Mision FAS: Afganistán

[Esteban]

Varias noticias relacionadas con Afganistán. Fuente COPE.

Según ha sabido la COPE, seis militares van a partir de la base de Torrejón para llevar hasta el país asiático buena parte del material que se empleará en el entrenamiento de militares afganos. Otros 5 militares viajaron hace dos meses para ir preparando las instalaciones para esta misión. El Parlamento todavía no ha dado la autorización para que esta nuevo cometido de las Fuerzas Armadas se desarrolle en Afganistán. Serán en total 50 los militares españoles que tomarán parte en el adiestramiento del ejército afgano. El resto se trasladará hasta allí en el plazo de unos 10 días.

Los militares españoles desplegados en Afganistán han expresado su malestar y quejas ante la falta de seguridad en el aeropuerto de la base de Herat, especialmente en la torre de control. Fuentes militares aseguran a la COPE que dicha torre carece de la protección adecuada, y muestra de ello, es que se limita a un soldado que les acompaña cuando se hace el relevo en la torre.

La seguridad del aeropuerto está a cargo de policías afganos que, según estas fuentes, son fácilmente sobornables. Prueba de esto es que recientemente pudieron observar como un afgano se acercaba a la puerta de la torre de control, y se ponía a golpearla con la intención de entrar y subir sin que nadie se lo impidiera.

Desde los Cuerpos de Inteligencia han advertido a los militares españoles que se encuentran en Herat del riesgo de que se produzcan inmolaciones por parte de afganos que debido a la llegada de la primavera han bajado de las montañas. También, les han avisado de que uno de los objetivos podría ser el aeropuerto. Los militares han pedido una torre de control móvil para estar menos expuestos a un ataque aunque de momento sus peticiones han caído en saco roto.

Independientemente de que sea verdad o no...si fuera cierto, menuda brecha en la OPSEC. Máxime cuando cada vez hay más informes acerca de cómo las noticias aparecidas en los medios de comunicación occidentales aparecen rápidamente en forums yihadistas. Lo acaba de publicar el instituto MEMRI.

June 8, 2007 No.1615

How Islamist Internet Forums Are Used to Inform Mujahideen of News from Western Media

Islamists have long used their Internet forums as major conduits for disseminating useful information to the jihad fighters. [1] A comprehensive examination of postings on Islamist forums reveals that they are used not only to spread jihadist propaganda, but also to disseminate information from the Western media that can help the mujahideen in the field or can raise the morale of Islamists around the world.

Publishing Information of Operational Significance to the Mujahideen

Useful Information for the Mujahideen in the Field

An analysis of the postings on Islamist forums reveals that Islamists monitor the Western media for information that has immediate operational implications for the jihad fighters on the battlefield, namely, information that can increase their effectiveness or can help them to identify potential targets and threats. The following are examples of postings alerting the mujahideen to Western news reports of this sort.

A message titled "Attention Anyone Who Carries a Sniper Rifle," posted November 3, 2006 on the forum www.mohajroon.com/vb, called attention to a Spiegel TV show which discussed, among other things, a new acoustic device of American manufacture intended for use against snipers in Iraq. [2] The message explained that the device "includes several microphones that allow the soldiers in the Hummer to determine the location from which a shot was fired... [and thus to pinpoint] the mujahid's position." In response to the message, a forum participant advised the mujahideen to "use silencers, or to take advantage of some background noise [by] firing the shot when the noise occurs and thus camouflaging its sound." [3]

On April 4, 2007 a member of the Islamist forum www.al-hesbah.org described an Internet TV broadcast in which U.S. soldiers recounted their experiences in Iraq. One of the soldiers, said the message, "told of an [incident] in which a tank convoy discovered an ambush [laid by mujahideen]... American tanks carry a set of rockets which can be controlled from inside the tank using miniature cameras [mounted on] the rockets themselves. These cameras provide the soldiers inside the tank with a view of the outside... The soldier [on the program] said that, [during a patrol in Iraq], he had spied two people hiding behind low barrier and attempting to fire a rocket, but that he had managed to fire... first. His report was accompanied by... sketches indicating the [exact] angle from which he saw the two mujahideen who were lying in wait for him."

The message went on to provide analysis and advice: "The barrier behind which the two [mujahideen] hid seemed to be slightly less than one meter tall, which would have been sufficient to hide a person from [an observer] at eye level. However, since the cameras... [mounted] on the tank are higher than that, they enabled [the soldiers] to see the two people... [Hence, mujahideen] should make sure that their cover... is sufficiently tall to conceal them from those cameras... [When they select a location for an ambush], one of them [should] stand on a truck or on the roof of a car in order to verify that the cover is tall enough..." [4] //sigue...//

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD161507

[Esteban]

Aviso a navegantes. Análisis de la campaña de "corazones y mentes" en la provincia de Herat el el ASIAN TIMES.

An insurgency beyond the Taliban
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

HERAT - Most insurgency-related activity in Afghanistan over the past year, with the Taliban at the core, has been concentrated in the southwest and southeast of the country.

However, trouble is brewing in the northwest, along the Iran-Afghanistan border, although the underlying motivations for opposing the Kabul administration and North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led forces are markedly different from other regions.

Into the lion's den
From Herat, our car traveled for two hours on the state-of-the art highway that loops across the country to Kandahar in the southeast. We then turned off on a minor dirt road toward the Shindand district of Herat province.

As far as the eye could see there were dusty plains and dry mountains. The going was rough, but the driver did not want to slow down in this notoriously lawless district, in stark contrast to Herat city and its surrounds.

After more than an hour we stopped at the half-burned building that serves as the Kabul-anointed district administration's headquarters. The building was set on fire by an angry mob after a NATO bombardment in the last week of April of Bakht village in Shindand district in which 136 people died.

NATO claimed that the victims were Taliban, but all subsequent reports show that most of them were ordinary citizens, and the raid has resulted in a surge of support for the insurgency. Afghan officials have even confirmed that 57 of the dead were civilians.

This was the second major development in April in the area in favor of the insurgency. The first was Iran's deportation of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees to the area - their resentment is driving them into the arms of the insurgency (see Iran forces the issue in Afghanistan, Asia Times Online, June 8).

Haji Mohammed Alam is the administrator of the district. Sitting in a room in which a picture of President Hamid Karzai hangs, Alam, a Barakzai Pashtun educated in Russia, expressed his concern over the April bombing.

"There are no Taliban or al-Qaeda in Shindand. People settle their old tribal feuds by feeding wrong information to NATO. NATO then carries out a bombing on the civilian population without proper investigations," Alam said.

Alam then telephoned Haji Nasru, the strongman of the Shindand district and a younger brother of slain Pashtun warlord Amanullah Nasru.

Soon we were sitting in the administrator's car heading toward the district of Zair-e-Koh, which is ruled by Nasru. The Karzai-appointed administrator was only allowed to take one police guard - no Afghan police or army are allowed into Nasru's domain. A checkpoint on top of a mountain pass manned by armed men in civilian dress marked the beginning of this domain. Armed guards in a jeep then escorted us.

"The people in Zair-e-Koh don't trust the Afghan legal system. In the past few months, religious scholars have established themselves in the villages. Each village has at least four clerics, and they settle disputes in a simplistic manner," Alam observed as we rode along.

To underline some of the tensions in the area, the administrator said that while Herat province is the only one in Afghanistan to have uninterrupted power supply, electricity is not available in Shindand.

The reason is that legendary Afghan warrior against the Soviet resistance, Ismail Khan, a Tajik, was ousted as governor of Herat and as a token gesture made minister of energy. He now makes sure that his Pashtun adversary in Shindand is kept in the dark.

After driving on a difficult track for an hour, we reached Nasru's compound. He's a thin, tall man and warmly hugged and kissed his visitor. "I am Haji Nasru," he said, adding with a smile, "Nasru the oppressed."

As it happened, a traditional tribal council was in session. It was full of elders and with relatives of those killed in the NATO bombardment.

"Every time our opponents, especially Ismail Khan, spread stories that Shindand is full of Pakistanis and Chechens - but with no evidence - NATO carries out a bombardment, and those who are killed are Afghans.

"The governor of neighboring Farah province does not have control in his area and he always blames Shindand as a hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaeda activities. But we always question this, 'If there are al-Qaeda or Pakistani fighters in Shindand, why do NATO troops not show their bodies?'" Nasru said.

"The last time they bombed villages in our district we asked for the reason. They named Mullah Akhtar Mohammed as Taliban and active in the area. But Mullah Akhtar is an ordinary person and has nothing to do with the Taliban. Of course, there were many Taliban living in our area, but now they have left the Taliban movement. But calling them Taliban and bombing them will serve no purpose; instead, it will complicate the situation," Nasru said.

Nasru's village of Kosh, about 7 kilometers from the main bombing site of Bakht village, was also hit, including his house and a school built by an Italian reconstruction team.

"Now the government admits that 57 among the dead were civilians, but it refuses to compensate their families. Only the International Committee of the Red Cross provided some aid," Nasru said.

At this point an elderly man jumped up, brandishing two identity cards issued by the Election Commission of Afghanistan. "They were my relatives. They were killed in this incident and said to be Taliban. But if they were Taliban, they could not have been registered on the election list, because the Taliban are strictly forbidden from registering for voting."

Nasru continued. "You know, we are loyal to President Hamid Karzai's government, but our opponents settle their scores against us through NATO. Sometimes they blame us for growing poppy, but you can see there is none. And sometimes they blame us for harboring Pakistani and Chechen fighters, but they never succeed in proving their presence here, dead or alive."

A visibly angry tribal elder picked up on the implicit threat in Nasru's comments: "I tell you one thing, that resentment against NATO is growing among us. They suddenly conduct raids in our areas and do not care about the sanctity of our homes. The next time this happens, I will declare war against them."

Haji Bismal, a middle-aged villager, continued the theme. "NATO has a bizarre explanation for everything. Once they arrested some people from our area and took them to Bagram base [near Kabul]. They were asked to recite some verses from the Koran. When they did, they were declared as Taliban.

"I tell you, the Soviet army was far better than the Americans. At least they used to warn us before an attack to withdraw our families and children. NATO does not care about anything, and it bombs an area without caring about women and children. You will have seen our devastated homes; what relation do we have with any fighting or with the Taliban?"

Administrator Alam has petitioned Kabul to have Shindand, which is predominantly Pashtun in an otherwise Tajik-Sunni province, declared a separate province. Karzai agreed in principle, but the matter is winding its way through the bureaucracy.

During the Taliban regime (1996-2001) many people from Shindand joined the Taliban, but eventually moved on to exile in Iran. Now they are being returned against their will. And incidents like the bombing of Bakht serve as a catalyst to increase the anti-foreign movement in northwestern Afghanistan, even if it has nothing to do with the Taliban movement.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.

[kilo009]

Alonso comparecerá ante el Parlamento para explicar el envio de 50 militares a Afganistán (MOE). La comparecencia se producirá ante la Comisión de Defensa del Congreso de los Diputados, previsiblemente en la penúltima o última semana de este mes, aunque aún no se ha fijado la fecha.

Son dos batallones a los que se piensa formar. Con esos 50 militares más los equipos operativos ya desplegados en la zona, el MOE tendrá unas +- 7 decenas de operativos en la zona.

[Esteban]

La noticia ha pasado silenciosa y silenciadamente en España, pero ha habido una auténtica batalla campal contra los insurgentes ni más ni menos que en Bala Murghab, capital de distrito en la provincia norteña de Badghis. Varios centenares de insurgentes asaltaron el pueblo y pusieron en fuga o redujeron a los policías locales hasta que se pudo enviar ayuda. Badghis es la provincia donde está el PRT de Qala i Naw, donde recientemente los nuestros han arreglado la pista del aerodromo y han entregado a los locales una sala de justicia construida con cargo a la AECI.

Dozens killed as Taliban attack dist headquarters


HERAT CITY, June 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The government and Taliban militants have issued conflicting claims about the capturing of a district headquarters and casualties in the northern Badghis province.
Taliban said they had seized headquarters of the Bala Murghab district following a clash that killed at least 10 police personnel.

However, the provincial government confirmed the killing of only two cops in the overnight attack on the district. Sayed Zia Waseqi, spokesman for the provincial governor, told Pajhwok scores of militants led by Maulvi Abdul Rahman, Taliban-era governor of Ghor province, attacked the district headquarters from three different directions and set the offices on fire.

He said the militants retreated after resistance from policemen. Six attackers were killed in exchange of fire, said the governor's spokesman.
Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Muhammad Ayub Niazyar, on the other hand, told Pajhwok 30 suspected militants were killed in the fighting.
He claimed a Taliban commander Mullah Qudoos was shifted by his colleagues in wounded condition from the area.

Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, however, claimed 10 cops were killed and three were arrested in the last night clash. None of their men was killed or injured in the clash lasted for five hours, said the spokesman.

[Esteban]

Aunque lo he puesto en el tema dedicado al ISI viewtopic.php?p=4119#4119 recomiendo leer la entrevista a Rashid Amhed, autor del libro "Talibán" y sus opiniones sobre la política de los paises de la OTAN empeñados en intentar demostrar que la estrategia de "reconstrucción" vs la de combate a la insurgencia es mejor, fracasará irremediablemente si no arriman el hombro con sus aliados y se empeñan de verdad.

En consonancia a lo que dice este autor, hoy se han producido dos atentados con terrorista suicida; en el primero, un iluminado estrelló un coche cargado con explosivos contra un convoy en Kabul. Cuatro civiles muertos, algunos más heridos, entre ellos un soldado de la OTAN, y la reacción nerviosa de un soldado, que abrió fuego contra los nativos provocó dos heridos más.

Otro atentado en Masar i Sharif se ha llevado por delante a un civil y heridas a 14 más, en un atentado con bomba contra un convoy OTAN del PRT. Ayer un suicida estrelló su coche contra un convoy de tropas internacionales en Tirin Kot, capital de la provincia central de Uruzgán, matando a cinco niños que jugaban en las inmediaciones. Además, murieron cuatro civiles adultos y otros siete resultaron heridos.

La ISAF, la misión de la OTAN en Afganistán, confirmó la muerte de uno de sus soldados, de nacionalidad holandesa, y que otros tres resultaron heridos. Un segundo suicida atacó otro convoy de la OTAN en la ciudad de Kandahar, en el sur del país, hiriendo al menos a cinco civiles. Eso sin contar otros incidentes en Paktika y el este del pais.

Esta tarde los medios locales afganos estaban informando de combates entre insurgentes y el ANA en la provincia de Ghazni.

[Esteban]

Más de 35 muertos en un atentado suicida contra un autobús de policías afganos en Kabul. Es el quinto ataque suicida en Afganistán en tres días.



Además, hay noticias en medios locales de 26 muertos en enfrentamientos en Herat y Paktia.

[Esteban]

Mientras que las terminales de propaganda de la web del MINISDEF informan de proyectos y acciones de reconstrucción llevadas a cabo en nuestro PRT de Qala i Naw, la verdad es que la situación en la provincia de Badghis se está deteriorándose, como en el resto del país. No solo por el incidente de Bala Murghab, sino por una serie de acontecimientos que debería llevar a ISAF a reforzar dicha provincia.

http://www.afgha.com/?q=node/3220

Taliban spread their wings into Badghis, ‘Badlands of the North’
Wed, 13/06/2007 - 21:04 — matt
Source: Afgha.com

Details are beginning to emerge concerning the unprecedented weekend assault by Taliban raiders against two districts in northwestern Badghis province. The clash began early Saturday morning when an estimated 200 hardcore Taliban soldiers stormed Ghurmach (Qormach) and Balamurgh (Bala Murghab) districts. Afghan National Police bore the brunt of the assault suffering numerous casualties and at least 2 deaths according to officials.

Afghan security officials also claim to have killed 30 Taliban and succeeded in repulsing the raiding party. Several government headquarters and buildings were destroyed by fire during the ferocious 14 hour long battle.

However, both the Taliban and Azeeta Rafat, a female MP from Badghis, disagree. Ms. Rafat told Pajhwok news on Monday that both districts were still in control of the Taliban and demanded more soldiers be deployed to the region the help expel the Taliban and to thwart further incursions. She also mentioned Ghurmach (Qormach) was taken without a shot being fired and that the main thrust of combat took place in Balamurgh (Bala Murghab). Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed fighters still controlled both of the districts to Pajhwok News and Asia Times Online.

The attacks in Badghis came within hours of rockets being fired near Hamid Karzai’s position in Ghazni province, a coordinated two-pronged attack by the Taliban. Although failing to assassinate Karzai, the successes in seizing two northern districts sent a clear message to the beleaguered central government.

So far the Spanish contingent of ISAF based in Badghis has refused to join the fray. Italian ISAF troops will not confirm whether or not their forces helped end the initial combat on Sunday along with military reinforcements sent by the Afghan government.

The attack on Badghis is the first large scale raid in the north by Taliban forces this year and may indicate a change in the movement’s ‘spring offensive’ tactics and strategy. Analysts long believed most of the fighting would be concentrated on the traditional battlefields in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan. Since last year the Taliban have spread their wings further west by routinely attacking Farah province and increasingly in Herat province. The Taliban’s overall strategy may be revealed as a rash of attacks has broken out across the once docile northern provinces.

Such mayhem includes a string of suicide attacks targeting ISAF troops throughout the northern areas leaving several German, Norwegian and Finn casualties. ISAF’s ongoing Operation Achilles and its supplemental maneuvers like Operation Hoover in Helmand and Kandahar may be flushing Taliban fighters out of their traditional strongholds to safer grounds west and north.

Last year’s Operation Medusa which focused on western Kandahar’s Panjwayi and Zahri districts had a similar effect as hundreds of fleeing Taliban fighters regrouped in Helmand and Farah provinces. These hardcore remnants unleashed a domino effect of violence and succeeded in capturing several districts in both Farah and Helmand during the ‘winter lull.’

The northern provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Sar-i-Pul, Jowzjan and Balkh are lightly patrolled by ISAF participants focused on reconstruction, not combat, making it an ideal vicinity for Taliban mischief. It is difficult to predict the Taliban’s long term goals regarding these areas as Pashtuns make up the minority of a population heavy with Tajik, Uzbek and Turkmen residents. Few forget the long list of atrocities committed by the Taliban against the northern population during the tempestuous late 1990’s and early 2000’s. These provinces are also home to the thousands strong Jowzjani militia led by long time warlord General Rashid Dostum. Thousands of anti-Taliban militiamen under Ustad Mohammed Atta, another local warlord, also hold sway across many parts of the north.

The signs of Taliban activity in the north, particularly the use of suicide attacks and large scale raids bode ill for Afghanistan’s quest for normalcy and security. These areas remained relatively safe from terrorist attacks and any large scale military grade violence aside from the occasional factional clash, an event prevalent throughout most of Afghanistan, over the last five years.

ISAF will need to commit a serious contingent to the north who is unafraid of securing the region through the use of force to keep the Taliban at bay. Failure in this sense will not only ensure future Taliban attacks but may prompt regional players like Dostum and Atta to take action, making wanton bloodletting and large scale offensives’ unwanted return to northern Afghanistan.

[Esteban]

Hemos tenido suerte. Sargento herido leve por disparo fortuito del arma reglamentaria mientras realizaba una patrulla en Badghis.

Afganistán.- Herido leve un sargento español por un disparo fortuito de su propia arma
Europa Press - lunes, 18 de junio MADRID, 18 (EUROPA PRESS) - Un sargento del contingente español en Afganistán resultó hoy herido leve por un disparo fortuito de su propia arma cuando patrullaba en vehículo a unas 40 kilómetros al norte de Qala-i-Now, en la provincia de Badghis, informó a Europa Press un portavoz del Ministerio de Defensa.

El citado portavoz explicó que el incidente se registró a las 13.40 horas cuando el sargento recibió un disparo de su propia arma que se le calló por un movimiento brusco del vehículo blindado en el que viajaba.

El disparo causó una herida superficial en la zona derecha del tórax, cerca de la axila, y el militar fue trasladado al Hospital ROLE 2 de la Base de Apoyo Avanzado de Herat. El militar quedó ingresado en el citado centro hospitalario en estado estable y consciente y tuvo oportunidad de comunicar lo sucedido a su familia.

España mantiene en Afganistán un contingente de unos 690 militares desplegadas en el marco de la Fuerza Internacional de Asistencia a la Seguridad (ISAF). El grueso de las tropas se concentra en el Equipo de Reconstrucción Provincial de Badghis y en la Base de Apoyo Avanzado (FSB) de Herat. La actual rotación está compuesta en su mayoría por efectivos de la Brigada de Cazadores de Montaña, con sede en Jaca (Huesca).

Hoy ha sido un día negro para la campaña de corazones y mentes de la ISAF. Un bombardeo ha matado a varios niños, los combates en el sur han dejado más de 100 muertos entre civiles, talibanes y policías, y las webs insurgentes anuncian que los talibanes han vuelto a Tora Bora, llegando a controlar algún distrito en Paktika.

[Esteban]

Hay fuertes combates en la zona sur, pero parece que los insurgentes se han hecho con el control de los distritos de Chora y Ghorak (Uruzgan) y Miya Nishin (Kandahar), aunque éste último parece que se ha recuperado hace unas horas tras instensos combates.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Map, News) - Taliban militants overran a district in southern Afghanistan and are pushing for control of another key area, sparking fierce clashes with NATO and Afghan forces that have left more than 100 people dead over three days, officials said Tuesday.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters launched raids on police posts near the strategic town of Chora in Uruzgan province Saturday, forcing NATO, backed by fighter jets, to respond. Fighting was continuing Tuesday, and some officials reported there have been dozens of civilian casualties.

Also late Monday, Taliban occupied Miya Nishin district in neighboring Kandahar province, said provincial police chief Esmatullah Alizai. Authorities were planning an operation to retake the remote area, he said.

The insurgent push in the south appears to be the biggest Taliban offensive of the year and marks a change in tactics.

http://www.examiner.com/a-787741~Taliba ... trict.html

District recaptured from Taleban

The Taleban say they took the district after days of fighting
A district in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar has been recaptured after falling to the Taleban, an army commander has said.
Afghan forces earlier made a tactical withdrawal from Myanishen.

But another district, Ghorak, has fallen to the insurgents, Kandahar's police chief has told the BBC.

Meanwhile, dozens are reported killed or injured in fighting in nearby Uruzgan province. One official says 60 civilians died, but Nato disputes this.

The police chief, Gen Esmatullah Alizai said: "Our forces have made a tactical withdrawal and Ghorak district now is under the control of Taleban, we don't have any casualties on our side, we will re-take it soon.

"In the meantime we have re-taken control of Myanishen district, this afternoon we launched operations together with Nato forces."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6766495.stm

[Esteban]

Ojo a este sujeto que opera en Herat. Fuente: ASIAN TIMES

A voice for the Afghan insurgency
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

HERAT, Afghanistan - At first sight, this bustling city near the border with Iran gives a clear signal that it wants business and not violence.

Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, this is one region of Afghanistan that has experienced a boom in trade and commerce: new construction is rampant and real-estate prices have skyrocketed.

Nevertheless, amid the wheeling-dealing in the multicultural, multi-ethnic city, the Taliban-led insurgency that is creeping closer from the southeast cannot - and will not - be ignored, certainly if al-Haaj Farooq Hussaini has anything to do with it.

Hussaini is the very vocal and influential right-hand man of the former governor of Herat and current minister for energy, Ismail Khan, an ethnic Tajik. Hussaini uses Friday prayers to foment support for the insurgency and to stir up people to force the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.

His outspoken views have earned him warnings from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"I speak against the occupation forces and Iranian intervention in Afghanistan every Friday sermon. I have been intimidated several times by UNAMA and ISAF, but I am not scared at all. All the prayer leaders of Herat are strongly behind me," Hussaini told Asia Times Online. He cut a formidable figure as he sat cross-legged on the floor of his office along with some followers and gave every indication that he is strong enough to achieve his goals.

During the Taliban regime (1996-2001), Hussaini went into exile in Khozistan, Iran, where he preached the Sunni sect and even converted some Shi'ite Muslims to Sunni Islam. As a result, he was arrested by the Iranian authorities and jailed for three years. After the sacking of the Taliban, he returned to Herat along with Khan and now heads the powerful Anjuman-i-Munadyan-i-Tauheed organization, besides representing Khan's Jamiat-i-Islami Afghanistan in Herat.

Last year during Ashura (an important day on the Shi'ite calendar) there were major clashes in Herat between Shi'ites and Sunnis, leaving 185 people dead. Since Hussein Anwari, Khan's replacement as governor, is a Hazara Shi'ite, Hussaini is bitterly opposed to him and does his best to marshal Sunni support against the governor. Hazaras constitute about 15% of Herat province.

Hussaini proudly related how he led Sunni rioters against Shi'ites. "I am not particularly against the Shi'ite religion, but when they are sacrilegious towards elders of our faith, serious differences brew."

What prompted Kabul to install a minority Shi'ite as governor remains an unanswered question, although international agencies working in Kabul say that Anwari is well qualified and does not play the Hazara or Shi'ite card. Nevertheless, this is not the way people in a tribal society think or function - they work under their own paradigms in which religion and ethnicity are key factors.

Changing allegiances

Khan has always been believed to have been supported by the Iranians, but he has visibly changed in recent months by hitting out at "foreign intervention" in Herat, a clear reference to Tehran.

At the same time, the US-backed administration of President Hamid Karzai has also distanced itself from the hardline Sunnis of the Jamiat-i-Islami Afghanistan, even though its leader, Khan, is a cabinet minister.

As a result, foes of the past - the Pashtun Taliban and ethnic Tajiks loyal to Khan - have drawn closer together. Hussaini stresses that he supports any force working against the withdrawal of foreign forces.

"Whether it is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar or the Taliban, whoever fights against occupation forces, I support them," Hussaini said. "I have the same views on most of the things in which the Taliban believe. We follow the same school of thought, but I disagree with brutalities, like beheading people.
"At the same time, suicide attacks are not permissible in Afghanistan. Top Muslim scholars like [Egyptian] Yosuf al-Qardawi sanctioned suicide attacks, but only against Israelis. Here in Afghanistan it is not allowed because it is a Muslim country."

Hussaini would not be drawn into commenting on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden other than to say that he respects him because he fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s, otherwise he "never got a chance to meet him and therefore I do not know much about him".

Commenting on the insurgency, Qazi Bismal, a teacher at the University of Herat and the head of the Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, Herat province, said, "There is no armed resistance anywhere in Herat city, but there is a lot of political resistance against foreign forces through the words of people like Farooq Hussaini. We cannot say right now what the outcome of this sort of resistance will be."

UNAMA believes that the insurgency is multi-faceted and poses a serious challenge.



"The Taliban are not the only component of Afghanistan's insurgency. There is factional fighting in parts of the country, insecurity caused by drug traffickers and those fighting because they have been intimidated or paid to do so," said Aleem Siddiqui, a spokesman for UNAMA.

"They all form important elements of this insurgency. We are seeing concerted action to deal with all these elements. As we have made clear, defeating the insurgency will require more than military might, we need to see increased development, improved governance and better coordination of efforts between Afghanistan and its neighbors to deal with cross-border fighters," said Siddiqui