|
|
.
06/24/03: SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters)
- The shadowy leader of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime, Mullah
Omar, has named a 10-man leadership council to organise resistance
against foreign troops in the country, a news report said on Tuesday.
Pakistani newspaper, The News, quoted a Taliban spokesman as saying
Mullah Omar announced the formation of the body in an audio tape sent
from his hiding place in Afghanistan.
The whereabouts of Mullah Omar and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden,
who is blamed for masterminding the September 11, 2001, attacks on New
York and Washington, remain unknown despite more than a year and a half
of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.
There are about 11,500 foreign troops under U.S. command hunting
Taliban and al Qaeda remnants in Afghanistan.
In the tape, Mullah Omar called on the Taliban to make sacrifices to
drive out U.S. and other foreign troops and the "puppet"
government of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, the paper quoted
Mohammed Mukhtar Mujahid as saying.
The paper said members of the Rahbari Shura, or leadership council,
were mostly Taliban military commanders and most were from the southwest
of the country.
The paper said the council included former defence minister Mullah
Obaidullah and military commanders, including the one-legged Mullah
Dadullah and Akhtar Mohammad Usmani.
Mullah Abdul Rauf, a provincial governor in the Taliban regime ousted
from power by a U.S.-led coalition in late 2001, told Reuters the
council was formed after five days of talks that ended on Monday between
senior Taliban officials at an undisclosed location in southern
Afghanistan.
"The Shura was formed to expedite jihad (holy war) against
occupation forces and strengthen the Taliban movement," he said.
Mullah Abdul Samad, a Taliban intelligence official, said the council
had already begun its work.
"Now jihad will be waged against the U.S. and allied forces
under a new military strategy," he said, but gave no details.
On Saturday, U.S. forces launched an air assault in the southeast to
prepare for a deployment of troops on the border with Pakistan to stop
Taliban and al Qaeda fighters crossing and carrying out attacks.
Afghan and U.S. officials have blamed a spate of attacks in
Afghanistan this year on "terrorists" crossing from Pakistan.
Afghan officials have said they believe Taliban leaders like Mullah
Omar and Usmani have been taking refuge in Pakistan and have called on
Islamabad to act against them. © Copyright 2003 Reuters
Join our Daily News Headlines Email Digest
|
|||||||
