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[ 10 January 2006 ]
Former Taliban Leader Calls For Jihad, Promises Stronger Attacks In Afghanistan
In a message commemorating the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca dated 9 January and read by neo-Taliban spokesman Mohammad Yusof, Mullah Mohammad Omar called on Muslims to continue their jihad against the United States, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press reported. "Given that the greatest enemy of Islam, the U.S., has taken hostage all the material and spiritual wealth of the Islamic world today, armed jihad has become the duty of every Muslim," Omar's message stated. Labeling Muslim leaders allied with the United States "traitors," Omar urged Muslim countries to react to them or face "victory for the foes of Islam." According to the ousted leader of the Taliban regime, the United States has been forced by the resistance in Iraq to "search for an escape route" and the same fate "very soon" will become reality for the United States in Afghanistan. Omar also promised a stepping up of attacks by neo-Taliban militia in 2006 with "stronger" tactics. Afghan President Hamid Karzai on 8 January invited Omar to peace talks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 January 2006), which another neo-Taliban spokesman identified as Dr. Hanif rejected on 9 January in a telephone conversation with Pajhwak Afghan News. AT
Suspected Neo-Taliban Set Ablaze Three Schools In Southern Afghanistan
Two schools were torched in Kandahar Province and one school was burned in neighboring Helmand Province on 8 January, Xinhua News Agency reported on 9 January. No casualties have been reported in the incidents. Around 12 armed men set fire to classrooms and books in Zeray primary school in Kandahar, provincial deputy director Hayatullah Rafiqi told AFP on 9 January. Rafiqi blamed the "enemies of Afghanistan, enemies of progress and education" in the country -- a term often used by Afghan government officials when describing the neo-Taliban. Qabial primary school was burned in Kandahar city by unidentified assailants who locked three janitors inside the building. Locals saved the janitors from the flames. Unidentified "miscreants" set fire to school books and furniture in a school in the Maligir area of Greshk district in Helmand Province, district police chief Amanullah told Pajhwak Afghan News on 9 January. In late December, the neo-Taliban distributed leaflets in Helmand warning residents not to send their children to school. AT
Two Commanders Of Armed Opposition Party Surrender In Eastern Afghanistan
Qazi Joma Khan and Mawlawi Nur Ahmad, members of the Hizb-e Islami party led by fugitive former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, have accepted the government's reconciliation offer, official Radio Afghanistan reported on 9 January. The two commanders, operating in Nuristan Province, switched to the government side following mediation efforts by local tribal leaders. They have brought along with them "dozens" of their men, the report added. AT
Islamabad Protests To Washington Over Fire From Afghan Side Of Border
Pakistan has lodged a protest with the U.S.-led military coalition operating in neighboring Afghanistan over cross-border gunfire in which eight Pakistani villagers were killed, AFP reported on 9 January. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told reporters in Islamabad on 9 January that the incident, which took place in the village of Saidagi in the semi-autonomous North Waziristan tribal region, is under investigation. "The American troops did not enter our territory but we did receive fire from across [the] border," causing the eight deaths, Aslam told reporters. Islamabad has lodged what Aslam described as a "strong protest" to the coalition forces in Afghanistan. "We have protested to coalition forces because they are responsible for security on the other side, but who actually initiated it, we are investigating that and they are also investigating," she added. According to Aslam, the United States has denied firing into Pakistan from Afghanistan. AT
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