[Free Beacon] Al Qaeda is operating "across" Afghanistan in several regions, according to Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan."We have seen al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Yes, in different parts of Afghanistan," Miller told TOLONews. "In different parts of Afghanistan, we can find them, so it's not one particular region, it's across the country."
The Long War Journal, a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has tracked al Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan for more than a decade, creating maps that show the terrorist group's operations and movement in the country. Al Qaeda and its regional branch, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, are present in 13 Afghan provinces, according to one of the maps.
"The data clearly shows that al Qaeda and allied terrorist groups have been operating on Afghan soil for the past two decades with the approval of the Taliban," the Journal reported. "These terrorist organizations often operate in areas controlled by the Taliban‐and the jihadists killed in coalition or Afghan raids often die alongside members of the Afghan Taliban."