U.S. General John Campbell, commander of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), folds the flag of the ISAF during the change of mission ceremony in Kabul, December 28, 2014. (Reuters/Omar Sobhani)

As the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan comes to an end and allied troops depart, the Taliban has proclaimed itself the victor in the protracted war.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission will cease to exist on January 1. However thousands of NATO troops will stay in war-torn Afghanistan on a “training and support” mission.

For the Taliban, NATO’s pullout from Afghanistan is a clear demonstration of the alliance’s weakness.

“We consider this step a clear indication of their defeat and disappointment,” the terror group said in a statement, arraigning the US-led mission of “barbarism and cruelty” that left “a pool of blood” behind.

The comment from the Taliban comes a day after NATO marked the end of its combat mission with a low-key ceremony in Kabul, arranged in secret due to the threat of a militant attack.

“America, its invading allies… along with all international arrogant organizations have been handed a clear-cut defeat in this lopsided war,” claimed the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

The Taliban headed the insurgency against NATO and Afghan forces through all 13 years of the subsequent occupation.

In anticipation of the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban attacks against military infrastructure in the country only intensified.

Source: RT News