November 14, 2004

Kidnappings Dog Kabul 3 Years After Taliban Defeat
Sat Nov 13, 6:51 AM ET By David Brunnstrom
KABUL (Reuters) - Three U.N. workers remained hostages of a Taliban faction despite hopes they would be freed by the Muslim festival of Eid which began on Saturday, the third anniversary of the Taliban's flight from the Afghan capital.

The kidnappers, who have threatened to kill the hostages from Northern Ireland, Kosovo and the Philippines, complained that the government had yet to free 26 Taliban prisoners as part of a deal they said it made to secure their release.

Mullah Sabir Momin, a commander of the Jaish-e Muslimeen (Army of Muslims) splinter group, blamed the United States.

"We were hoping that our demands would be met before Eid and the hostages freed, but Armitage spoiled the talks," he said, referring U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Armitage said on a visit to Kabul on Wednesday negotiating with hostage takers would only lead to more kidnappings.

Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland, Shqipe Hebibi from Kosovo and Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan were abducted in Kabul on Oct. 28 after helping to organize presidential elections won by U.S.-backed incumbent Hamid Karzai.

Momin said Jaish would give until Tuesday for its demands, which include an end to U.N. work in Afghanistan, to be met. On Friday he said the Jaish council, which had authorized the killing of the hostages, would then decide what to do.

In the meantime, better food and accommodation provided for the hostages when it appeared a deal was in the offing had been withdrawn and the three had been moved to mountains, he said. He did not elaborate.

Last Monday, at least two of the hostages were allowed to phone home and said they were being well treated, but Momin said no more calls would be allowed.

The government says it is working to free the hostages but has declined to give details and Karzai declined to comment while offering Eid prayers at his presidential palace. On Thursday, the United Nations called for their release before Eid.

ANNIVERSARY
Saturday was the third anniversary of the fall of Kabul in a U.S.-led offensive launched after the Taliban refused to give up Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. No celebration was held in Kabul.

The mainstream Taliban, who have fought a bloody guerrilla war against U.S.-led forces since being forced from power, say they were not involved in the kidnap, but commended the action.

On Friday, elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar issued an Eid message accusing the United States of trying to impose a puppet administration and vowed to retake power.

Like bin Laden, Mullah Omar has remained at large despite a three-year hunt by thousands of U.S. and allied troops. U.S. officials say they believe both are hiding somewhere along the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Militant attacks have severely disrupted aid and reconstruction work in much of southern Afghanistan.

But the kidnapping, which occurred in daylight in the relatively secure capital, sent a shock wave through the foreign aid community, raising fears that militants had begun copying tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.

Many Afghans have been angered by the abductions and 20 women have offered to take the place of the hostages, saying they did not want to live in a frightened country.

Kabul resident Ahmad Nabi said the kidnappers should respect the Eid message of forgiveness and understanding.

"They were here to help our country and their kidnapping is unacceptable," he said. "Because of this holy day we ask the kidnappers to release them."

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Four die in clash among Afghan security forces; troops kill Taliban suspect
Saturday November 13, 6:47 PM AP
Two Afghan militia soldiers and two police officers died when a dispute between the two groups spiraled out of control, an official said Saturday.

They were the latest victims of feuding factions within Afghanistan's official security forces _ a problem that highlights the weak control of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai's central government.

Meanwhile, troops from Afghanistan's new U.S.-trained national army reportedly killed a suspected Taliban militant and arrested 19 others in the country's far west.

The militiamen and police opened fire on each other late Friday outside the mayor's office in Naw Zad district of Helmand province, said Mohammed Wali, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

At least three soldiers were also wounded in the clash, Wali said.

"It all started on a minor dispute, but now the situation is well under control," Wali said. He didn't say what caused the fray.

Also on Friday, troops from Afghanistan's new U.S.-trained national army encountered a band of gunmen in Farah province's Anar Dara district, the Defense Ministry said.

"One Taliban was killed, one was injured and arrested and 18 others also detained," ministry spokesman Zaher Mohammed Azimi said.

The troops seized 22 weapons, including rockets and machine guns, Azimi said.

Political violence across Afghanistan this year has reportedly left more than 1,000 people dead, many of them in the insurgency-plagued south and east.

The tally also includes the victims of fighting within the country's security forces.

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One dead, five injured as Pakistan forces targeted in blast
Saturday November 13, 4:11 PM AFP
A boy was killed and five people were injured, including four security personnel, when a military convoy was targeted in a bomb attack in Pakistan's wild tribal region, an official said.

It was not clear whether the boy was killed by the blast, which went off in a market in the South Waziristan town of Wana as the three-vehicle convoy passed Saturday, or in the shooting that broke out afterwards.

"Four security personnel travelling in a vehicle were injured when it hit some explosives," the security official said.

"After the blast security forces started firing in all directions. A boy was killed on the spot, while a man was injured."

The blast comes after about 7,000 Pakistani troops launched a fresh operation against Al-Qaeda linked fighters in South Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal area which borders Afghanistan, on Friday.

Officials estimate hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives poured into the Pakistani tribal region from Afghanistan in late 2001 when a US-led invasion toppled the hardline Taliban regime.

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Pakistan claims as many as 40 militants killed near Afghanistan
WANA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's army has demolished several terrorist hideouts and killed 30 to 40 militants but failed to capture a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner accused of targeting security forces in a tense tribal region, officials said Saturday.
The troops took control of some militant strongholds and seized a weapons cache during the assault, launched this week in South Waziristan to capture foreign fighters and Pakistani militant leader Abdullah Mehsud, said Maj. Gen. Niaz Khatak, the army's field commander.

"Our forces this week killed an estimated 30 to 40 militants in the areas of Mehsud," Khatak told reporters.

However, he said forces had so far recovered only six bodies and that the operation was continuing in the areas where Mehsud is believed to be on the run. Thousands of soldiers are taking part.

Islamabad is a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, and officials say hundreds of Central Asian, Afghan and Arab militants are in hiding in South Waziristan — possibly including Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Khatak said Pakistani forces haven't uncovered any information about bin Laden's whereabouts.

Pakistan, with about 70,000 troops along the Afghan border, has carried out a series of military operations this year that have left scores of soldiers, militants and civilians dead.

Mehsud is accused of organizing the kidnapping last month of two Chinese engineers in the tribal region near Afghanistan, where they had been building a dam. One of the Chinese men was killed and one was rescued when commandos raided a home in South Waziristan. All five hostage-takers were killed.

Mehsud, 28, was freed in March after about two years of detention at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

After returning to Pakistan, he emerged as a rebel leader, opposing Pakistan's army as it hunts foreign militants and their supporters in the country's semiautonomous tribal regions.

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Eid in jail for 273 men freed by Afghanistan
By Shafiq Ahmad Dawn
PESHAWAR, Nov 12: Three provincial and AJK governments have not shown any interest to get released the people freed by the Afghan government a few months ago and now languishing in the Central Jail of Peshawar.

Thus, as many as 273 pro-Taliban volunteers, who were released by the Afghan government a few months ago after declaring them 'white', will celebrate Eid in prisons. A group of 90 prisoners belonging to the NWFP had been released after debriefing sessions conducted by a joint interrogation team, official sources told Dawn here on Friday.

But 273 prisoners hailing from various areas, 181 (Punjab), 73 (Sindh), seven (Azad Jammu Kashmir), three (Northern Areas) and three (Balochistan), will now have to celebrate Eid in the prison as their respective governments had failed to make any contact with the jail authorities regarding their release before the festival, these sources maintained.

Despite repeated requests to the governments of Azad Kashmir and the three provinces and the Northern Areas administration, the authorities concerned did not respond positively to secure the release of the people languishing in jail without any charges, said acting inspector general of prison, Mohammad Azam Khan.

"We have sent many official letters to these governments, but they did not respond to any of any of the requests to take the prisoners," he added. They would celebrate Eid in the central jail and many of them would not get the opportunity to meet any of their family members on the occasion, the jail officials lamented.

The Afghan government on Sept 11, 2004, freed a batch of 367 Pakistanis, who had been captured soon after the fall of Taliban government in 2001. But all these Pakistanis, who had fought with the Taliban militia against the US-led coalition forces, were arrested when they entered Pakistan after remaining at the notorious Pul-i-Charkhi jail for about three years.

They were kept in the central jail. The investigation team held debriefing sessions and later all those belonging to different regions of the Frontier province were sent home.

According to the official sources, the government had decided to send all the prisoners to their respective provinces after the initial interrogation at the central jail here.

These prisoners should have been interrogated by the joint interrogation teams in their respective regions. However, the process of their interrogation could not be initiated due to the lack of interest of the provincial and Azad Kashmir governments and Northern Areas administration.