The Taliban has doubled down on its comments against 41 Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan, saying Australia made a "big mistake" in following the US to war and that Australian soldiers "should" have been killed.
"Australia made a big mistake following America into a campaign pursuing the war in Afghanistan, the mistake of many countries blindly following America's war," the deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, told SBS News in an exclusive interview.
"Even if Australian troops have been killed they should have been killed because they were there to kill Afghans."
The comments come a week after the militant group's spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told Nine News the diggers "died in vain".
Mr Wasiq's comments are likely to further inflame the Australian government, and thwart the Taliban's efforts towards being recognised as a government by Australia.
Last week, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Taliban's comments were "repugnant".
The Taliban says Australia made a "big mistake" in following the US to war in Afghanistan. Source: SBS News
"I find those sorts of statements, which are dismissive of the contribution that Australia in this case, and the international community has endeavoured to make in Afghanistan over so many years, deeply disappointing," she said.
"We will ultimately judge the Taliban and the regime it establishes on their actions, not just their words. There is a requirement for them to deliver in terms of the future of Afghanistan."
The Prime Minister's Office has been contacted for comment.
A new Taliban interim government began work on Wednesday. It was drawn exclusively from loyalist ranks and included no women.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said any international legitimacy for the Taliban government would have to be "earned" after leading a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on the Afghan crisis.
The Taliban are already facing opposition to their rule, with protests, many with women at the forefront, breaking out in cities around Afghanistan.
