Washington: The Taliban have said that their
movement had no role in the 9/11 terror attacks and accused
the United States of using the incident to invade Afghanistan
where they have killed tens of thousands of innocent Afghans.
In a defiant statement emailed to media, the Taliban
accused the US of using the Sept. 11 attacks as a pretext to
invade Afghanistan. It said the international community was
responsible for killing thousands of Afghans during the
invasion and ensuing occupation of the country.
The statement comes as the United States remembers the
events of 10 years ago and officials warn of a "credible"
threat of another attack on American soil.
"Each year, 9/11 reminds the Afghans of an event in which
they had no role whatsoever," the Taliban said. "American
colonialism has shed the blood of tens of thousands of
miserable and innocent Afghans."
The Taliban`s statement says the Afghan people have "an
endless stamina for a long war" and could rise up as a nation
"to send the Americans to the dustbin of history."
"It will remain a permanent stigma on the face of the
Western democracy that America and her allies martyred tens of
thousands of Muslims under the pretext of this ambiguous and
murky event," the statement says, referring to 9/11.
The US and international forces have lost almost 2,700
lives in Afghanistan, more than 1,700 of them American.
Figures released by the United Nations mission in
Afghanistan for the first six months of this year showed 1,462
civilians had died, with anti-government insurgents
responsible for 80 per cent of the killings.
While air strikes were the leading cause of civilian
deaths at the hands of international forces, the majority of
those who died as a result of insurgent action were killed by
homemade explosive devices and suicide attacks, the CNN quoted
a report from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as
saying.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan on
October 7, 2001, after the Taliban, who then ruled the
country, refused to hand over al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Taliban leaders granted bin Laden sanctuary in
Afghanistan for several years, despite US demands for his
extradition over previous terror attacks, and declined to hand
him over when he became the main suspect in the 9/11 attacks.
PTI
