Al-Qaeda Warlord Trying To Overthrow Mullah Omar, Control Taliban
KABUL (AFP) - An Al-Qaeda-linked commander directing a brutal wave of violence in Afghanistan, Siraj Haqqani, is trying to rival Mullah Mohammad Omar for the Taliban leadership, the US-led coalition said Friday.
Haqqani represents a “younger, more aggressive generation of Taliban senior leadership” and has extended his influence from his base in the east to central provinces near Kabul and into the volatile south, it said in a statement.
The coalition, leading the US “war on terror” in Afghanistan, has issued a 200,000-dollar reward for the arrest of Haqqani as part of a Most Wanted campaign, which will see posters of about 12 wanted militants put up in the east in the coming weeks.
Haqqani, son of well-known Soviet resistance commander Jalaluddin Haqqani — said to be close to Mullah Omar, is one of the most influential insurgent commanders in the east, the statement said.
“His reach now certainly exceeds that of his father and Siraj is working to rival Mullah Omar for the Taliban leadership,” said Major Chris Belcher, coalition spokesman.
“Siraj is part of a younger, more aggressive generation of Taliban senior leadership that is pushing aside the formerly respected elders,” added Lieutenant Colonel Dave Anders, coalition director of operations.
“Kidnappings, assassinations, beheading women, indiscriminate killings and suicide bombers — Siraj is the one dictating the new parameters of brutality associated with Taliban senior leadership,” he said.
The coalition said the militant’s close connections with Al-Qaeda have enabled him collect financial support from Middle Eastern countries and to recruit foreign fighters, including from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and Turkey.
The US-led force said it has been carrying out operations to disrupt the Haqqani network, including patrols to clear villages that have led to the detention of more than 30 Haqqani fighters.
The Pakistan military helped capture insurgents in the border region. A stash of weapons has also been confiscated, including five 1,000-pound bombs and two 500-pound bombs, it said.
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Kind of reminds me of that scene in the (poor) sequel ALIEN 4 …
A few of the Alien creatures are being kept together in an unbreachable containment chamber …
They decide to make a break … and all attack one of their own with their lethal jaws and teeth … Killing it and releasing its acid blood that can melt through ANYTHING … and they escape to take control of the space station they are being held on, and kill the humans …
October 20th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
I thought we killed Mullah Omar?
October 20th, 2007 at 8:36 pm