Donald Trump given Taliban endorsement for re-election bid

The Afghan insurgents also expressed concern about the president's Covid-19 infection

The Taliban says it backs Donald Trump over Joe Biden for US presidency. AFP

As the November 3 election date looms in the United States, people are taking sides in the race between President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden for the White House.

But on Friday, the Trump campaign received an endorsement that it was unlikely to shout about.

The Taliban hoped Mr Trump will prevail in the polls next month, its spokesman said.

"We hope he will win the election and wind up the US military presence in Afghanistan,” Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS news.

The insurgent group joined North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in voicing its concern about Mr Trump's health.

"When we heard about Trump being Covid-19 positive, we got worried for his health, but seems he is getting better," another senior Taliban figure told CBS News.

The Afghan war - in photos 

CBS News quoted Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh as saying the Republican presidential team rejected the Taliban's endorsement.

"The Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests by any means necessary," Mr Murtaugh said.

America’s exit from Afghanistan after 19 years of war was laid out in a February agreement Washington reached with the Taliban. It said US troops would be out of Afghanistan within 18 months, provided the Taliban honoured a commitment to fight terrorist groups, with most attention seemingly focused on the ISIS affiliate there.

Mr Trump went further last week, saying that US troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year. The news was also welcomed in Doha, where the Taliban is in talks with the Afghan government over the country’s future.

But US officials said they were not aware of such a plan and have been given no actual order to accelerate their gradual pullout.

Mr Trump’s comments, laid out in a confusing progression of comments and a tweet, alarmed Pentagon and State Department officials who feared that putting a definitive date on troop withdrawal could undercut negotiations to finalise a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

They also feared that a hasty withdrawal could force the US to leave behind sensitive military equipment. They stressed that the Taliban has still not met requirements to reduce violence against Afghans, a key element of the US withdrawal plan.

“We’re down to 4,000 troops in Afghanistan. I’ll have them home by the end of the year. They’re coming home, you know, as we speak. Nineteen years is enough. They’re acting as policemen, OK? They’re not acting as troops,” Mr Trump said on Thursday.

US officials said troop numbers have not yet been reduced to 4,500, but will hit that goal in November as planned. The military has also consistently said that counterterrorism troops would remain in Afghanistan for some time to deal with Al Qaeda and ISIS threats.