26 October, 2006

Neo-Taliban:

Drawing on a report in the the Los Angeles Times, the Asian Tribune has a story that, what it labels, a "neo-Taliban" movement is emerging as Islamic extremists from around the world are travelling to Pakistan and from there crossing over the mountain passes into Afghanistan to aid the local Taliban in their fight against the ISAF.

The foreign terrorists gather initially at staging bases in Quetta (Balochistan), Miramshah (Waziristan), and Peshawar (North West Frontier Province). From the map, it can be seen that essentially those three areas cover the whole of the Pakistan-Afghan border. It seems that NATO' worst nightmare is on the verge of coming true.

Of course the Pakistanis are denying the existence of Taliban training camps on their turf.


Click to enlarge in new window.

According to the LA Times, the Taliban camps are also being used to launch attacks on Europe. Some arrivals,

were told to launch attacks in Europe, said a senior Italian anti-terrorism official. He described the confessions of Milan-based Tunisian and Moroccan suspects who got to Syria, but then were sent back: "They said the representative of Zarqawi's group really grilled them: 'Do you have military experience? Here's an AK-47; do you know how to use it? Have you ever fired a mortar? If not, we don't want you.' "

Instead, they were directed to bomb a basilica in Bologna because it displays a painting of the prophet Muhammad as depicted in Dante's Inferno, investigators say. Moroccan and Italian police broke up the alleged plot and arrested the group this spring.


Meanwhile, Afghanistan's historical allure for Islamic militants, the lawlessness of the Pakistani border region and the aggressiveness of the Taliban make for an ominous combination, anti-terrorism officials said...

...Besides fighting in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda and its allies could once again use training venues and combat zones in the Afghan-Pakistani borderlands to groom terrorists for attacks in the West, Caprioli said. The suicide bombers who struck the London transport system last year and other British suspects in foiled terrorist plots traveled to Pakistan for training, expertise and direction, anti-terrorism officials say.

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