Taliban leader appears in public for second time in six years, says organisation has achieved security, freedom in Afghanistan
- Surrounded by fighters, helicopters overhead, Hibatullah Akhundzada spoke to worshippers on Sunday at a mosque in the southern city of Kandahar
- While the number of bombings has dropped since Kabul fell to the Taliban last year, attacks have soared over the final two weeks of Ramadan
Afghanistan’s supreme leader appeared publicly for only the second time in six years on Sunday, telling worshippers celebrating Eid al-Fitr – the end of Ramadan – that the Taliban had achieved freedom and security since seizing power last year.
Speaking just two days after a bomb ripped through a mosque in Kabul, an atmosphere of heightened security surrounded the man introduced as Hibatullah Akhundzada, the chief of the Taliban.
“Congratulations on victory, freedom and success,” he told thousands of worshippers at the Eidgah mosque in the southern city of Kandahar, the hardline Islamist group’s de facto power centre.
“Congratulations on this security and for the Islamic system.”
While the number of bombings across the country has dropped since Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, attacks soared over the final two weeks of the fasting month of Ramadan, which ended on Saturday for Afghans.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in the primarily sectarian attacks – some claimed by Islamic State group – targeting members of the Shiite and Sufi Muslim communities.
Friday’s bombing of a Sunni mosque in the capital killed at least 10 people.