WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has received an unusual endorsement in the race for the White House, getting the nod from the Taliban militant group in Afghanistan, CBS News reported.

"We hope he will win the election and wind up [the] US military presence in Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News in a phone interview at the weekend.

But the Taliban militants expressed concern about Trump's battle Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. "When we heard about Trump being COVID-19 positive, we got worried for his health, but seems he is getting better," another Taliban senior leader told CBS News.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh on Saturday said the campaign "rejects" the Taliban support. "The Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests by any means necessary," Murtaugh told CBS News.—dpa