On September 11, 2010, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government in Afghanistan), issued a statement marking the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The statement calls upon the United States to "unconditionally withdraw" from Afghanistan and vows to wage jihad until an Islamic system is established in the country.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is headed by Mullah Muhammad Omar, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan along with other top leaders of the Taliban's Shura (executive) Council. For a number of years, there were media reports that the Taliban's Shura Council was based in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province. However, in recent years, there has been speculation that the Shura Council has moved to Pakistan's largest commercial city of Karachi, where Mullah Omar's Deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured early this year.
The statement, titled "Statement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Regarding the Anniversary of the 9/11 Event," was posted in both Pashtu and English languages by the jihadist web forum Al-Tahadi. This jihadist web forum cited a new web address for the statement, www.alemarah-iea.com, which appears to be the new official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as its previous web address www.alemarah.info has been down for the past few months.
