Top Taliban leader quits the Pakistan Taliban

[High_Gravity]

Top Taliban leader quits the Pakistan Taliban

Karachi, Pakistan
The defection of a top Taliban militant commander in the troubled Kurrum tribal belt bordering Afghanistan is the first major sign of a split within the Pakistani Taliban. The split could benefit both Pakistan and the US, say analysts.

The notorious militant commander, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, announced his decision to quit the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) along with hundreds of militants and form his own group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami.

“I repeatedly told the leadership of the TTP that they should stop suicide attacks against mosques, markets, and other civilian targets,” the commander, who is in his late 30s, told reporters in Kurrum Agency on Monday.



“The TTP is doing in Pakistan what Americans are doing in Afghanistan, killing innocent civilians,” said the commander, adding that he would continue his fight against the Americans.



The TTP, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claims responsibility for most of the recent deadly suicide attacks across the country. The fracture within this terrorist outfit may be welcome news to Pakistan’s military, which has failed to break its backbone despite increasing US pressure and military offensives along the Afghan border.



“It is a good message for Pakistan and America both,” says Peshawar-based analyst Brig. (Ret.) Mehmood Shah. “This is the first dissenting voice from within and that, too, is coming from a powerful commander. It will definitely fracture the TTP, isolate it, and there might be more cracks to be seen in the near future.”



“It’s like clipping the wings of the TTP, especially in the important tribal area of Kurrum,” he suggests.



Location, location, location

Kurrum carries tremendous significance for Pakistan and the US as it is the shortest route to Kabul from anywhere in Pakistan (here's a map of Kurrum). It borders Khost in the south, Paktia in the southwest, and Nagarhar in the north – all provinces considered to be strongholds of the Afghan Taliban.



The Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani terror network, under the pressure of American drones in North Waziristan, have been eyeing Kurrum to get access to Afghanistan in order to join the Afghan Taliban in their fight against the US-led forces.


Top Taliban leader quits the Pakistan Taliban - CSMonitor.com

 

[waltky]

Taliban Commander Stoned To Death By Afghan Villagers...

Taliban commander stoned to death by angry villagers in Afghanistan
Aug 23, 2011 Washington In a rare case of reversal of brutality, enraged villagers stoned to death a senior Taliban Commander and his bodyguard after they had shot dead a 60-year-old man, accusing him of being a government agent in southern Afghanistan.

The stoning episode happened Sunday evening in Helmand province when two Taliban men roared up on a motorcycle to a Mosque in the village of Trekh Zaber, where Yaar Mohammad and his two sons were waiting to celebrate Iftar, after breaking fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The militants ordered Mohammad to come to them and shot him point blank, killing him instantly, the New York Times reported quoting Haji Hayatullah, a district council member.

As their father fell to the bullets, his two sons pounced on the motorcycle-borne terrorists, pulling them down. Other villagers joined the youths in stoning the men to death. The two killers were later identified as a top Taliban commander of the region and his bodyguard.

Officials said that Mohammad had received threats from Taliban, but apart from being friends with former provincial governor, had no official role in the government. The case, local officials said was a rare case of brutality aimed at Taliban with the local provincial governor saying that it was part of signs "that people won't tolerate Taliban's barbaric actions anymore."

Source

 

[High_Gravity]

Taliban Commander Stoned To Death By Afghan Villagers...

Taliban commander stoned to death by angry villagers in Afghanistan
Aug 23, 2011 Washington In a rare case of reversal of brutality, enraged villagers stoned to death a senior Taliban Commander and his bodyguard after they had shot dead a 60-year-old man, accusing him of being a government agent in southern Afghanistan.

The stoning episode happened Sunday evening in Helmand province when two Taliban men roared up on a motorcycle to a Mosque in the village of Trekh Zaber, where Yaar Mohammad and his two sons were waiting to celebrate Iftar, after breaking fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The militants ordered Mohammad to come to them and shot him point blank, killing him instantly, the New York Times reported quoting Haji Hayatullah, a district council member.

As their father fell to the bullets, his two sons pounced on the motorcycle-borne terrorists, pulling them down. Other villagers joined the youths in stoning the men to death. The two killers were later identified as a top Taliban commander of the region and his bodyguard.

Officials said that Mohammad had received threats from Taliban, but apart from being friends with former provincial governor, had no official role in the government. The case, local officials said was a rare case of brutality aimed at Taliban with the local provincial governor saying that it was part of signs "that people won't tolerate Taliban's barbaric actions anymore."

Source

Good, I hope this spreads throughout the country, fuck the Taliban.