Free Republic

The Obama administration finally highlights Iran’s key role in supporting al Qaeda On July 28, the Treasury Department designated six al Qaeda operatives involved in shipping money and men from the Persian Gulf to senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The move targets a node of the global terror network that is critical to its overall strength, freezing any of its financial assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting any transactions with the operatives. Of the many conduits for al Qaeda funds and personnel across the world, the U.S. government believes this one is the most important. “This network...

Five soldiers have been shot dead by a "rogue" Afghan policeman in an attack at a police checkpoint. Three Grenadier Guards and two Royal Military Police were attacked as they rested inside a compound. The soldiers, who had removed their body armour and helmets, were shot by an Afghan national policeman who then fled. It is not known whether he was a member of the Taliban or being coerced by the insurgents.

Afghanistan: A warlord Hekmatyar claimed the ambush against the French KABUL - The Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed responsibility for the ambush in which ten French soldiers were killed near Kabul on August 18 and acknowledged the death of ten of its own fighters in this battle, in a video received Monday by a private news agency Afghan. The attack had previously been claimed by the Taliban, which form a separate group Hezb-e-Islami (Islamic party, HIG) to Hekmatyar. On 18 August, a French patrol fell into an ambush mounted by 140 to 170 well-armed insurgents in the valley Uzbeen...

Former Michigan congressman Siljander indicted by Gazette Staff and News Service Reports Wednesday January 16, 2008, 4:41 PM Gazette fileFormer U.S. Rep. Mark Deli Siljander A former Kalamazoo-area congressman was indicted Wednesday for his part in an alleged terrorist fundraising ring that is accused of sending more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan. Mark Siljander, a former Three Rivers resident who represented southwestern Michigan from 1981-87, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He allegedly lied about lobbying senators...

Excerpt - KARACHI, Pakistan - Fugitive Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told The Associated Press his forces have ended cooperation with the Taliban and suggested that he was open to talks with embattled President Hamid Karzai. In a video response to questions submitted by AP, Hekmatyar also recounted how U.S. forces nearly caught him on two occasions but he got away. Hekmatyar, speaking in front of a plain white wall at an undisclosed location, indicated that his group contacted Taliban leaders some time in 2003 and agreed to wage a joint jihad, or holy war, against American troops. "The jihad...

AL-QAEDA leader Osama bin Laden, reported last week to have died, is alive and hiding in Afghanistan, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview published in The Times today. "It's not a hunch,'' Musharraf said. Afghanistan's eastern "Kunar province borders on Bajaur Agency. We know there are some pockets of al-Qaida in Bajaur Agency. We have set a good intelligence organisation. We have moved some army elements. We did strike them twice there. We located and killed a number of them there.'' Pakistan's military ruler also suggested links between bin Laden and Afghan warlord and former Afghan prime minister...

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Reported Captured The commander of Hezb-i-Islami and al-Qaeda ally detained during a raid in eastern Afghanistan On the day of the fifth anniversary of the 9-11 attack, Coalition forces score a high value target in Afghanistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the commander of Hezb-i-Islami and ally of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, has been captured during a joint U.S. and Afghan Army raid in “eastern Afghanistan.” Hekmatyar, contrary to his rhetoric gave up to the Coalition forces without a fight. Hekmatyar's arrest is said to be part of an 'ongoing operation.' Hekmatyar has been designated by the U.S. Department of State...

Canadian Soldiers Help to Capture Terrorism Suspect By PAUL KORING UPDATED AT 10:15 AM EDT Wednesday, Apr. 14, 2004 KABUL -- A high-ranking terrorism suspect has been captured in a late-night raid by a heavily armed joint Afghan-Canadian team, North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials said yesterday in Kabul. "The arrested person was a suspected senior member of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin" and "posed an imminent threat to NATO," said Commander Chris Henderson, a spokesman for the 6,000-strong NATO force deployed in and around Kabul. He would not name the suspect. More than 100 heavily armed Canadian soldiers in armoured vehicles supported Afghan...