“This victory and empowerment reveal to us that jihad and fighting represent the (Islamic law)-based, legal, and realistic way to restore rights (and) expel the invaders and occupiers,” Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in a statement, congratulating the Taliban on their victory in Afghanistan.

“As for the game of democracy and working with simple pacifism, it is a deceptive mirage, a fleeting shadow, and a vicious circle that starts with a zero and ends with it,” said the statement carried by SITE Intelligence group, which monitors jihadist networks worldwide.

Taliban had provided refuge to Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden during its rule in Afghanistan in late 90s

The US considers AQAP the most dangerous part of Al-Qaeda’s global network. US has carried out drone strikes against its fighters in Yemen.

On Sunday, AQAP fighters in Yemen’s central governorate of Bayda and southern province of Shabwa celebrated Taliban’s return to power with fireworks and gunshots in the air, as per AFP

The hardline Sunni Muslim group has taken advantage of Yemen’s war since 2014 between the internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, bolstering its presence in southern Yemen.