The Taliban’s Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar says the group has assembled a large army, among them thousands of suicide bombers.
Speaking in a large gathering on Saturday, Delawar stated that the Taliban has formed a battalion of suicide attackers as part of its claimed 400,000 armed security forces, adding that thousands of young “death volunteers” readied to “seek martyrdom”.
Suicide bombing has been an integral part of the Taliban’s warfare tactic.
Before sweeping into power in 2021, the group used suicide bombers for over 20 years to attack former security forces, US and NATO troops and civilians—including women and children.
The group, particularly its Haqqani Network, radicalized and trained mostly children to carry out suicide attacks across Afghanistan, particularly in urban cities.
A few months after the Taliban takeover, the group’s Interior Minister and head of Haqqani Network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a $10 million US bounty on his head, convened a large gathering in Kabul, praising and honoring suicide bombers who were responsible for the death of thousands of people and foreign troops.
Additionally, the Taliban has on several occasions held parades displaying rockets and other light-and-heavy weaponry as well as featuring its suicide bombers, suicide vests, and explosives.
