Al Qaeda may seek comeback in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary says

KUWAIT: Al Qaeda may attempt to regenerate in Afghanistan following the American withdrawal from the country leaving the Taliban in power, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday while talking to reporters.

“That’s the nature of the organization,” he said as a four-day tour of Persian Gulf states comes to conclusion.

We are prepared to prevent an al-Qaeda comeback in Afghanistan that would threaten the United States, Austin said while talking to an exclusive group of reporters in Kuwait.

Austin said the U.S. put the Taliban on notice that they are expected not to allow that to happen. He said it insinuating the possibility of Al Qaeda using Afghanistan as a staging base once again.

We are watching what is going to happen next, he said.

Austin claimed the US military is capable of containing Al Qaeda or any other extremist threat to the United States emanating from Afghanistan by using surveillance and strike aircraft.

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