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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=waziristan
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=northwaziristan

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http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370054
Terrorism Focus
July 5, 2006

Volume 3, Issue 26 (July 5, 2006)

"Baitullah Mehsud: South Waziristan's Unofficial Amir"
By Sohail Abdul Nasir

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mehsud came into prominence when tribal leader Nek Mohammad was killed by security forces during a missile attack. Thirty-two years-old, Baitullah Mehsud was born in Landidog, a small tribal village situated on the fringes of South Waziristan. He has four brothers—Mohammad Yaqoob, Mohammad Ishaq, Yayha Khan and Zahir Shah—and is the son of the late Mohamad Haroon. Unlike local Taliban leaders in North Waziristan—who are recognized religious scholars who run their own seminaries—Mehsud and other local Taliban leaders in South Waziristan are not as well educated. Baitullah Mehsud did not finish regular schooling or religious schooling. He belongs to Broomikhel, an offshoot of sub-tribe Shabikhel, which is a part of the larger Mehsud tribe. Baitullah is married and is very tough physically and mentally. Although he is not well educated, he is famous for his political acumen and military skills. His colleagues describe him as a natural leader who has great ability to infuse vitality among his followers.

Twelve years ago, as a young madrassa student, he was greatly inspired by Taliban ideology and frequently went to Afghanistan as a volunteer to join in the Taliban's enforcement of Sharia and to offer his services. As a traditional tribal man, he is an expert at using small arms. When speaking to this author in June, a person from Mehsud's native village said that he has not, however, been credited victory in any significant gun battle or skirmish, unlike Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.

There are a number of analogies between Mullah Omar, chief of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Baitullah Mehsud. Both leaders shun the media and as a result they are not pictured in photographs. This makes it difficult for security forces and the outside world to recognize them. Omar and Mehsud vow jihad, and they are constantly on the move from one hideout to the next in order to avoid arrest. Baitullah has pledged himself to Mullah Omar, even though he signed a deal with the Pakistani army in February 2005. Baitullah was appointed as Mullah Omar’s governor of the Mehsud tribe in a special ceremony attended by five leading Taliban commanders (Rediff.com, March 10). One of them was Mullah Dadullah (Terrorism Focus, March 21). It is said that Pakistani security forces do not take military action against Baitullah because he has assured them that he will not attack the security forces (Rediff.com, March 10). The local Taliban are considered to be his own private army—although the army's actual numbers are not known, it is believed that his armed followers number in the thousands. These men are instrumental in establishing his writ in South Waziristan. Tribal society is already conservative and religious, so Baitullah does not need to do much in order to enforce Sharia."

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.317884369&par=0

TERRORISM: ISLAMIST WEBSITE EXALTS ITALIAN ARRESTS
Dubai, 5 July (AKI) - In a banner headline an Islamist website close to al-Qaeda has welcomed with jubilation the arrest on Wednesday of two officials from Italy SISMI intelligence agency - its director Marco Mancini and Gen. Gustavo Pignero - over the alleged kidnapping of former Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr on Italian soil by CIA agents and his subsequent interrogation and torture in Egypt.

"Italian press sources today announced the arrest of several Italian secret service agents accused of involvement in the abduction of an Egyptian imam in Italy," the Islammemo.cc. website said. The website is close to the Iraqi insurgency and sympathisers of Iraq's disbanded Baath party. It is used as a message-board by al-Qaeda.

Nasr, also known Abu Omar, is believed to have been abducted by CIA agents in a street in the northern Italian city of Milan on 17 February, 2003. Prosecutors allege Omar was subsequently flown, via Italian and German military bases, to Egypt, and once there, tortured.

Milan prosecutors accuse SISMI of having cooperated in Omar's kidnapping, which was allegedly part of a clandestine 'extraordinary rendition' operation - a practice Washington admits it has used to capture and deport foreign terror suspects, often to countries where they could face torture.

The prosecutors also announced they have issued warrants for the arrests of four Americans in connection with Nasr's kidnap. Wednesday's warrants are in addition to 22 issued last year for other Americans alleged to have been involved in the abduction. In April, Italy's justice minister declined to request that those suspects be extradited from the United States.

The former government of conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally of US President George W. Bush, has always denied any involvement by Italy's secret services in the kidnapping of Nasr.