"Islamic extremists have started openly calling for the destruction of a controversial Muslim sect in a major escalation of sectarian conflict within British Islam, an investigation by The Independent has revealed.
Members of the Ahmadiyya Community have seen a significant upsurge in threats and intimidation over the past four months, sparked by an extremist attack on two of their largest mosques in Pakistan earlier this year.
Hardline Islamists in Britain have been distributing leaflets calling for the murder of AhmadiMuslims in Kingston-upon-Thames whilst mosques have been vandalised in Newham and Crawley. Preachers in south London have also been orchestrating a boycott of Ahmadi businesses and Ofcom has had to reprimand an Islamic satellite channel for repeatedly calling the sect 'Wajib-ul Qatal' - an Arabic phrase used to describe those who digress from mainstream Islam that translates as 'liable for death'. (A reprimand? The TV channel should have been immediately shut down for inciting to murder...).
Community leaders say the upsurge in animosity towards Ahmadis is directly linked to violence in Pakistan where local Taliban militants have declared war on sects that they deem to be heretical such as the Ahmadis and the Shi'a.
Although the Ahmadis have been targeted by extremists in the past, the combined attacks on two mosques in Lahore in May was the most brazen assault on their community yet, with 93 worshippers killed as they gathered for Friday prayers, including a number of Britons."
The Religion of Peace, whose followers aren't at peace even between them...
"The International Security Assistance Force confirmed Fedayi, a Taliban military senior leader who conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces as well as intimidation campaigns on Afghan civilians and government officials, was killed in a precision air strike in Baghlan province Tuesday.
Fedayi had worked with the Taliban shadow governor for Burkah district and was the Taliban leader in Baghlan-e Jadid District before being forced by coalition forces to relocate.
Based on intelligence sources, coalition forces tracked a group of insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades to a remote area in Burkah District. After verifying insurgent activity and careful planning to avoid civilian casualties, coalition forces conducted a precision air strike."
The importance of stopping terrorism funding is again seen: it's not only that there are people who actually get paid for their "terrorist services", but that there are people who are actually profiting of the terrorism's activities. Not only politically, as normally people will consider their "influence" so their actual behaviour will change, but also financially, thanks to the economic movements that are caused by terrorist activities (i.e. assurance firms after an attack normally have to pay large sums of money, so their shares will have lower value or business made under threat of terrorist activity will be different than those made in a normal situation). So with all of you the Taliban's say that a) they are ready to attack UK and b) that they will do it with the money sent by their "Muslim brothers", from Metro.co.uk:
"In an interview due to be broadcast on Thursday, an Afghan commander of the terror group said recruits here were awaiting orders to carry out a strike on British soil.
He also said Britain is the Taliban’s biggest source of funding.
In an interview with Sky News at a secret location, the terror leader said: ‘We send a message to all foreign nations that we will attack them at any time. It could be in the next two weeks or it could be today, tomorrow or the day after.
‘We will attack Britain as well. We have trustworthy people who will listen to us and are waiting for our orders.’
The current threat level from international terrorism in Britain is ‘severe’, meaning a terrorist attack is ‘highly likely’, according to the Home Office. The Taliban commander said the group received most of its funds from Britain, from individual donations in mosques and community centres.
He said the money goes through Pakistan and is allocated to Taliban groups hiding in mountains along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.
He added: ‘We get donations from our Muslim brothers in Britain for Jihad. This is how we get our money and buy our weapons and carry on fighting.’"
A roadside bomb killed six Taliban militants, including a prominent local commander, in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, an attack that could have been motivated by tensions between different insurgent groups.
The bomb was detonated by remote control as Hakim Khan and five lower ranking militants were driving through the town of Marindy in the Kurram tribal region, said Jamil Khan, a local administrator. The commander who was killed was suspected of attacking Pakistani troops and kidnapping people for ransom, he said.
It was unclear who carried out the attack, but rivalries between different groups of fighters in northwestern Pakistan sometimes escalate into violence.
The slain commander was from Kurram but had close ties to the Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of militants that is based in nearby North and South Waziristan and has declared war on the Pakistani state, Khan said.
A senior Afghan Taliban official has warned of an attack against the Netherlands if its new government implements the agenda of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, the Volkskrant daily reported Monday.
"If the Netherlands maintains or intensifies its anti-Islam policy, it is certain that the Netherlands will be the target of an attack by a jihadist group," Zabiullah Mujahed, a long-time Taliban spokesman, is quoted as having told the newspaper.
"If he (Wilders) succeeds in manipulating the Dutch parliament to pass more anti-Islamic legislation ... there is no doubt that Muslims from other countries will take action to help their Muslim brothers and sisters," Mujahed said.
He added that the Taliban was "very careful in its relations with the Netherlands" because "it was the first country that decided to stop the occupation of our country"
Iran says it is investigating Afghan troops who shot at Iranian forces after crossing over the border.
Iran's ISNA news agency says Iranian border guards encountered the Afghan troops traveling by car, armed with rifles and a grenade launcher.
Border police commander Hossein Zolfaghari said the six officers and one soldier were detained, and told officials they were looking for Taliban militants and crossed into Iran by accident.
Repeat with me: they were looking for Taliban militants and crosed into Iran by accident. Oh, really? Where were the militants going, which direction were they taking that get them so near Iranian border?
They were detained after a shoot-out near a village in central Pakistan, said Abdi Qadri, a senior police officer, and revealed their plans under interrogation.
The men, suspected members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a banned Sunni militant group linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda, told police officers they were devising a plot to attack the home of Yousuf Raza Gilan, the prime minister, in Multan.
"We have averted several high-profile attacks by arresting these terrorists," said Mr Qadri.
The men opened fire when police tried to stop their car for a routine check.
Two passengers managed to escape on foot.
Mr Qadri added that some of the suspects were believed to have taken part in last year's attack on the main Pakistani spy agency in the central city of Multan that killed 12 people.
They also had plans to attack a key dam, a bridge and military installations as well as Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the foreign minister.
The timing of this "plot" is really interesting, as it appears when there are some reasonable doubts about Pakistani involvement with the Talibans (here, here and here).
"The image of Aisha, 19, without a nose, prompted a worldwide outpouring of sympathy after it appeared on the cover of Time Magazine accompanying an article highlighting the plight of women in Afghanistan.
She appeared before the cameras to receive an Enduring Heart award at a benefit for the Grossman Burn Foundation, which paid for her surgery, in Los Angeles.
Maria Shriver, wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's and California's first lady, presented the award.
"This is the first Enduring Heart award given to a woman whose heart endures and who shows us all what it means to have love and to be the enduring heart," Miss Shriver said.
Aisha, whose surname has never been disclosed, responded: "Thank you so much."
When Aisha was 12, her father vowed to repay a debt by promising her in marriage to a Taliban fighter. She was handed over to the fighter's family, abused and made to sleep in a stable with animals.
She was caught after trying to escape and her nose and ears were sliced off by her husband as a punishment.
"When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out," she told CNN. "In the middle of the night it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all the blood."
After being left for dead in the mountains, she crawled to her grandfather's house and was taken to an American medical facility."
Top US defence officials have expressed concerns that some elements of Pakistan's spy agency may be involved in improper interactions with the Taliban and other insurgent groups, Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan has disclosed.
Talking to reporters at the Pentagon, Lapan revealed that US officials were concerned about some elements of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) having interactions with insurgents that "may be seen as supporting terrorist groups rather than going after them."
When asked whether the ISI was supporting terrorists, he said, "I don't want to go that far, and that's why I said interaction ... Elements of the ISI might be interacting with terrorist organizations in ways that aren't consistent with what the government and the military are doing."
The spokesman added that the Pakistani Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, himself a former spy chief, was aware of the US' concerns over the ISI agency and shared some of them.
"The ISI has done a great deal in fighting terrorism ... but we also have some concerns with ... the strategic focus of the ISI," he said.
Lapan's comments followed a newspaper report this week that quoted some US officials and Afghan militants as disclosing that some ISI members were pressing the Taliban to field commanders to fight against the US and its allies in Afghanistan.
Taliban officials have engaged in periodic, discreet contacts with Afghan and U.S. officials for months but are unwilling to move to formal peace negotiations until the U.S. agrees to a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, according to a Pakistani intelligence official and members of a newly formed Afghan peace council.
The White House said Wednesday that President Barack Obama supports attempts by the Afghan government to open peace talks with Taliban leaders, but still wants the insurgents to renounce violence and their support of al-Qaida.
However, press secretary Robert Gibbs said the United States was not taking part in any such talks. "This is about Afghanistan," he said. "It has to be done by the Afghans."
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that secret talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan have begun between representatives of the Taliban and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The Post quoted Afghan and Arab sources as saying they believe for the first time that Taliban representatives are fully authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban command council based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
So, it's not clear that the talks with Taliban are going to be succesful but what it's really clear is that, speaking with them the war loses absolutely all its basis. If Western countries are prepared to engage in talks with the same people who are plotting since before the NATO operation against Western targets and without any real change for normal Afghans, the question is why now? Oh, sorry, the Obamamessiah doesn't see this war in terms of winning or losing. Well, there are a lot of good soldiers who have lost their lives there. So, you see, it's always something we should measure in terms of winning or losing, because if no goals are met and yet people have been killed in action, why were they killed?
By the way, it's not that Pakistan is not collaborating with the US, it's that it's actively supporting the Talibans. No one can understand that if a journalist has filmed those guys, Pakistani army hasn't found them.
Anyway, there are people who support this move and others who don't. This is a very interesting video, sent to me by Jennifer, a reader.
A senior Pakistani security source told BBC's Newsnight programme that Abdul Jabbar was a British citizen who has a British wife and was living in Punjab, Pakistan.
According to the source, Jabbar was living in Punjab, and was chosen as the leader of a new group, to be called The Islamic Army of Great Britain.
The decision was apparently made during a meeting in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan three months ago, attended by 300 militants and monitored by intelligence agencies.
The source said the new group was set up to organise synchronised terrorist attacks in the UK, France and Germany. It was this intelligence that led to the missile strike by a US unmanned aerial drone on September 8 which killed Jabbar and three others.
Contact between the Taliban and the government in Afghanistan is intensifying, a senior Afghan official has told the BBC.
Waheed Omar, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said there was a willingness within some levels of the Taliban to find a way of seeking peace.
But he said the contact did not amount to negotiations to end the conflict.
The Taliban, which has always insisted foreign troops must leave the country, denied such talks were taking place.
Mr Omar said contact had intensified since a "peace jirga" in June, where Afghan tribal leaders endorsed Mr Karzai's plans to offer an amnesty and employment incentives to militants to persuade them to give up arms.
He said there had been "signs and signals" and attempts by the Taliban to contact the Afghan government, sometimes through intermediaries.
A U.S. missile killed five German militants taking shelter in a house in northwest Pakistan on Monday, intelligence officials said.
The attack hit a house in North Waziristan. That region has been named as the source of a European terror plot that has prompted American authorities to issue a travel advisory. One or more German citizens are reported to be linked to the plot.
The missile strike took place in the town of Mir Ali, a known hub for foreign militants with links to al-Qaida.
Two officers said the five victims were believed to be German citizens in the region for terrorist training.
The Taliban made £65million last year from Afghanistan’s opium trade despite the presence of thousands of British troops, a damning UN report has found.
In a startling indication that the war on poppy growing is having little effect, insurgents are still reaping the benefits despite the loss of life and huge amounts of money being thrown at the problem.
The report for the United Nations ominously warns that the illegal trade will grow even more.
Helmand province, where 9,500 British soldiers are battling the Taliban, produced 53 per cent of the country’s opium, the raw ingredient to make heroin.
The insurgents receive about $100million (£65million) a year from Afghanistan’s illegal opium trade. the report said.
Top Taliban leaders have made overtures to reconcile with the Afghan government, the top commander in Afghanistan said Monday.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has long said that he will talk to insurgents if they renounce violence, sever ties to terrorists and embrace the Afghan constitution.
Publicly, the Taliban have said they won't negotiate until foreign troops leave Afghanistan, yet there are many indications that backdoor discussions have occurred.
Who are ready to reconcile with Afghan Govt? The ones planning Mumbai-style attacks on Europe? Or the ones stoning women? Or those warning Bangladesh against sending more troops to help ISAF? Or those sexually abusing and hanging 65-year-old man and his wife for "working for foreign invaders" (the man has worked for NGO Afghan Relief)? Or those...???
A German citizen of Afghan descent was the source of much of the information on a potential "Mumbai-style" terror plot in Europe, a German counterterrorism official said Wednesday.
The man, Ahmed Sidiqi, was detained in Kabul in July and transferred to U.S. custody where he has "revealed details about the terror plot," said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
"The Taliban has warned Bangladesh against sending its troops to Afghanistan after the US asked Dhaka to send its forces to the war-ravaged country.
The Taliban Monday told Bangladesh to refuse the US request to send combat troops to Afghanistan, a media report said.
The US monitoring service SITE intelligence group published a report Monday with the headline 'Afghan Taliban reacts to US requesting troops from Bangladesh', said Star Online, website of The Daily Star newspaper.
US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke last week made the plea to send troops to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni at a meeting in New York."
The main religion practiced in Bangladesh is Islam (89.7%), but a significant minority adheres to Hinduism (9.2%).[77] The majority of Muslims are Sunni. There is a small Shia and an even smaller Ahmadiyya community. Ethnic Biharis are predominantly Shia Muslims. Sufi influences in the region go back many centuries.[78] Other religious groups include Buddhists (0.7%, mostly Theravada), Christians (0.3%, mostly of the Roman Catholic denomination), and Animists (0.1%). Bangladesh has the fourth largest Muslim population after Indonesia, Pakistan, and India, with over 130 million.
Taliban militants hanged an Afghan man and his wife in Logar Province on Sunday. The militants accused them of “working for foreign invaders”. The man, Said Reza Gazanfar, 65, had worked for a foreign non-governmental organization called “Coordination of Afghan Relief”.
According to the deputy head of security forces in the province, Mohammad Djan, both were sexually abused before the execution.
The Guardian is extremely critical ... with ISAF for having arrested them. Why? Because these "apparently objective and impartial" cameramen were, supposedly, filming and saying what the Taliban "suggested" them to ... Al-Jazeera, on the other hand, calls that "comprehensive coverage".
PS: Afghanisation. How about checking your writing, Mr. Greenslade?
A Taliban commander responsible for improvised explosive device emplacements, illegal checkpoints and attacks on Combat Outpost Terezayi was captured Friday by coalition forces, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Tuesday.
Noor Wali Shah, head of the Ethics Department for Terezayi district, was detained after coalition forces, conducting a routine patrol in the Terezayi district of Khost province, recognized him as a person of interest and verified his identity.
Shah, who is connected to a September 1 attack on Combat Outpost Terezayi, was known as a cell leader in the Terezayi district.
