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April 17, 2006
Pakistan: Islamists Behead Two "US Spies" In Waziristan
We described earlier the conflicts taking place in in Northwest Frontier Province on the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda and Taliban militants have been escalating in their influence in the region. In South Waziristan, local clergy declared a state of Sharia law in the region in early March, after threats from militants. On March 26, the first man was killed on the orders of a sharia court based in Wana, main town of South Waziristan.
North Waziristan has been home to many Al Qaeda, Taliban and other "foreign" Islamists for some years. A military contigent of 70,000 Pakistani troops have been stationed there for three years, to combat these insurgents.
On Thursday December 1 last year, an explosion caused the death of individuals in a house in the village of Haisori near Miran Shah, main town of North Waziristan. It was later revealed that one of those killed was Al Qaeda's third in command, Egyptian-born Abu Hamza Rabia.
On January 13, a US airstrike on the village of Damadola, six miles from the Afghan border, attempted to kill Al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was due to attend a meeting. The loss of life caused riots in Pakistan, but on January 19, it was revealed that Al Qaeda's chemical and explosives expert, Egyptian born Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar, also known as Abu Khabab, was among the dead. Midhat Mursi had trained Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui at a terror camp in Derunta, Afghanistan, stated Jack Cloonan, a former FBI agent. He had a bounty of $5 million on his head.
Last week, on Wednesday April 12, another senior Al Qaeda operative was killed in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border. 45-year old Mohsin Musa Matawalli Atwah was killed in an attack mounted by Pakistani security services, using helicopter gunships, near the village of Naghar Kalai.
Like Midhat Mursi, Atwah had a $5 million bounty on his head under the US "rewards for justice" scheme. Atwah had been wanted for the twin attacks upon the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, which killed 12 US citizens and 200 Africans on Friday August 7, 1998. It is believed that before coming to the Waziristan borderlands, Atwah had been hiding in Somalia, protected by warlords.
Today, news from Zeenews, Ireland's Breaking News, and Pakistan's Daily Times reports that two local Pashtun tribesmen have been found in North Waziristan, with their heads removed.
On Sunday, the body of a headless man was found in a market area of Madakhel village, accompanied by a note in the local Pashto language which read: "He was American spy and all of you will face this if you follow him." Villagers identified the man from his clothing as a local 45-year old.
On Saturday, the decapitated body of another man was found in another village in North Waziristan. An official did not give the man's name, but claimed that he was an Islamic cleric, who had been abducted with his pickup truck. The truck is still missing.
Since the start of this year, more than 120 pro-government tribal elders have been killed by Islamist (Taliban and Al-Qaeda) militants, according to Interior Minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao. Since the end of last year, many ordinary villagers, described as "bandits" have been killed, and their gruesome "executions" are filmed and appear on DVDs and videos sold in local shops and markets, where they are popular.
In separate news, Associated Press via CNN reports today that in the northwestern city of Peshawar, three Islamist militants were arrested. These appear to be "foreigners", two Afghans and an Arab.
The men were among four individuals traveling in a car which went though a roadblock at high speed on the edge of Peshawar city, and when police fired at the vehicle, the occupants fired back. The tires were shot out, and the vehicle was brought to a halt. One man escaped, and the three were apprehended. An AK-47 assault rifle and grenades were discovered in the vehicle.
Two of the men had been siting in the car, dressed in burkas, the traditional Muslim woman's clothing from the region, which envelopes the whole body.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 17, 2006 4:32 PM
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