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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Qaeda plans to trap US in Afghanistan beyond 2011
* Arrested terrorists say Osama has told terrorist groups, TTP to accelerate recruitment, training
* Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Indian Ocean will be major Qaeda battlefields
Special Correspondent
LAHORE: Al Qaeda has devised a plan to trap US forces in Afghanistan even beyond 2011 through a well-organised guerrilla war, highly informed sources from official and unofficial quarters revealed. In this connection, al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden has told Pakistani terrorist groups and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to accelerate recruitment and training process, sources said.
The plan was unearthed after the October 2009 attack on the armys General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, when investigators managed to arrest a few operatives of the most-feared terrorist group the Ilyas Kashmiri Group, who confirmed that some of the terrorist groups are closely working with al Qaeda.
Pakistans official sources disclosed, Kashmiris operatives revealed that Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami chief Qari Saifullah Akhtar met Osama in August 2009 near the Pak-Afghan border (on the Afghan side) and sought support for the GHQ attack. The sources said Bin Laden simply rejected the idea. Ilyas Kashmiri is the head of Brigade 313, a wing of Akhtars group.
The sources continued, Osama told Akhtar that he and other terrorist groups should serve the greater cause jihad against America and provide them warriors. They claim that Osama discussed his plan with Akhtar and mentioned that he does not want US forces to go back so easily. He wants to carry out guerrilla attacks on the US forces wherever they have bases in the region.
Battlefields: The sources said Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and the Indian Ocean would be the major battlefields for al Qaeda operatives. In this regard, the group is looking for more manpower from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Burma and some African countries, the sources added. There are reports that al Qaeda has already established its network and training camps in Somalia.
Pakistans top brass has shared this information with their American counterparts. Thats the reason the US has stepped up negotiations with the Taliban to weaken al Qaeda-Taliban ties, the sources said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik could not be reached despite repeated attempts.
Historical evidence about Osamas mindset also supports Daily Times story. In the beginning of 1988, when the former USSR had announced to withdraw from Afghanistan, jihadi leaders held a grand meeting in Peshawar where Osama and Aiman Al-Zawahiri had proposed they should not let the USSR withdraw easily and should keep attacking them during the withdrawal process. However, Dr Abdullah Azzam, chair of the meeting, had opposed the idea and majority of Arab and Afghan commanders supported him. Dr Azzam was later killed in a bomb blast, a couple of months before the Red Armys withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Vigorous war: About the plan and al Qaedas capability, Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies director and a specialist on terrorist groups Amir Rana says if Pakistani and Somali terrorist groups support al Qaeda, it would be able to wage a vigorous guerrilla war on the US forces.
Meanwhile, influences of Akhtar and Kashmiri over various terrorist groups cannot be ignored. Although the Harktul Jihad-e-Islamis Pakistan chapter has been dismantled, it is successfully running its movements in Burma, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and Tajikistan, and may recruit people for al Qaeda from there.
Qaeda plans to trap US in Afghanistan beyond 2011
* Arrested terrorists say Osama has told terrorist groups, TTP to accelerate recruitment, training
* Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Indian Ocean will be major Qaeda battlefields
Special Correspondent
LAHORE: Al Qaeda has devised a plan to trap US forces in Afghanistan even beyond 2011 through a well-organised guerrilla war, highly informed sources from official and unofficial quarters revealed. In this connection, al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden has told Pakistani terrorist groups and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to accelerate recruitment and training process, sources said.
The plan was unearthed after the October 2009 attack on the armys General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, when investigators managed to arrest a few operatives of the most-feared terrorist group the Ilyas Kashmiri Group, who confirmed that some of the terrorist groups are closely working with al Qaeda.
Pakistans official sources disclosed, Kashmiris operatives revealed that Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami chief Qari Saifullah Akhtar met Osama in August 2009 near the Pak-Afghan border (on the Afghan side) and sought support for the GHQ attack. The sources said Bin Laden simply rejected the idea. Ilyas Kashmiri is the head of Brigade 313, a wing of Akhtars group.
The sources continued, Osama told Akhtar that he and other terrorist groups should serve the greater cause jihad against America and provide them warriors. They claim that Osama discussed his plan with Akhtar and mentioned that he does not want US forces to go back so easily. He wants to carry out guerrilla attacks on the US forces wherever they have bases in the region.
Battlefields: The sources said Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and the Indian Ocean would be the major battlefields for al Qaeda operatives. In this regard, the group is looking for more manpower from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Burma and some African countries, the sources added. There are reports that al Qaeda has already established its network and training camps in Somalia.
Pakistans top brass has shared this information with their American counterparts. Thats the reason the US has stepped up negotiations with the Taliban to weaken al Qaeda-Taliban ties, the sources said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik could not be reached despite repeated attempts.
Historical evidence about Osamas mindset also supports Daily Times story. In the beginning of 1988, when the former USSR had announced to withdraw from Afghanistan, jihadi leaders held a grand meeting in Peshawar where Osama and Aiman Al-Zawahiri had proposed they should not let the USSR withdraw easily and should keep attacking them during the withdrawal process. However, Dr Abdullah Azzam, chair of the meeting, had opposed the idea and majority of Arab and Afghan commanders supported him. Dr Azzam was later killed in a bomb blast, a couple of months before the Red Armys withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Vigorous war: About the plan and al Qaedas capability, Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies director and a specialist on terrorist groups Amir Rana says if Pakistani and Somali terrorist groups support al Qaeda, it would be able to wage a vigorous guerrilla war on the US forces.
Meanwhile, influences of Akhtar and Kashmiri over various terrorist groups cannot be ignored. Although the Harktul Jihad-e-Islamis Pakistan chapter has been dismantled, it is successfully running its movements in Burma, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and Tajikistan, and may recruit people for al Qaeda from there.
