Taliban members were seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport because thousands of Afghans were eager to flee the Afghan capital Kabul.
Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic movement that controls the Gaza Strip, congratulated the Taliban on returning to power in Afghanistan on Monday.
Hamas said in a statement that it “congratulates the Taliban movement and its courageous leadership for this victory, which is the culmination of its long struggle over the past 20 years.”
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The Taliban is a hardline Sunni Muslim fundamentalist movement that ended the two decades of military presence of the United States and allies on Sunday. Its militants patrolled the streets of Kabul and settled in the presidential palace.
Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, wished “the Afghan Muslim people and their leadership success in achieving unity, stability and prosperity.”
It said that the end of the United States in Afghanistan proved that “the resistance of the people, the most important of which is our struggling Palestinian people, is doomed to victory.”
Israel and most Western countries consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Since Hamas came to power, this Jewish state has been blocking the crowded Gaza Strip, where there are nearly 2 million people.
The organization is related to the Muslim Brotherhood and has fought four wars with Israel.
