Taliban has kept close ties with al Qaeda despite promises to Trump admin, U.N. report says

The Taliban have retained close links to al Qaeda and sought its advice during recent negotiations with U.S. officials, despite promising to break ties with the terror group under a preliminary peace agreement with the U.S., according to a U.N. report released Monday. Al Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., continues to operate in 12 provinces of Afghanistan, with 400-600 operatives and a training camp in the eastern part of the country, according to the report issued to the U.N. Security Council. Relations between the Taliban, including its partners in the Haqqani network, and al Qaeda “remain close, based on friendship, a history of shared struggle, ideological sympathy and intermarriage,” the U.N. report said.