The Taliban dismissed Donald Trump's strategy for Afghanistan as vague and "nothing new" on Tuesday after the US President cleared the way for thousands of American troops to be sent to the war-torn country.
"For now I can tell you there was nothing new in his speech and it was very unclear," Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan, told AFP.
He added that the militants were preparing a formal statement which would be released later.
Trump backtracked from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war in his first formal address to the nation as commander-in-chief late on Monday, though he did not offer specifics.
In his prime-time address at a military base near Washington, US President Donald Trump said his new approach was aimed at preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for Islamist militants bent on attacking the United States.
His address primarily focused on the South-Asian region and their combined battle with terror. He also highlighted the US’s relations with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in this respect.
Trump said he had concluded that "the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable", leaving a vacuum that terrorists "would instantly fill".
‘Statement Proves That Afghan Govt is a US Puppet’
A senior Taliban commander told AFP that Trump was just perpetuating the “arrogant behaviour” of previous Presidents such as George Bush.
He is just wasting American soldiers. We know how to defend our country. It will not change anything. For generations we have fought this war. We are not scared, we are fresh and we will continue this war until our last breath.A Taliban commander to AFP
He added that the statement proved the current Afghan government "is a US puppet".
The insurgents also signalled their intentions minutes after Trump spoke by claiming that the US embassy in Kabul had been the target of a rocket attack late on Monday.
The rocket landed in a field in the city's diplomatic quarter, with no casualties reported.
While Trump refused to offer detailed troop numbers, senior White House officials said he had already authorised his defence secretary to deploy up to 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan.
He also lambasted Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos."
A commander from the Taliban-allied Haqqani network, long believed to have links to Pakistan's shadowy military establishment, told AFP that Trump "has proved it's a Crusade".
His statement has proved that he wants to eliminate the entire Muslim umma (community).A commander from the Taliban-allied Haqqani network
Prior to Trump's announcement, the Taliban had written an open letter warning him not to send more troops and calling for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.
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