Taliban Amassing Guerrilla Fighters in Afghanistan
Submitted by Templar Titan on Thu, 06/17/2004 - 18:33.
Intelligence officials in Afghanistan report that over the past several
months, the Taliban has been reemerging as a guerrilla insurgency with an estimated 500 to 800 fighters commanded by a notorious aide to Mullah Mohammad Omar. Officials believe that Mullah Dadullah, a former military commander in the Taliban regime from 1996-2001, has been appointed to head the group's Afghan operations (AFP). Dadullah, who lost a leg during the 1979-1989 Afghan resistance against Soviet forces, has close ties to Mullah Omar and was appointed by a 10-member rebel council in mid-March (Reuters). Dadullah has been blamed for ordering a series of attacks on coalition forces throughout the country in recent weeks. According to Kandahar intelligence chief Abdullah Laghmanai, the style of attacks suggest the group is conducting a guerrilla-style campaign under Dadullah's command, using the rugged mountainous region of Deh Chopan as a hideout (AFP). |
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Laghmanai is confident that they are incapable of fighting troops in large battles, but can launch small-scale random attacks. Dadullah's notoriety stems from, among other things, accusations by members of the minority ethnic Hazara community that he ordered the massacre of dozens of Shia Muslim Hazaras during the Taliban's rule (Reuters). In an interview with BBC earlier this year, Dadullah took credit for ordering a series of attacks on coalition forces and said the Taliban would fight until all "foreign crusaders" were expelled from Afghanistan. ANALYSIS: Dadullah's appointment, succeeding Hafiz Abdul Rahim, who was killed in a coalition raid in southern Afghanistan last year, suggests that the Taliban is trying to maintain an organizational structure under the leadership of Mullah Omar. Thus, while attacks appear random, they are likely being planned and coordinated by senior Taliban leaders who remain in hiding. The estimates of troop strength, though small, are larger than those previously reported by officials and may grow if the movement finds support in the heartland (AFP). It remains unclear from where the group is getting its financial support and whether it has based its operations in neighboring Pakistan, as the U.S. Ambassador in Kabul had previously warned (AP). An alleged spokesman for the Taliban told reporters on 9 June that the group had no plans to conduct operations inside Pakistan, and that all attacks, including possibly suicide bombings, would be directed at U.S. forces in Afghanistan (APP). Source: Intellibridge |
