
Taliban Threaten Turkish Troops with ‘Jihad’ if They Stay in Afghanistan
Voice of America
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - The Taliban warned Tuesday that if Turkey extends its military presence in Afghanistan the Islamist group will view Turkish troops as “occupiers” and wage “jihad” against them.
The warning came amid fresh battlefield moves that critics say show the Taliban are planning a military takeover of Afghanistan in defiance of their peace pledges, raising the prospects of a full-blown civil war. The United States has asked Turkey to secure Kabul’s airport after all American and NATO allied troops withdraw from the country by the end of next month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday without elaborating that he had agreed with Washington on the "scope" of how to secure and manage the airport.
Local officials and navy personnel attend a joint Iranian, Russian and Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12, 2025. (Iranian Army Office via AFP) Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 11, 2025.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he arrives for Mauritius' 57th National Day celebrations at the Champ De Mars, Port Louis, Mauritius, March 12, 2025. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and his Mauritius counterpart Navin Ramgoolam pay homage after laying a wreath at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden during his State visit, in Pamplemousses, Mauritius, March 11, 2025. FILE - Sailors walk on the deck of the INS Imphal, a stealth guided-missile destroyer, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Dec. 22, 2023.