No word, however, on his identity. From AFP, with thanks to JE:
A "VERY IMPORTANT" Taliban commander was captured in some of the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan in years that has left nearly 200 rebels dead, officials said overnight.The identity of the man caught in Kandahar province could not be released on security grounds, provincial governor Assadullah Khalid said, after reports he was Mullah Dadullah, credited as one of the masterminds of the Taliban insurgency launched nearly five years ago.
The man was badly wounded in a battle in Kandahar's Panjwayi that started on Wednesday and was fought by Taliban rebels who had come from across Afghanistan, Gov Khalid said. Around 100 were killed he said, updating a previous figure of 18.
The US-led coalition helping to fight Taliban rebels announced meanwhile that 60 "enemy" were killed in a separate battle on Wednesday in neighbouring Helmand province. Afghan officials had said about 40 were killed.
The new tolls took past 190 the number of insurgents killed in two days of clashes between security forces and Taliban rebels in some of the heaviest fighting since the regime was toppled in 2001 by a US-led invasion....
Meanwhile, a bit of heat from Karzai and a British official for our friend and ally:
President Hamid Karzai charged Thursday that those behind the almost daily bloodshed were being trained in religious schools in neighbouring Pakistan.His statement was echoed by Colonel Chris Vernon, chief of staff for British forces in southern Afghanistan, who said in a British newspaper that Taliban militants were launching attacks from inside Pakistan.
Pakistan angrily rejected the allegations overnight.
Of course they came from Pakistan. That's the most basic fact about the Taliban, their origin in the madrassas of Pakistan.
I remember when Mullah Dadullah first joined the Taliban back in 1994. He was seen as a brilliant military commander from the war against the Soviets, and his joining was considered a big boost to the Taliban ranks.
The fact that he lost a leg during action gave him more street cred as a guy who leads from the front. He was admired as one of their "strong, silent" types, and a man of few words. But the fact is that he's still a backward backwoodsman.
Now that ol' peg-leg's in custody, you can bet they'll try to free him somehow.
Beagle, I agree that the US has bizarrely failed to address the fundamental fact that the Taliban and AlQaeda nutcases are operating out of Pakistani territory, and with clandestine Pakistani backing. The US made a fundamental error in rehabilitating Musharraf and Pakistan following 9/11 by declaring them allies. It was inevitable and very predictable that Musharraf was simply adopting a strategy of "bending like the reed" and acquiescing to US demands just to buy himself time. It was inevitable and highly predictable that he would seek a way to bail out from the war on terror later on, since his country's national policies are entirely predicated on stoking up fundamentalist militancy. Islamism is the glue that holds Pakistan together. You can't expect a leopard to scratch off his spots when they're a basic part of him.
Meanwhile, the US govt is going through this charade that Pakistan is its "most allied ally" when it's the worst kind of turncoat.
the Cia let it slip that his name is j kerrimo.
"taliban mastermind"?
this assumes that a taliban HAS a mind. An invalid assumption IMO.
MI-5 let it slip that his name is m zuniga
Consider the following:
- Letting Bin Ladens to safety, right after 9/11.
- Blocking 9/11 investigation.
- Blackening pages on Saudi Arabia in 9/11 interim report.
- Amnesty to foreign criminals.
- Medal of honor to George 'Slamdunk' Tenet.
- 'Great Job'to Michael 'Katrina/Fatrina' Brown.
- Aligning with father (Saudi Arabia) and mother (Pakistan) of modern terror.
- Sensitivity training to FBI.
- Opening US borders (even while declaring a 'long' war against terror).
- Continuing Jazia to Egypt and Jordan.
- Holding hands with Saudi Prince.
- Hiring Karen Huges to 'improve US image with Muslims'.
- Hosting Iftaar dinners.
Is it just me or is Dubya a traitor?
no Alert it Is not just you