A combined Afghan and Coalition force targeted al Qaeda and Pakistani fighters during raids in the southeastern province of Zabul within the past two days. During the operations, 20 suspected Taliban fighters were detained.
The target of the two raids was an “al Qaeda foreign fighter facilitator” in the district of Shamulzai, which directly borders the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, a haven for the Taliban across the border.
In the first raid, 15 Taliban fighters were detained; five more were detained during a second raid that “pursued a group of suspected Pakistani foreign fighters who fled the targeted compound,” the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release.
Al Qaeda maintains a presence in Zabul province, according to an investigation by The Long War Journal. US military press releases document the presence of al Qaeda and “foreign fighter” cells in the districts of Shamulzai and Shah Joy; or two of Zabul’s 11 districts. The US military uses the term “foreign fighters” to describe al Qaeda and allied terror groups from outside of Afghanistan.
Al Qaeda works directly with the Taliban, who are entrenched in Zabul. The Taliban have more than 2,000 fighters organized into 100 groups, and control the northern district of Kakar, according to a report in The Washington Post. The US military maintains a token presence in Zabul, while a battalion of about 800 Romanian troops and Jordanian and US special operations forces are also based in the province.
The US military has countered statements made by top US intelligence officials who have claimed that al Qaeda maintains only 50 to 100 operatives inside Afghanistan. This claim has been made by CIA director Leon Panetta and Nation Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter.
“Al Qaeda is very much involved in insurgent activities in Afghanistan,” Colonel Rafael Torres, the director of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center, said in today’s press release. “Foreign fighters bring nothing but violence and instability for Afghanistan.”
Al Qaeda’s extensive reach in Afghanistan is documented in the body of press releases issued in recent years by the International Security Assistance Force. Looking at press releases dating back to March 2007, The Long War Journal has been able to detect the presence of al Qaeda and affiliated groups such as the Islamic Jihad Union in 46 different districts in 16 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. These cells are not limited to areas in the south and east; cells have been detected in the provinces of Farah and Herat in the west, Kunduz in the north, and Kapisa in central Afghanistan.
Throughout Afghanistan, al Qaeda operates in conjunction with the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and the Hizb-i-Islami Guldbuddin network. Al Qaeda operatives often serve as embedded military trainers for Taliban field units and impart tactics and bomb-making skills to these forces. Al Qaeda often supports the Taliban by funding operations and providing weapons and other aid, according to classified military memos released by Wikileaks.
Sources:
• Afghan-led security force detains suspected insurgents in Zabul, ISAF press release
• Forces Conduct Operations in Three Afghan Provinces, ISAF press release
• Zabul province seeks U.S. troops, but is caught in Afghan numbers game, The Washington Post
• Analysis: Al Qaeda maintains an extensive network in Afghanistan, The Long War Journal
2 Comments
i would guess a good percentage of foreign fighters are Pakistani as they are brought up to hate kafir/infidels.
It all comes down to what is being taught at a young age ie School education in Islamic countries!
As a Christian i was never taught to hate other religions.Can we say the same in Pakistan,Saudi or Iran?
Leon Panetta was unavailable for comment.
DOH,
R