meetings with the leaders of Al-Qaeda and assure them of respect for historical ties." In addition, al-Qaeda and TM, while maintaining close contact, continue to conduct "many joint military and training operations."

It is noteworthy that at the beginning of November this year, the Taliban stated that al-Qaeda is currently not present in Afghanistan.

In this regard, experts draw attention to the restrained reaction of diesel fuel regarding this case. The Taliban told the media that they are "investigating the matter."

Thus, as experts emphasize, TM did not confirm, but did not deny the accusations of Kabul in providing "asylum and protection” to liquidated al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan. In this context, attention is drawn to the fact that the Taliban have so far not made public statements about the severing of ties with the terrorist organization and have evasively answered questions about their relationship.

Commenting on the situation, "Voice of America" expresses the opinion that if the presence of al-Qaeda fighters in the areas controlled by the TM is confirmed, this circumstance will affect the dynamics of the withdrawal of US troops and potentially delay their presence in the IRA until the end of the intra-Afghan negotiations, for which Kabul speaks out because this would be a clear violation of the US-Taliban agreement, according to which the Taliban pledged to sever ties with terrorist organizations and not provide them with safe haven.

At the same time, observers focus on the fact that the publication by Kabul of new data on the destruction of al-Qaeda leaders is taking place on the eve of an international donor conference on Afghanistan in Geneva. American analysts believe that Kabul, conducting successful counter-terrorism operations, on the one hand, seeks to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the Afghan government in the fight against international terrorism. So, on the eve of the Ministry of Defense of the IRA also reported that the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the son of T. Yuldashev, Aziz Yuldashev, was liquidated in the Faryab province.

On the other hand, the Afghan government is positioning itself as a "key factor" in Afghanistan, which is successfully fighting international terrorism, unlike TD, and is trying to persuade the international community to continue providing financial support. At the same time, it is possible that Kabul, faced with harsh criticism of corruption in the country, is trying to justify the waste of funds by fighting international terrorism (the international community annually allocates US$4.5 billion for military spending).

In general, the conduct of successful counter-terrorism operations against high-ranking members of terrorist organizations, in particular Al-Qaeda, increases the authority of Kabul and at the same time discredits TM, which will contribute to strengthening international support for Afghanistan in the process of a political settlement of the conflict in the country.