KABUL: The Afghan Taliban on Thursday condemned the publication in France of further anti-Islam cartoons and lauded last week’s deadly Islamist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine office in Paris.

A statement from the group said they “strongly condemn this repugnant and inhumane action and consider its perpetrators, those who allowed it and its supporters the enemies of humanity”.

The statement released in English also hailed gunmen who killed the magazine staff on January 7 and said world leaders should prevent such cartoons from being released.

They said publication must be stopped to prevent “further harming world peace”, adding that to do otherwise would mean “the beliefs and sacrosanctity of over a billion people is desecrated and the world is pushed further into the fire of hatred and war”.

Hooded gunmen had stormed the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades.

While the attack on Charlie Hebdo sparked global outrage, dozens of people in Peshawar and central Afghan province of Uruzgan paid tribute to the brothers who carried out the murders.

The attack was claimed by the Al Qaeda in Yemen.

Charlie Hebdo had announced that it will defiantly feature more caricatures targeting Islam.