Free Republic

SNIPPET: "The US military targeted a Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan who was behind the kidnapping of a Norwegian journalist in November. The Taliban commander, who is known as Haji Mohammad Dawran Safi or Qari Dawat, was the target of a November 26 airstrike in the eastern province of Kunar. Qari Dawat "is known for attacking innocent civilians in the Kunar region, as well as international forces and bases," the US military noted in a press release on Nov. 27, one day after the strike. Qari Dawat was not named, however. An Afghan Police commander confirmed the airstrike and said...

SNIPPET: "PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Taliban militants blew up a girls' school in Pakistan's Khyber district Monday, officials said, as two soldiers and seven insurgents were killed in clashes in the northwest tribal belt. The pre-dawn school attack took place in Saddokhel town in northwest Khyber tribal district, where militants detonated explosives planted around the building, destroying all five school rooms but causing no injuries. "They are Taliban. They are the same people who do not want children to get an education," senior administration official Rahim Gul Khattak told AFP. Islamist militants opposed to co-education have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly...

The Rt Rev Stephen Venner called for a more sympathetic approach to the Islamic fundamentalists that recognises their humanity. The Church of England’s Bishop to the Forces warned that it will be harder to reach a peaceful solution to the war if the Afghan insurgents are portrayed too negatively. His comments came as the Prime Minister visited Afghanistan and warned that the Taliban was fighting a "guerilla war" aimed at causing "maximum damage". Gordon Brown said soldiers were discovering improvised explosive devices every two hours. Mr Brown stayed overnight in the Allied base in the southern city of Kandahar, the...

SNIPPET: "Well, the English-language Voice of Jihad site seems to be down at this address – I’ll share the new one once I find it. In my hunt, though, I ran across this version of the Voice of Jihad page, in Arabic (GoogleEnglish translation here, PDF at non-terrorist site here) with only a slight difference in the address (alemrah.info, instead of alemarah.info – note the extra “a” in the second version, which brings you to the Arabic news site). The fundraising site URL seems to be registered with a company in Westchester, California (WHOIS results – PDF of results here)....

December 10, 2009, 0:00 a.m. Through Our Enemies’ EyesEnough about you; what did Mullah Omar think of Obama’s West Point speech? By Clifford D. May We’ve heard a lot in recent days about how conservatives and liberals are responding to President Obama’s plans for Afghanistan. But what does the enemy think? Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Afghan Taliban leader, clearly would have been happier had Obama taken Michael Moore’s advice and begun to withdraw, rather than increase troop levels in Afghanistan. Just before the president took the stage at West Point, Mullah Omar issued a message calling upon his fighters...

War On Terror: The anti-war crowd says the small number of enemy fighters inside Afghanistan doesn't justify sending 30,000 fresh troops there. They fail to understand the larger problem. Sen. Barbara Boxer complains al-Qaida is scarcely in Afghanistan. She cites an intelligence report leaked to ABC News that only 100 fighters are actually present inside the country, along with several thousand Taliban fighters. "I do not support adding more troops," the California Democrat argued, "because there are now 200,000 American, NATO and Afghan forces fighting roughly 20,000 Taliban and less than 100 al-Qaida." In other words, why are we even...

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militants armed with rocket-propelled and hand grenades and a car bomb attacked an office of Pakistan's main security agency in the city of Multan on Tuesday killing nine people, officials said. The bomb attack in the eastern city was the third in Pakistan in two days and underscored the relentless security troubles facing the U.S. ally whose help is vital in efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan. The violence coincides with rising political tension with the Supreme Court hearing challenges to an amnesty order that could heap pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari.

SNIPPET: "Al-Qaida's network in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) has released the audio-recorded wills of two mujahideen operatives who were recently "martyred" in clashes with local security forces -- including former Guantanamo Bay detainee #114 Yusuf Muhammad Mubarak al-Jebairy al-Shehri. The younger brother of a senior Al-Qaida member, al-Shehri first left his home in Saudi Arabia in mid-2001 in order to wage jihad alongside the Taliban because he "thought that participating in jihad with the Taliban was the right thing to do... the Taliban were good Muslims.” In the midst of fleeing the crumbling Taliban frontline in late 2001, Yusuf al-Shehri...

Two Taliban ‘commanders’ among 20 killed SNIPPET: "MINGORA/KOHAT: Two Taliban ‘commanders’ were among 20 militants killed in clashes and air strikes in Swat and Orakzai Agency on Thursday. In Swat, 13 insurgents were killed in clashes with security forces on Thursday. According to Swat media centre, security personnel came under fire when they raided a Taliban hideout in Sigram area of Koza Bandai. During an exchange of fire, 10 militants and one soldier were killed. Detained militant commander Mohammad Naseem alias Abu Faraj was with the troops and he was also killed in the clash. Abu Faraj, a close aide...

SNIPPET: "The Taliban have struck again in the heart of Pakistan's military garrison city of Rawalpindi. A Taliban suicide assault team estimated at between three to five men entered a mosque in the city and opened fire on the worshippers and detonated their vests, killing 40 and wounding 83 more. The attack killed two senior generals and wounded another. Two of the members of the suicide assault team have been killed. The assault team was not interested in taking hostages or negotiations, according to the Pakistani military. "They exploded bombs inside the mosque," Major General Athar Abbas, the top military...

SNIPPET: "I finally got around to reading this. Link to the article is here. It is in Arabic. The article starts off talking about the missing 82nd airborne soldiers earlier this month. This piece basically reiterates what Abu Walid al Masri wrote about in his July 2009 book wherein he outlined this strategy and suggested the Taliban adopt it. Key difference being this new piece is an article in an official Taliban publication. The July 2009 book was Abu Walid’s own work, not part of a Taliban sanctioned media publication that has processes of review and approval before things get...

"Pakistani Christian on Run from Taliban Death Threat Islamic extremist sermonizing leads to altercation at barbershop in South Waziristan." SNIPPET: "LAHORE, Pakistan, November 27 (CDN) — A young Christian man is in hiding in Pakistan from Taliban militants who seek to kill him for “blasphemy” because he defended his faith. In February Jehanzaib Asher, 22, was working in a barbershop his family jointly owns with his cousin in Wana, South Waziristan – a Taliban stronghold in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan’s northwest – when the Islamic militants showed up to try to convert him to Islam." SNIPPET: "He...

The United States has started engaging the Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, highly-placed sources told Dawn on Monday. He said that four “major neutral players” were engaged with the Afghan Taliban on behalf of the Saudi leadership and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) of Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani leadership and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).The GID and ISI have been doing the job on behalf of the US government and CIA. The source said that one of the main objectives of the recent visit to Pakistan by CIA chief Leon Panetta was to assess progress in...

SNIPPET: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings. The U.S.-born al-Awlaki has been an inspiration to several militants arrested in the United States and Canada in recent years, with his Web-based sermons often turning up on their computers."

THE INTERNET IS NOT A VIRTUAL SAFE HAVEN... ...but Malaysia is. Witness, for example, the current set of Taliban sites operating in Malaysia:

AN official Taliban publication warns Australia that it will have to assimilate into a dominant Asia or face the prospect of being overpowered and forced to take population overspill from Asia. The choice is spelled out in the latest issue of the online Taliban monthly magazine, Al Sumud (Steadfastness), whose lead article offers a sweeping view of a post-war order in which a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan becomes a moral pivot for a pan-Asian renaissance that will coincide with the decline of Western power. "The end of European leadership in the world will place the white settler diaspora in Australia before two...

SNIPPET: "A certain Jihad forum was passing around links to some super kool videos posted on this page O death which is cunningly called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Obviously with a name like that one could easily stay under the radar. So that led me on a trip through Mr Emirate's friends. One of his good buddies, Taliban Mujahideen..."

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.

SNIPPET: "PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Islamist militants blew up a girls school in Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal district Sunday, destroying the building and wounding four people in neighbouring homes, officials said. Two explosions ripped through the 18-room government high school for girls at Kari Gar village and a boy who watched the premises is missing..." SNIPPET: "Islamist militants, who have carved out a strong presence in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the northwest of the country in recent years. Nearly 200 schools were destroyed in the Swat valley alone...

<p>An explosion rocked the compound of a four-star hotel just off a main boulevard in Pakistan's garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday and there were reports of casualties, police said. "According to initial reports the blast took place in the compound of the hotel. Our teams are there, they are updating us on the details," police officer Mohammed Akhlaq told AFP by telephone.</p>

Note: The following text is a quote: Combined Force Detains Suspected Militants American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2009 – Afghan and international security forces detained several suspected militants in Afghanistan’s Paktia and Helmland provinces today and yesterday, military officials reported. A combined force detained a group of suspected militants in Paktia province today after searching buildings known to be used by a Haqqani network leader responsible for the financing and supply of terrorist camps in the Khowst-Gardez Pass area. The security force targeted the buildings near Kandaw Kalay village after intelligence indicated militant activity. The joint force detained...

Quote: October 27, 2009 MAYBE MULLAH OMAR IS SIMPLY AFRAID OF THE CHINESE Vahid Brown has the lowdown on the dustup between al-Qaida Core and the Afghan Taliban Posted on 27 October 2009 @ 13:11 GMT

At least five people have been killed and 35 wounded by a large blast in a market in Peshawar, Pakistani, local media say. Huge plumes of black smoke were seen drifting over the city. Pakistan has seen an increase in such attacks in recent weeks as the military carries out an operation against Taliban militants in South Waziristan. The blast comes as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton begins a visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Pakistani television showed footage of burning shops in Peshawar, in the northwest of the country, and ambulances rushing to the scene

Title only. Breaking.

"Taliban use kids in combat roles NATO troops wary of firing on children" BY MATTHEW FISHER, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE OCTOBER 26, 2009 SNIPPET: "A 12-year-old boy caught in the act Friday as he put a homemade bomb under a road in the volatile Zhari District grabbed a baby as a human shield to protect himself from attack from the United States helicopter that spotted him." SNIPPPET: "Among them were three blasts in Kandahar in the past few weeks in which as many as 12 Afghan children were blown up as they were being taught how to make or place improvised...

"Transcript: Message from the "Emir" of the "German Taliban Mujahideen" Abu Ishaq al-Muhajir" By Evan Kohlmann SNIPPET: "The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new document from the designated terrorist organization known as the “Islamic Jihad Union” (IJU), offering a message from the “German Taliban Mujahideen.”" T

Washington -- SNIPPET: "Rev. Zaheer Khan, pastor of Maghoo Memorial Church, Rev. Aamir Azeem, pastor of United Christians Church and Rev. Zafar Akhter, pastor of United Presbyterian Church each received a copy of threatening letter. The Islamists sent the letters to the following Christian institutions: St Peter's Middle School, Sargodha Institute of Technology, Sargodha Catholic High School, St John's Primary School and Fatima Hospital. Besides the Christian institutions, the letter was also sent to the main Immam-Bar-Gha (Shiite Muslim's gathering hall). Shiites are a minority Muslim group in Pakistan where the majority of the population is Sunni Muslim. ICC's Jonathan...

LAHORE, Pakistan — Teams of gunmen launched a deadly near-simultaneous attack on three law enforcement facilities in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, a major escalation in an audacious wave of terror strikes as this U.S.-allied, nuclear-armed country prepares for an offensive in a Taliban and Al Qaeda stronghold. At least seven people died in a gunfight with police at a federal building, 10 others were killed at a police academy, and a police constable was killed in an attack on a commando facility, officials said as the city plunged into chaos. In the Taliban-riddled northwest, meanwhile, a homicide...

When ten French soldiers were killed last year in an ambush by Afghan insurgents in what had seemed a relatively peaceful area, the French public were horrified. Their revulsion increased with the news that many of the dead soldiers had been mutilated — and with the publication of photographs showing the militants triumphantly sporting their victims’ flak jackets and weapons. The French had been in charge of the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, for only a month, taking over from the Italians; it was one of the biggest single losses of life by Nato forces in Afghanistan. What the grieving...

October 13, 2009 Dear Mom, I'm in Texas Love, The Taliban The official websites of the Taliban are back in Texas. http://alemarah.info http://shahamat1.org http://alsomod.info

Pakistan's nuclear weapon bases have been attacked by al-Qaeda and the Taliban at least three times in the last two years, it has emerged. The allegations, by a leading British expert on Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, increased fears that terrorists could acquire a nuclear device or could trigger a nuclear disaster by bombing an atomic facility. In a paper for the respected anti-terrorism journal of America's West Point Military Academy, Professor Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at Bradford University, detailed three attacks since November 2007 and raised the spectre of more incidents in the future. He said...

Gunmen Open Fire Near Pakistan’s Army HQ ‘Intense’ gunbattle leaves top officers trapped inside, official says BREAKING NEWS NBC News and news services ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Gunmen have opened fire near the army's headquarters outside the capital of Islamabad, a Pakistani military official said Saturday. NBC News reported that the assault sparked a shootout and that "intense" fighting was ongoing. A senior army officer said troops were returning fire and top officers were trapped inside. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Obama administration is considering outbidding the Taliban to persuade Afghan villagers to lay down arms as it struggles to find a new approach to a war that is fast losing public and congressional support. Despite five war councils in two weeks, President Barack Obama has so far failed to come up with a strategy for the conflict that may define his presidency. Fierce infighting continues between his own generals and advisers. Obama has been handed three options by General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan. These range from 20,000 to 60,000 more troops, which would almost...

4,000 Foreigners Join Taliban, Minister Says 'The enemy has changed,' he says in plea for more international troops KABUL - Thousands of foreign fighters have poured into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban insurgency, the country's defense minister said Saturday as he called for more international troops. The remarks come as the U.S. debates whether to substantially increase its forces in Afghanistan or to conduct a more limited campaign focused on targeting al-Qaida figures — most of whom are believed to be in neighboring Pakistan. The minister's comments hit on a key worry of the United States — that not sending...

McChrystal tells Renee Montagne that the average Taliban fighter is not ideologically driven and is paid for his work. He says Karzai is looking for an opportunity to give these fighters and even lower-level commanders a seat at the table. "I would absolutely be comfortable with fighters and lower-level commanders making the decision to reintegrate into the Afghan political process under the Afghan constitution," McChrystal says.

My Op-ed in The Australian By Leah Farrall, Australia I have an op-ed piece out in today’s edition of The Australian called “Detentions come back to bite” It’s about Guantanamo blowback now having very real strategic consequences: the formation of a new strategy to kidnap civilians in Afghanistan in order to secure the release of prisoners taken by America. Sally Neighbour has a front page piece derived from my op-ed here “Afghan foreigner kidnap order by al Qaeda leader Mustafa Hamid”. I haven’t seen the broadsheet yet, so I’m not sure if the photos I provided of Hamid are on...

President Obama is prepared to accept some Taleban involvement in Afghanistan’s political future and is unlikely to favour a large influx of new US troops being demanded by his ground commander, a senior official said tonight. Mr Obama appears to have been swayed in recent days by arguments from some advisers, led by Vice-President Joe Biden, that the Taleban do not pose a direct threat to the US and that there should be greater focus on tackling al-Qaeda inside Pakistan.

Pakistan's powerful military rejected U.S. attempts to link billions of dollars in foreign aid to increased monitoring of its anti-terror efforts, complicating American attempts to strike al-Qaida and Taliban fighters on the Afghan border. Although the U.S.-backed government of President Asif Ali Zardari has the final say on whether to accept the money, the unusual public criticism threatens to force its hand and undermine military cooperation with the Americans just as the Pakistani army prepares for what could be its most important offensive against extremists since the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign began exactly eight years ago. Any breakdown in intelligence sharing...

SNIPPET: "The US military now claims that more than 100 enemy fighters were killed during the Oct. 3 assault on two joint Afghan and US outposts in Nuristan province." SNIPPET: "The US military has also backtracked from its initial statement that the assault was carried out by a "Nuristani tribal militia" and that "the sources of the conflict in the area involve complex tribal, religious and economic dynamics." "Additionally, ISAF now believes that while the attack was conducted by local anti-Afghan forces, ... local Taliban and elements of Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin may have helped facilitate the attack," the US military...

Eight American soldiers and two Afghans have been killed in an attack on two outposts in remote eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Sunday. A tribal militia launched the attack from a mosque and a nearby village in Nuristan, one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan, the U.S. military said in a statement. The Americans and Afghans repelled the attack and "inflicted heavy enemy casualties," the statement said. In the U.S. statement, Col. Randy George described it as "a complex attack in a difficult area." The Taliban claimed responsibility.

The Taliban have a new target: beer and bratwurst. In perhaps their most bizarre threat to date, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have threatened to bomb the Oktoberfest festival in Munich, Germany, which attracts millions of visitors ever year, along with several landmark buildings and government officials. The threats, while perhaps farfetched, follow a series of warnings from the Taliban and Al Qaeda and underscores a concerted effort by the insurgents to weaken Germany’s resolve for the fight in Afghanistan. Germany has responded by banning all air flights over Munich for the rest of the 16-day festival, which ends Oct. 4....

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A huge explosion rocked Pakistan's main northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday, police and residents said. "It was a very big explosion. I could see smoke rising from the scene," Asad Ali, a resident, said by telephone from Peshawar. Police said they were investigating. A Taliban suicide bomber earlier crashed his explosives-laden truck into a police station in Bannu, also in northwestern Pakistan, killing six people and wounding 30, police said.

WHIT3Y PRESENTS... Taliban Suicide Bomber Academy SNIPPET: "How much you want to bet that "Umar Studio" is really LEE Media?"

SNIPPET: "According to a report prepared by Pakistani police (the Crime Investigation Department), the AHF has funded approximately USD 15 million to Jihadi groups in Pakistan for carrying out terror attacks. These funds mostly went to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which is responsible for numerous suicide strikes in the last couple of years and also blamed for the assassination of Benezir Bhutto." SNIPPET: "Till 2004, the United States had designated at least thirteen AHF branch offices operating in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, in many African countries and in the United States. But in 2008, the US Treasury Department has designated...

Note: The following blog entry is a quote: TALIBAN PROPAGANDA WATCH: Their Stats for the Month The Taliban Info Machine has published an English-language version of its latest summary of their stats, shared via a pro-terrorist web page here (PDF of chart available at non-terrorist page here). Also, another attempt at video-izing the stats is available at YouTube here. Same concept as last month – theunjustmedia.com intro & extro, followed by black screen, white text and Stephen-Hawking-esque audio reading the headings and numbers – with a couple of differences. 1) This month’s was WAY shorter (~2 minutes), as opposed to...

SNIPPET - Quote: Pak raids unravel Taliban-drugs link ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities arrested 13 Islamist militants in separate raids that police said on Monday foiled major terrorist attacks and provided clues to how drug sales help fund the Taliban.

Officials say an explosion has killed Afghanistan's deputy chief of intelligence. Sayed Ahmad Safi, the spokesman for the governor of Laghman province, says Dr. Abdullah Laghmani died in the blast. Laghmani is the No. 2 at Afghanistan's intelligence service, known as the National Directorate for Security. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, tells The Associated Press that a suicide bomber had targeted Laghmani. The blast occurred during the inauguration of a new mosque in the city of Mehterlam in Laghman — 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Kabul.

Special Dispatch - No. 2505 August 25, 2009 Pakistan Taliban Commander: We Have 'Thousands of Suicide Bombers' Who Can 'Target Washington, Paris, London, and Kabul' On August 25, 2009, a Pakistani Urdu-language newspaper reported that Waliur Rehman, the commander of the Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal district of South Waziristan Agency, had said that his group has "thousands of suicide bombers" who can "target Washington, Paris, London, and Kabul."

Human rights group Amnesty International has argued that Sweden is taking part in torture after the country handed over its first prisoner in Afghanistan to local authorities, according to a report by Sveriges Radio news programme Ekot. "There is an absolute ban on torture and thus also a ban on handing over prisoners to countries in which there is a risk of torture," Lisa Bergh, Amnesty Sweden's Secretary-General, told Ekot. "It is patently clear that prisoners risk torture if they are handed over to the authorities in Afghanistan," Bergh explained. The prisoner was captured by Swedish forces in July after...

The new leader of the Paistani Taliban threatened to strike back at the US for killing Baitullah Mehsud in a Predator attack earlier last month. "We will take revenge and soon," Hakeemullah Mehsud, who was chosen to lead the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan last weekend, told AFP. "We will give our reply to this drone attack to America." The Taliban claimed Baitullah died on Aug. 23 of wounds suffered during the Aug. 5 airstrike that also killed his second wife and seven of his bodyguards. Hakeemullah and Baitullah were cousins; Baitullah helped Hakeemullah quickly rise through the ranks...