Pakistan Taliban threaten to avenge leader's death

THE STANS

British troops off Afghan frontline within five years: envoy
London's ambassador to Kabul said Wednesday he expects Britain's presence in Afghanistan will last at least "a generation", but hopes that its troops will no longer be fighting there within five years. Mark Sedwill said British forces, which have seen 38 soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the start of July, will remain in a training and mentoring role but withdraw from the frontline. The ambassador said he expects the security situation in Afghanistan to improve over the coming years and that the presidential election campaign bodes well for creating a truly national government. "We would expect security to improve over the next few years with the US surge," Sedwill told reporters at the Foreign Office in London via videolink from Kabul. "I hope that British forces are no longer in combat roles three to five years from now because the Afghan forces should by then be big enough and capable enough to take on that front-line task. "But we will have British forces here, I am sure, for many years in training and mentoring roles -- and some of those still are quite dangerous, incidentally. "We would expect there to be a British presence here supporting development, trying to bring this country up... for at least a generation. "We're not really looking to the point of withdrawal. We are looking to reconfigure our military and civilian presence over the next few years as we gradually make progress." Britain has around 9,150 troops in Afghanistan, largely battling Taliban insurgents in the troubled southern Helmand province. Sedwill said the extra British troops brought in to help during the elections would stay in the country throughout the entire campaign, should it run into a second round, and its aftermath. He said the recent British military operation to clear the Taliban from parts of Helmand would have gone ahead during the Afghan summer regardless of the elections, amid reports that the turnout there was extremely low. Sedwill said the embassy was drawing no conclusions from the first wave of an election he said was held in a "rough and ready" fashion amid widespread irregularities. "The electoral complaints commission is investigating more than 200 complaints, around 35 to 40 of which they believe could be material to the outcome, if upheld," he said. The vote "has been competitive rather than divisive and we hope that continues after the election. "The test of success is whether the outcome reflects the will of the people and therefore Afghanistan has a genuinely national government. "We are, so far, pretty satisfied with how the election has gone. More importantly, our sense is that the Afghan people are satisfied themselves."

by Staff Writers
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Aug 26, 2009
Pakistan's Taliban have threatened to avenge the death of their leader in a US missile strike, as experts warned Wednesday of possible attacks by a new leadership keen to prove its strength.

Hakimullah Mehsud late Tuesday declared himself new chief of the feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militia, confirming for the first time that Baitullah Mehsud -- insurgent leader since 2007 -- was killed this month.

Pakistani and US officials have been saying for weeks that Baitullah Mehsud died when a missile from a US drone aircraft hit his father-in-law's home on August 5, but Taliban officials had insisted the warlord was simply ill.

"He remained unconscious after being seriously injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday," Hakimullah Mehsud told AFP.

"We will take revenge and soon. We will give our reply to this drone attack to America," he added.

Officials say Baitullah Mehsud died weeks ago and that the Taliban insisted he was still alive to create a smokescreen for intense infighting among rebel commanders to inherit the brutal legacy of Pakistan's most-wanted man.

On Wednesday the other top contender for Taliban leadership, Wali-ur Rehman, backed his apparent foe's claim and said he had been appointed rebel chief in the insurgent stronghold of South Waziristan.

"Myself and the whole of the Taliban movement announced its support for Hakimullah. He is now our new head," Rehman told AFP.

"All the Taliban are united. There are no differences among us... We will continue our struggle against the enemy and our main enemy is America and all those who support, help and side with America against Muslims."

But observers and analysts say that rifts remain, with the two militant commanders apparently entering into a power-sharing deal to prevent the splits in the movement becoming irreparable.

A senior Pakistan security official monitoring militant activity said that the real power would lie with Rehman, as South Waziristan was the location of training centres and the largest number of Taliban fighters.

"It is clearly a compromise," the official told AFP.

"That said, it doesn't mean that the Hakimullah network will be quiet. Security agencies anticipate that with his appointment, he may order a wave of spectacular attacks across the country to try to establish his authority."

Retired general and defence analyst Talat Masood agreed that the authorities should be vigilant.

"They could act very rashly because they would like to prove the point that they are the leader and they can do exactly what Baitullah their predecessor had been doing and more," he said.

Hakimullah Mehsud, believed to be about 30 years old, made a name for himself within the militant structure with his ruthless rule in the tribal districts of Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram, security officials say.

He was behind many attacks on NATO supply trucks heading to foreign troops over the border in Afghanistan, once posing for journalists with a US military Humvee vehicle reportedly snatched from one of the convoys.

The TTP operates out of Pakistan's semi-autonomous districts along the Afghan border, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels carved out a base after the 2001 US-led invasion pushed them out of neighbouring Afghanistan.

The government has blamed the TTP for most of the attacks which have killed more than 2,000 people here in the last two years, and has vowed to follow up an offensive in northwest Swat valley with a push in the tribal belt.

On Wednesday, security and military officials said that Pakistani fighter jets and helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in South Waziristan.

"Two paramilitary troops were martyred and seven injured during two days of operations. Several militants have been killed and an unknown number of them injured in the operation," a military official said.

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THE STANS

Turkish military chief warns against threat to unity
Ankara (AFP) Aug 25, 2009
A government plan to expand the rights of the restive Kurdish community must not endanger Turkey's unity, the country's military chief warned Tuesday, again ruling out dialogue with Kurdish rebels. "The Turkish Armed Forces cannot accept anything that might harm the unified structure of the state," the chief of general staff, General Ilker Basbug, said in an online message. He ruled out ... read more

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