West Asia Archivi - Pagina 174 di 190

Afghan tribal feuds could lead some to join Islamic State

17 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

ISIL is becoming a security concern in Afghanistan because escalating tribal feuds could trigger some tribes to seek support from the terrorist group, former Interior Minister of Afghanistan Ali Jalali stated in a panel discussion.

“Although we can’t say ISIS is in Afghanistan, but there are opportunities. … Some tribes are hoping to be supported by ISIS,” Jalali stated at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Tuesday.

US officials and Afghan leaders have turned to the country’s tribes in the past to fight the Taliban.

Jalali explained that if the internal tribal disputes persist, they could “create a new problem that is serious enough for the Taliban to write a letter to [ISIL leader] Baghdadi.”

The Afghan people who lost resources, he added, could also use the opportunity to obtain ISIL support as well as financially profit from joining it.

Ali Jalali served as Interior Minister of Afghanistan from January 2003 to September 2005. He currently is USIP’s Senior Expert on Afghanistan.

2,000 US troops still fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan

17 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

US special operation forces are continuing to engage in Afghanistan with about 2,000 operators conducting a counterterrorism mission “to disrupt al Qaeda and key facilitators” there, according to a 16 June Pentagon report.

These counterterrorism operations are “primarily in partnership with Afghan Special Security Force units”, said the report, which was delivered to the US Congress the previous day.

The Pentagon noted that legally the United States “remains in an armed conflict against al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces” despite having ended its ‘combat mission’ in Afghanistan. Still, it said US forces “no longer target individuals solely because they are members of the Taliban” and now only conduct direct action against Taliban members if they pose a direct threat to US or coalition personnel.

Central Asia is a “sitting duck” for Islamic State

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

The appearance of Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov in an Islamic State propaganda video on May 27 sent a chill across Central Asia. The head of Tajikistan’s Special Assignment Police Unit (OMON), a key element in President Emomali Rahmon’s security apparatus, had disappeared shortly before. In the video he promised to return to wage violent jihad.

A veteran of brutal Tajik government operations, Khalimov has the qualifications. And Tajikistan, a desperately poor country ruled by a venal elite, is a vulnerable target. As I drove to its capital, Dushanbe, last summer through the ancient city of Khujand and the rickety, fume-filled, Iranian-built Shariston tunnel, I saw poverty and isolation that eclipses the worst pockets of deprivation in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Khalimov has been an intimate of that elite, but at 40 years old he is relatively young and forceful, unlike the elderly, usually corrupt figures who have previously promoted themselves as Islamist guerrilla leaders in Tajikistan. His defection is a blow to Rahmon’s regime on many levels. He speaks to the parts of the elite not yet bought off and to the alienation of a substantial segment of society.

His message may be draped in Islamic fundamentalist rhetoric, but it is based on some of the potent, more worldly aspects of the Islamic State’s appeal. “Going out to work every morning, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself: Are you ready to die for this state or not,” he said directly to the underpaid, overstretched Tajik security forces. “I am ready to die for the Caliphate — are you?”

More than one million Tajik migrants work in low-paid jobs in Russia. The remittances they send back make up more than 40 percent of the country’s GDP. But the value of the remittances is plummeting as Russia veers toward economic crisis. Nearly 200,000 of the migrants went home to bleak prospects in the second half of 2014 alone.

To Tajiks still in Russia, the police commander’s message was “you have become the slaves of non-believers. Why do you humiliate yourself working for non-believers while they must work for you? Join us, brothers … there are no nationalities or states in the Islamic State and our nationality is Islam.”

The 8 million people of Tajikistan have known much violence already in their quarter-century of independence since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Rahmon, the only president the country has had, consolidated his power in a civil war against Islamists that ended in 1997.

By sidelining the relatively moderate Islamic Renaissance Party earlier this year, he further alienated the devout and gave plausibility to those who argue that with other options closed, extremism is only the politics of last resort.

The Islamic State and other foreign fighters, probably the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, are already operating on Tajikistan’s southern border, but that is not the only fault line. Gorno-Badakhshan is inhabited by ethnically distinct Pamiris, who were with the rebels in the civil war and barely accept central power today.

Badakhshan has a long, open border with Afghanistan to the south, Kyrgyzstan to the north and China to the east. The Taliban are already active on the immediate Afghan side of that border. It may only be a matter of time before the Islamic State is there too.

The Tajik-Afghan border already attracts Russian attention. Even two years ago, an official of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization of a half-dozen ex-Soviet republics told me it was uncontrollable and deadly. This year a Russian diplomat said privately that if the Tajik government requested it, Russia would return troops to it.

The apprehension does not stop there. Neighboring Uzbekistan — Central Asia’s most populated and most authoritarian state — and chaotic, coup-prone Kyrgyzstan, would be deeply troubled by serious unrest in Tajikistan.

International Crisis Group has been in Central Asia for 15 years, arguing that the West, particularly the United States, is building a dangerous debit sheet here. To gain logistical help for war in Afghanistan, it has partnered with dictators like Rahmon and Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov, accepting excesses excused as counter-terrorism, including repression of peaceful Islamic manifestations.

If other security figures follow Khalimov’s lead, the bill to pay could be steep, and there will not be credit left to pay it with.

Pakistan Army Act 2015 extended by 120 days

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

The National Assembly on Monday passed a resolution extending the Pakistan Army Act 2015 by another 120 days.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif presented the bill which was tabled in NA today.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNAs opposed the resolution and aggressively protested while standing from their seats in assembly.

Khawaja Asif responded to the protests by saying that those who are opposing the ordinance are scared that their wrong doings will be exposed.

Speaking outside the assembly, MQM MNA Iqbal Qadri said that it is obligatory that the reason for the extension in the Army Act is provided.

Russia and Central Asia must be prepared after int’l forces withdraw from Afghanistan

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

The military forces of Russia and Central Asia must be prepared for any negative situation in Afghanistan after international forces are withdrawn, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

“We see military cooperation with the Republic of Kyrgyzstan as a priority, and our cooperation is an important factor in upholding stability in the Central Asian region,” Shoigu said during a meeting with Kyrgyz Defense Minister Abibill Kudaiberdiev.

Shoigu added that Russia will continue to help Kyrgyzstan strengthen its national defense in order to be “prepared to any development in the situation [in Afghanistan], including negative developments.”

Afghanistan is suffering from the activity of the Taliban, a militant group formed in the 1990s. The insurgents seek to establish sharia law in the country, and are known to be behind numerous deadly terror attacks.

The Taliban has boosted its operations in Afghanistan after NATO ended its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission there in late 2014 and launched a consultation and training mission involving over 13,000 soldiers.

In March, US President Barack Obama said that all the remaining US military bases in the country will be closed by the end of 2016.

Philippine Muslim rebels hand over weapons in push for peace

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

The Philippines’ largest rebel group retired nearly 150 guerrillas and handed over 75 firearms for decommissioning Tuesday to encourage parliament to pass a proposed law giving minority Muslims self-rule.

President Benigno Aquino visited the headquarters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to witness the weapons handover, the first concrete action by the organisation to abandon a decades-old rebellion that has claimed more than 100,000 lives.

Aquino and senior MILF leaders both said the largely symbolic activity was intended to spur parliament to pass a delayed proposed law giving Muslims self-rule in the Catholic nation’s south under the terms of a 2014 peace treaty.

“This is one of the most difficult decisions we have made so far in more than 40 years of struggle,” chief MILF peace negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal said in a speech.

“We want to show the world that the MILF will always comply with its obligations set forth in the signed agreement,” Iqbal added.

Aquino, who ends his six-year term in a year’s time, wants the Muslim self-rule bill to be passed soon, fearing that his successor may not pursue the peace initiative.

“Let us show them that we are worthy of their trust,” Aquino said in his speech.

Parliament failed to pass the bill before it went into recess last week amid a public outcry over the killing of 44 police commandos by MILF rebels and other armed groups on the southern island of Mindanao in January.

The police officers were ambushed after they passed through MILF-influenced areas following a raid that killed Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian militant and one of the most-wanted “terrorists” sought by the United States.

Work on the Muslim self-rule bill is expected to continue when parliament resumes on July 27, but congressional leaders have said it is unlikely to be passed before October.

The 75 MILF firearms, including 24 weapons such as mortars and machine guns, were handed over to an independent decommissioning body headed by Turkey and also comprising members from Norway and Brunei.

The haul is believed by Filipino police to comprise just a tiny fraction of the arsenal of the 10,000-member MILF.

Under the peace deal, 30 percent of MILF combatants and weapons will be decommissioned once parliament passes the Muslim self-rule law.

The weapons will be stored in a secure area controlled by the decommissioning body.

Another 35 percent will follow after the law is ratified in a regional plebiscite, while the remainder will be handed over once the regional government is established and its leaders elected in May next year.

The 145 guerrillas retired on Tuesday will return to civilian life and receive assistance from the government, peace negotiators said.

Afghan Taliban seek Iran’s support against Islamic State

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

Geo-political threats have forced proponents of two opposite ideologies to seek each other’s support. While the US remains the BIG SATAN for Iran as well as Afghani Taliban, the rising presence of ISIS has forced the Taliban to look towards Tehran for support.

Sharing the same religious philosophy, Afghan Taliban are stressed over losing power to ISIS, which is gaining popularity in the region.

Sources monitoring the developing situation vis-a-vis Afghan Taliban and Iran nexus, told a media outlet on condition of anonymity that an 11-member delegation led by Mullah Akhter Mansoor recently visited Tehran to evaluate as to how Iran can provide support to Afghan Taliban in fighting US forces.

“The Afghan Taliban delegation held a series of meetings with the senior officials of the Iranian foreign office and leaders of Iranian Revolutionary Guard,” a source said, adding, “the delegation also met with representatives of the Iranian supreme political leadership.”

According to the information pouring in about these meetings, the sources said that the two sides held discussions on the emerging situation in Afghanistan. “The Afghan Taliban delegation also requested the Iranian leaders to allow them to set up political office in Tehran in order to facilitate their political and diplomatic activities with other countries as well,” a source said.

Pakistan: Police kill five ‘terrorists’ in Karachi

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

Police on Tuesday claimed to have shot dead five terrorists in alleged encounters and arrested over 40 suspects in different areas of Karachi.

According to details, two suspects were killed in an alleged encounter on Super Highway near New Sabzi Mandi area while arms and a motorbike were also recovered from their possession.

Police said three suspects were killed in an exchange of fire near Maula Madad graveyard in Quaidabad.

Gulshan Iqbal Town SP Aabid Qaim Khani said over 40 suspects were taken into custody during an operation in PIB Colony and Gulistan-e-Johr.

Taliban in a letter warn Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi not to make any decision that prompts Islamic Emirate’s reaction

16 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

Taliban in a letter warn Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi not to make any decision that prompts Islamic Emirate’s reaction

Afghan Taliban have warned the leader of the Islamic States Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi not to make any decision that prompts the reaction of the Islamic Emirate.

In a open letter published on Taliban’s website in three languages Arabic, Dari and Pashto, the militant group states that Islamic Emirate wants “Jihad” only under its name in Afghanistan.

The letter further states that the Emirate in Afghanistan under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar is approved by 1500 Afghan Ulemas who have pledged allegiance with it and there for drawing a parallel line with it is neither required by Sharia nor by logic.

The letter adds that several groups under the name of “Mujahideen” have mobilized to unpopular the name of Jihad in the past but they have been vanished pretty soon.

The letter that is signed by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, identified as the deputy of the Islamic Emirate and member of the Shura (council) of the leaders, express concern that those people might gather under the name of the Islamic State and misuse it.

The Islamic State must work for the unity of the “brothers” of Islamic Emirate and not to make decisions from far distance that causes the anger and hate of leaders of the “Mujahideen” here and prompt reaction of the Islamic Emirate.

However, reports published earlier suggested that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was seriously wounded and is not able to handle the network. Other reports published indicated that al-Baghdadi has succumbed to his injuries and the group has appointed a replacement for him.

Pakistan, senior afghan Taliban leader killed

15 Giugno 2015 By Redazione Islamedianalysis

Senior Afghan Taliban leader, Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, was shot dead in Peshawar on Monday, according to sources.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid made this disclosure in a statement he issued on the Taliban leader.

Hashmi, the Taliban shadow governor for Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, was critically injured during firing in Peshawar, and later succumbed to his injuries, according to sources.

The Taliban leader had been involved in organising movement in Nangarhar province, close to Pakistan’s border.

“We announce with great pain that a senior Jihadi figure, a senior leader and in-charge of Nangahar province Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, who was living as a refugee, has been killed by the enemies of Islam,” Zabihullah Mujahid said in his statement.

“We consider the martyrdom of Maulvi Ahmad Gul as a big loss for the Muslims and especially for the Jihadi nation,” Mujahid said.