March 21, 2025
A former CIA officer, Sarah Adam, claimed in a recent interview on the American program “Shawn Ryan Show” that 10,000 fighters loyal to Syria’s Abu Muhammad al-Jolani received military training in Afghanistan with the support of Al-Qaeda and in collaboration with the Afghan Taliban government.
According to Sarah, Jolani, the current leader of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), traveled to Afghanistan in November 2021 and met with senior Taliban leaders, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob. During these meetings, she alleges, Jolani secured assurances from the Taliban leadership for training facilities for his fighters.
The former intelligence officer further claimed that, before 2021, Jolani lacked the necessary military strength to overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. However, after his visit to Afghanistan, 10,000 fighters were trained over two years in Nangarhar province, with the support of Al-Qaeda under the leadership of Hamza bin Laden and in coordination with the Taliban. These trained militants later played a significant role in the armed conflict against the Assad regime in Syria.
Sarah also alleged that Jolani, much like the Afghan Taliban, had misled the Western world by promising an inclusive government before seizing power. However, she asserts that Jolani is now working to establish a hardline Islamic caliphate, actively suppressing minorities and non-Islamic groups.
It is worth noting that the Afghan Taliban, before coming to power, had pledged to the international community that Afghan soil would neither be used as a base for terrorism nor against any other country. However, Sarah’s claims suggest that the Taliban’s actions contradict their commitments, raising concerns about their true intentions.
