Taliban says Trump must pull US troops from Afghanistan

The Taliban calls on Trump to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan once he takes office as president.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says that a Trump administration “should allow Afghans to become a free nation and have relationships with other countries based on non-interference in each other’s affairs.”

The Afghan conflict is in its 16th year. The Taliban have spread their footprint across Afghanistan in the two years since most international combat troops withdrew.

President Barack Obama expanded US troops’ mandate to enable them to work more closely on the battlefield with their Afghan counterparts, and to conduct counter-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda, the Islamic State group and the Taliban.

— AP