Mullah Omar declares victory for Taliban “imminent” in Afghanistan

KABUL - Taliban leader Mullah Omar has said that victory for the Taliban is imminent in Afghanistan, while the NATO-led campaign has been “a complete failure”.

“The victory of our Islamic nation over the invading infidels is now imminent and the driving force behind this is the belief in the help of Allah and unity among ourselves,” the BBC quoted Omar as saying in a statement posted on Jihadist websites.

Omar, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, called on US President Barack Obama to withdraw his troops from Afghanistan “unconditionally and as soon as possible”, adding that the invaders “admit themselves that all their strategies are nothing but a complete failure.”

To defeat terrorists, NATO had boosted the strength of its troops to 150,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. However, America is set to start its troops withdrawal from July 2011, if conditions allow.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the Taliban had got “a morale boost” from the US decision of troops drawdown next year.

Obama had announced that a US troop drawdown from Afghanistan would begin in July 2011. But in June, he stepped back from considering it a fixed withdrawal date, and forwarded the idea that the date should be taken as a goal for US troops to start handing over of security responsibilities to the Afghan soldiers. (ANI)