Calling their method of sharia implementation “ideal,” the Taliban reached out to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a letter urging unity of purpose as they move forward in jihad.
The outreach comes as ISIS fighters have been streaming into Afghanistan, alarming officials concerned about a potential alliance but resulting in some deadly turf wars between Taliban and ISIS.
The message, from deputy Leader and acting leader of the leadership council Alhaj Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, urged ISIS to “increase trust and confidence” with the Taliban by consulting their leadership “regarding matters.”
“We hope and wish that other jihadi movements…support us in every manner to transform our jihad to victory. We don’t expect from them to divide the lines of the jihad and cause failure of mujahideen, and keep us away from the happiness of kuffar’s [nonbelievers] defeat,” he wrote.
If “divisions, disputes among mujahideen increase,” the Taliban warned, all of their “achievement will be wasted due to the divisions of lines and opportunity will be lost.”
“…Our advice to you is that in no part should you create such atmosphere where the services of these movements will be effected, disciplined dismissed, and cause internal disputes.”
Causing “blood shedding” among jihadists, Mansoor tells ISIS, is “very badly damaging your popularity and your future activities.”
He suggested that the troublemakers were simply carrying the ISIS banner, adding “due to your remoteness these selfish and bad people would misuse your name for such actions.”
Because they have similar goals, Mansoor wrote, ISIS should “assist and support” the Taliban in “keeping its unity and strengthening.”
“Important to bring to your attention that Islamic Emirates [Taliban government name] jihadist Policy against the crusaders and international Kuffar is unity of lines and special concentration on unity of jihad lines,” he said. “We have already tested bad experience of jihad lines division and differences during Soviet invasion and their severe and bad implications which resulted in waste of 14 years Jihad.”
“Until now Islamic Emirate has successfully eliminated all fitnas of disputes, conflicts and division by having unity of lines. And now if there are struggles to have brought another line jihad or leadership beside Islamic Emirates, this will deliberately assist in providing an environment of disputes and divisions. Therefore Islamic Emirates conditions the jihadist operations under the leadership of Emirates.”
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