What does the Taliban’s return mean for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan?

The defeat of a superpower by Afghan Islamic fighters is a massive propaganda coup at a time when such groups are badly in need of a new narrative, writes Jason Burke

A man sells Taliban flags in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Picture: AP 

AS the Taliban prepares to rule Afghanistan after sweeping across the country in less than a week, an obvious question is what does it mean for al-Qaeda and other extremist Islamist groups committed to waging a global jihad.

There is no doubt that the astonishing rapidity of the Taliban’s victory will deliver a tremendous boost to Islamist extremists everywhere — whether al-Qaeda, Islamic State, fighters in Mozambique or Syria, or jihadi fanboys in bedsits in Birmingham or Manila.