Bloomberg reports:

The Taliban called for friendly ties with the U.S. and indicated they were close to announcing details of a new government just hours after the last American soldiers flew out of Kabul to end 20 years of war.

“The Islamic Emirate wants a good and diplomatic relationship with the Americans,” Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban’s main spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday from the Hamid Karzai International Airport, which was the last place under American control.

Key Taliban leaders took a symbolic victory lap, walking across the tarmac to mark their win. That’s even as the militant group faces a host of fresh challenges to cement its control on the country.

Mujahed added later that a three-day meeting of the group’s Leadership Council had taken place under the guidance of their top spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, in the southern city of Kandahar, the group’s stronghold. [Continue reading…]