Taliban victory inspires pro-Iran militias in Iraq
The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has encouraged Sunni extremist armed groups in Syria and pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq.
ERBIL — As the world focuses on the end of the US military presence in Afghanistan and the Taliban’s rapid takeover of most of the country, culminating with the handover of Kabul on Aug.15, Iraqis are watching closely.
Both Iraqis and Syrians have suffered a great deal from the Islamic State as well as the destruction caused by the fight to defeat it and are wary of what this watershed moment portends for their future.
The Taliban takeover is, at a minimum, an inspiration for radical and terrorist groups. The Taliban have massive amounts of equipment, vehicles and aircraft left behind by the United States. They are more highly trained and appear to have more support from neighboring countries than when they ruled the country between 1996 and 2001. They are also still working alongside a number of designated terrorist groups with foreign fighters, while they have instead engaged in battles in the eastern part of the country with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) that includes a number of former Taliban fighters that have defected in recent years to its ranks.
Many supporters of armed hard-line Sunni groups in Syria have long praised the Taliban, including Iraqi former al-Qaeda member Abu Maria al-Qahtani.
