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Militants Driven From Pakistan Flock to Afghan Towns - WSJ
Militants Driven From Pakistan Flock to Afghan Towns
Migration to Lawless Regions Pose New Threat to National Security
Margherita Stancati and
Habib Khan Totakhil
Updated Jan. 28, 2015 9:07 p.m. ET
KABUL—Arab and Central Asian Islamist militants have moved into Afghanistan after a military offensive by Islamabad largely eliminated havens in Pakistan’s tribal areas, Afghan officials and local residents say, posing a potential new threat to the country’s already tenuous security.
At least 400 families affiliated with militant groups—including members of al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan—crossed into Afghanistan in December and now live in the homes of locals in lawless parts of the country, Afghan officials say.
Afghan officials say these fighters aren’t engaging in combat, but their arrival comes as a robust Taliban insurgency confronts the government in Kabul. Islamic State, which occupies swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, has also sought a foothold here.
Haji Abdul Azizi, a tribal elder from Helmand’s district of Sangin, said he hosted a family of Arabic speakers for a night last week who said they were loyal to Islamic State.
“They were six men, seven women and two children,” he said. “They were speaking Arabic and two of them also understood Pashto. They came in two [four-wheel drive] cars.”
The women of the group were armed and took turns keeping watch on each other during the night, Mr. Azizi said. The new arrivals in Sangin were trying to enforce an austere brand of Islam that clashed with local traditions, he added.
“They are against shrines,” Mr. Azizi said. “They are removing flags from the shrines and preventing people from going there.”
ENLARGE
Afghan traditional blacksmiths use tools to shape metal at their workshop in the old city of Ghazni on Monday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Afghan officials said foreign militants traveling with families have settled in provinces including Ghazni in the east, Zabul in the south and Farah in the west. The largest known settlements are in Zabul’s districts of Day Chupan and Khak-e Afghan, areas that are largely under Taliban control. Officials and residents say some 150 families, which include Arabic speakers and people of Central Asian appearance, are currently living there.
“They are al Qaeda, and some of them are armed,” said Ghullam Jilani Farahi, a top security official in Zabul.
A tribal elder from Day Chupan said the militants and their families are living in houses that were previously empty, and that they were receiving protection and support from local Taliban commanders.
“These people have come in large numbers with their children and wives,” said the tribal elder. “Since these areas are fully under Taliban control they enjoy complete freedom and walk around freely.”
The arrival of these groups is a spillover effect of a Pakistani military offensive aimed at clearing the tribal areas of North Waziristan of militants, current and former Afghan officials say.
While that operation started in June, the bulk of foreign militants arrived in Afghanistan in December in the immediate aftermath of the deadly Pakistani Taliban attack on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The massacre, which claimed the lives of 150 people, most of them children, prompted Islamabad to vow to redouble efforts to combat terrorism.
“The majority of them were in North Waziristan because the area was a safe zone for them,” said Mansur Khan Mahsud, an analyst with the Islamabad-based FATA research center. “But when the operation started, they started to leave and they came to Afghanistan.”
A senior Afghan security official said the central government is monitoring the presence of these groups, while a spokesman for international forces in Kabul said that while they had no firsthand knowledge of foreign militants’ activities in Zabul or Ghazni, “we are committed to assisting the Afghan government in preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists.”
The Afghan parliament on Wednesday approved the appointments of heads of the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and interior, and confirmed the appointment of the country’s spy chief, lifting an important obstacle to President Ashraf Ghani ’s ambitious plans to overhaul his country’s government.
Local officials say the foreign militants who arrived in the Afghan province of Farah are now branding themselves as Islamic State and setting up a training camp there.
“They haven’t fought against Taliban or government yet, but they are actively busy with training,” said Gul Ahmad Azimi, a senator from Farah. “After the Peshawar attack, the Pakistani government put pressure on them, and they were forced to refuge not only in Farah but also elsewhere in the country.”
As many as 300 people, including women and children, are based out of an old fort in the district of Khak-e Safid that now flies the Islamic State banner, said Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, the district’s governor.
“They started appearing over a month ago—they announced they are Daesh,” Mr. Noorzai said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. “They are very wealthy. For instance, if they come to the bazaar, they’ll pay 20,000 afghanis ($350) for a sheep that costs 10,000 afghanis.”
In an audio recording released this week, Islamic State formally announced that it is now operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The the group confirmed the appointment of Hafez Sayed Khan Orakzai as its governor for the region and of Mullah Raouf Khadim, a former Afghan Taliban commander, as his deputy.
While adherents to Islamic State are increasingly visible in Afghanistan, there is only limited evidence of their operational activity. The U.S. military maintains a limited presence in Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition officials say they have limited visibility into militant activity in the country’s hinterlands after the withdrawal of combat troops.
—Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi, Pakistan, Ehsanullah Amiri in Kabul and Ghousuddin Frotan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, contributed to this article.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com
Militants Driven From Pakistan Flock to Afghan Towns
Migration to Lawless Regions Pose New Threat to National Security
Margherita Stancati and
Habib Khan Totakhil
Updated Jan. 28, 2015 9:07 p.m. ET
KABUL—Arab and Central Asian Islamist militants have moved into Afghanistan after a military offensive by Islamabad largely eliminated havens in Pakistan’s tribal areas, Afghan officials and local residents say, posing a potential new threat to the country’s already tenuous security.
At least 400 families affiliated with militant groups—including members of al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan—crossed into Afghanistan in December and now live in the homes of locals in lawless parts of the country, Afghan officials say.
Afghan officials say these fighters aren’t engaging in combat, but their arrival comes as a robust Taliban insurgency confronts the government in Kabul. Islamic State, which occupies swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, has also sought a foothold here.
Haji Abdul Azizi, a tribal elder from Helmand’s district of Sangin, said he hosted a family of Arabic speakers for a night last week who said they were loyal to Islamic State.
“They were six men, seven women and two children,” he said. “They were speaking Arabic and two of them also understood Pashto. They came in two [four-wheel drive] cars.”
The women of the group were armed and took turns keeping watch on each other during the night, Mr. Azizi said. The new arrivals in Sangin were trying to enforce an austere brand of Islam that clashed with local traditions, he added.
“They are against shrines,” Mr. Azizi said. “They are removing flags from the shrines and preventing people from going there.”
ENLARGE
Afghan traditional blacksmiths use tools to shape metal at their workshop in the old city of Ghazni on Monday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Afghan officials said foreign militants traveling with families have settled in provinces including Ghazni in the east, Zabul in the south and Farah in the west. The largest known settlements are in Zabul’s districts of Day Chupan and Khak-e Afghan, areas that are largely under Taliban control. Officials and residents say some 150 families, which include Arabic speakers and people of Central Asian appearance, are currently living there.
“They are al Qaeda, and some of them are armed,” said Ghullam Jilani Farahi, a top security official in Zabul.
A tribal elder from Day Chupan said the militants and their families are living in houses that were previously empty, and that they were receiving protection and support from local Taliban commanders.
“These people have come in large numbers with their children and wives,” said the tribal elder. “Since these areas are fully under Taliban control they enjoy complete freedom and walk around freely.”
The arrival of these groups is a spillover effect of a Pakistani military offensive aimed at clearing the tribal areas of North Waziristan of militants, current and former Afghan officials say.
While that operation started in June, the bulk of foreign militants arrived in Afghanistan in December in the immediate aftermath of the deadly Pakistani Taliban attack on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The massacre, which claimed the lives of 150 people, most of them children, prompted Islamabad to vow to redouble efforts to combat terrorism.
“The majority of them were in North Waziristan because the area was a safe zone for them,” said Mansur Khan Mahsud, an analyst with the Islamabad-based FATA research center. “But when the operation started, they started to leave and they came to Afghanistan.”
A senior Afghan security official said the central government is monitoring the presence of these groups, while a spokesman for international forces in Kabul said that while they had no firsthand knowledge of foreign militants’ activities in Zabul or Ghazni, “we are committed to assisting the Afghan government in preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists.”
The Afghan parliament on Wednesday approved the appointments of heads of the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and interior, and confirmed the appointment of the country’s spy chief, lifting an important obstacle to President Ashraf Ghani ’s ambitious plans to overhaul his country’s government.
Local officials say the foreign militants who arrived in the Afghan province of Farah are now branding themselves as Islamic State and setting up a training camp there.
“They haven’t fought against Taliban or government yet, but they are actively busy with training,” said Gul Ahmad Azimi, a senator from Farah. “After the Peshawar attack, the Pakistani government put pressure on them, and they were forced to refuge not only in Farah but also elsewhere in the country.”
As many as 300 people, including women and children, are based out of an old fort in the district of Khak-e Safid that now flies the Islamic State banner, said Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, the district’s governor.
“They started appearing over a month ago—they announced they are Daesh,” Mr. Noorzai said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. “They are very wealthy. For instance, if they come to the bazaar, they’ll pay 20,000 afghanis ($350) for a sheep that costs 10,000 afghanis.”
In an audio recording released this week, Islamic State formally announced that it is now operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The the group confirmed the appointment of Hafez Sayed Khan Orakzai as its governor for the region and of Mullah Raouf Khadim, a former Afghan Taliban commander, as his deputy.
While adherents to Islamic State are increasingly visible in Afghanistan, there is only limited evidence of their operational activity. The U.S. military maintains a limited presence in Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition officials say they have limited visibility into militant activity in the country’s hinterlands after the withdrawal of combat troops.
—Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi, Pakistan, Ehsanullah Amiri in Kabul and Ghousuddin Frotan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, contributed to this article.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com
US rocks Pakistan Afghanistan shocks
