Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3512-1004157193-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Fri, 26 Oct 2001 21:34:08 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 31412 invoked by uid 510); 27 Oct 2001 04:32:36 -0000 Received: from n9.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.59) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 27 Oct 2001 04:32:36 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3512-1004157193-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.52] by n9.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 27 Oct 2001 04:33:13 -0000 X-Sender: yangyun@metacrawler.com X-Apparently-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 27 Oct 2001 04:33:13 -0000 Received: (qmail 63755 invoked from network); 27 Oct 2001 04:33:13 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by m8.onelist.org with QMQP; 27 Oct 2001 04:33:13 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n34.groups.yahoo.com) (10.1.1.30) by mta1 with SMTP; 27 Oct 2001 04:33:12 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: yangyun@metacrawler.com Received: from [10.1.10.66] by n34.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 27 Oct 2001 04:33:12 -0000 To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Message-ID: <9rdde3+cd27@eGroups.com> User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82 X-Mailer: eGroups Message Poster X-Originating-IP: 24.112.32.13 From: yangyun@metacrawler.com X-Yahoo-Profile: televr Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2001 04:33:07 -0000 Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] Taliban gains ground Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The Times, London SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001 Taleban execute King's envoy FROM STEPHEN FARRELL IN PESHAWAR AND ZAHID HUSSAIN IN ISLAMABAD Commander walks into trap Day of setbacks for the alliance THE American-led campaign in Afghanistan yesterday suffered its darkest day, when a key anti-Taleban commander was captured and hanged after a dramatic chase near Kabul. The execution of Abdul Haq, a veteran Mujahidin commander trying to lure defectors from the ranks of the Taleban, came as the coalition against terrorism suffered a series of setbacks. In Kabul US warplanes bombed a warehouse belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the second time in a month that the building had been hit by the Americans. On the ground Taleban forces drove back Northern Alliance fighters from a key town in the north. The reverses prompted the Taleban's supreme leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, to call for 72 hours of worldwide protests by "those Muslims who feel that holy war is part of Islam . . . to support the Taleban point of view". Mr Haq was compromised as he carried out his secret mission on behalf of the deposed King Zahir Shah in Taleban-controlled areas south of the capital. The Taleban said yesterday that they had been following him ever since he crossed the border from Pakistan on Sunday and decided to capture him. Mr Haq, a renowned rebel commander during the Soviet occupation who was wounded 14 times and lost his right foot, was surrounded with 50 followers in the town of Azro. The Taleban claimed that he used a satellite phone to call for American air support and a fighter bomber and helicopter gunships attacked the Taleban positions, wounding several fighters. Mr Haq then tried to flee on horseback across the same rugged terrain where he had once fought the Russians. But he was captured and taken to a Taleban stronghold. A short time later he was hanged. "The Taleban have killed Abdul Haq along with two other people," Abdul Himat Hanan, an Information Ministry official, said, citing a ruling by Afghanistan's ulema, a gathering of religious leaders. "Anyone who assists the United States is liable to be killed." He claimed the Taleban knew in advance that the 43-year-old former hero of the Mujahidin had left his home in exile in Peshawar, Pakistan, and that he was caught after Taleban intelligence was tipped off by villagers. "We had secretly surrounded the place for two days where Haq was hiding with his supporters," Mr Hanan said. "US helicopters bombed the Taleban to enable Haq to escape but we were able to capture him when he tried to leave at 2.30 this morning." Mr Haq's nephew Izatullah and another commander, Haji Dawran, were also said to have been killed. Both Mr Haq's family and the former Afghan monarch King Zahir pleaded for his life, saying he was in Afghanistan on a peace mission. However their appeals were unsuccessful, with reports that the Taleban airwaves "crackled" with congratulations at the news that he had been captured. His brother, Haji Abdul Qadir, said: "I can only say that when someone is extremely angry, like my brother was against the Taleban, they sometimes lose control and head to their death." Mohammed Yousuf, another of Mr Haq's nephews, said that after the commander had been hanged his body was sprayed with bullets. US officials said early today that an unmanned Predator spy plane equipped with Hellfire anti-tank missiles was sent to help Mr Haq. The Predator, which was in the area, fired missiles at the Taleban, hitting some of the fighters, before returning to base safely. The death of perhaps the most influential opposition Pashtun commander will undermine efforts to form a credible post-Taleban government in Afghanistan. He was seen by the US and Pakistan as a leader who could rally the powerful Pashtun tribes in the Taleban's heartland. In Kabul, the attack on the Red Cross warehouse was condemned by a spokesman for the organisation. Three bombs struck the complex, destroying three sheds. The spokesman, Mario Musa, said the building had the organisation's logo on the roof and contained vital humanitarian supplies. In a further setback, the Northern Alliance admitted that the Taleban had taken back the town of Marmul, ten miles southeast of the key northern city of Mazar-i Sharif, only days after it was seized. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Pinpoint the right security solution for your company- Learn how to add 128- bit encryption and to authenticate your web site with VeriSign's FREE guide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/yQix2C/33_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:57 PST