NATO Forces ‘Defeated’ & ‘Demoralised:’ Taliban Vows To Establish ‘Pure Islamic System’ In Afghanistan

Taliban fighters called it a "defeat" of the United States and its allies as coalition forces had been officially withdrawn from Afghanistan. The extremist group in the Middle East says that U.S.-led forces failed to achieve "anything substantial."

NATO formally announced that its combat mission in Afghanistan had officially ended. While Afghanistan is still far from being peaceful, the responsibility now lies on the police and the army in the country to fight extremist forces like the Taliban. There is a rising rate of civilian and military casualties in the country but now Afghanistan is left on its own to fight the violent insurgency which the Middle Eastern country has been suffering for years. Australia, the UK and the United States will finish the withdrawal by the end of 2014. The forces will be completely gone from the country by Jan. 3.

According to Taliban, on the other hand, the forces did not achieve much in the 13 years of its mission. It said in a statement that NATO forces "rolled up its flag" even though it had not achieved "anything substantial." Mission commander Gen John Campbell, on the contrary, said that the NATO forces had "lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future." The International Security Assistance Force marked the end of the mission by lowering its flag at a ceremony in Kabul on Sunday, BBC reports. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceremony was "a clear indication of their defeat and disappointment." He called Western troops "demoralised" as he claimed that the Taliban would set up "a pure Islamic system by expelling the remaining invading forces."

Around 13,000 troops are still going to stay back to train the Afghan army. It will mainly focus on supporting and training the Afghan soldiers. The mission, which started after the 9/11 attacks, involved over 130,000 personnel from 50 nations. Around 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in 2014 which is considered to be the "bloodiest" year since 2001. NATO, however, claims that the Afghan security forces are capable of preventing a Taliban offensive.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au