NATO, Afghan Troops Target Taliban in Helmand Province

[SWJED]

30 April AP via LA Times - NATO, Afghan Troops Target Taliban in Helmand Province (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan30apr30,1,2955220.story?coll=la-headlines-world).

Nearly 3,000 NATO and Afghan troops began an operation before dawn today to drive Taliban fighters from a swath of their opium-producing heartland in southern Afghanistan.

The British-led operation is the latest attempt to extend the control of President Hamid Karzai's government in Helmand province, officials said.

Military officials said the effort involved about 1,100 British troops, 600 U.S. troops and additional forces from the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Canada. More than 1,000 Afghan government troops also were taking part.

The troops are targeting Helmand's Sangin Valley, an area near Afghanistan's strategic Ring Road that has "for too long been under the semi-control of the Taliban," said Lt. Col. Stuart Carver, a British commander...

[SWJED]

13 May NY Times - Top Taliban Commander Is Killed in Clash (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/world/asia/13cnd-afghan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin) by Taimoor Shah and Carlotta Gall.

The Taliban’s top operational commander, Mullah Dadullah, has been killed in southern Afghanistan, and his body was displayed by Afghan officials in this southern city today.

The commander was killed in a joint operation by Afghan security forces and American and NATO troops in Helmand Province, the governor of Kandahar, Asadullah Khaled, said. News agencies reported that the Taliban was killed in fighting in the Nahri Sarraj district, a strategic area of Helmand Province that the Afghan intelligence service reported Saturday had been cleared of Taliban after an operation this week. A statement released by NATO confirmed his death...

[tequila]

Excellent news. He will be replaced, but he was a very experienced field commander who was with Mullah Omar from the beginning. Tough to just replace that sort of experience.

Also one of the worst war criminals in Afghanistan's recent history, behind many massacres of Hazara and other ethnic minorities.

edit: CSMonitor analysis (http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0514/p06s03-wosc.html)that lays out the case for Dadullah being a significant loss for the Taliban. That Mullah Omar could not name (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070514/ap_on_re_as/afghan_commander_killed;_ylt=Av0lEI8ZjHVqRNgdaEk8S NX9xg8F)an immediate successor also is an indicator here.


Ahmadi said Omar and his council of top Taliban leaders decided against naming an immediate replacement for Dadullah.

"Mullah Dadullah was the commander of all the fighting groups. Now all of the mujahedeen will carry on his same type of jihad. They will carry out attacks just as Mullah Dadullah did in his life," Ahmadi quoted Omar as saying.


New news: Dadullah replaced with his brother, Bakht Muhammad (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070515/ts_nm/afghan_dadullah_dc_3&printer=1;_ylt=Aic.AYjzSv1QXQ9xnH3xwZhg.3QA).

[tequila]

Helmand: A Kinder, Gentler Taleban? (http://iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=337991&apc_state=henh) - IWPR, 21 Aug.

Musa Qala, in the north of Helmand province, is unusually peaceful these days. Children are getting ready to go to newly-opened schools, and farmers in this opium-rich region are busy preparing their fields for autumn planting.

In contrast to the rest of Helmand, security is good in Musa Qala. There is little crime, and the bitter battles that have scarred surrounding areas seem far away.

Nor do residents live in fear that the Taleban are coming – they are already here.

“The Taleban control everything in Musa Qala,” said Mohammad Aref, 26, a shopkeeper in Musa Qala bazaar. “They have reinstated some traditions from their old regime of five years ago. They collect food rations from every house, and they drive around in their trucks.

“But the Taleban don’t treat people badly, the way they did before. They are very calm and they respect people. Everyone is happy with them."

The Taleban took over Musa Qala in early February, after a tenuous truce brokered by tribal elders collapsed. So far, there is little sign that either the Afghan government or the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, is ready to intervene and change the status quo.

"We have no plans to recapture Musa Qala," said Ghulam Mahayuddin Ghuri, commander-in-chief of the Third Corps of the Afghan National Army.

Face to face with the Taleban, residents like Mohammad Aref are making the best of things.

"People are very happy that the Taleban have brought security," he said. "And they are not forcing families to give them a male fighter, like they used to ..."

Much more at the link, worth reading in full for a picture of Musa Qala under Taliban control. Some residents are critical, others not so much. Gives an idea how the enemy has adapted to try and regain local support.

"The Taleban are not forcing people, the way they did before," said Sher Mohammad, 20, a resident of Musa Qala. "But still, people are changing themselves, they are going back to the way they were during the first Taleban regime. For example, instead of playing music in the shops they now play Taleban songs. Women still go out, but not too much."

...

"People are not happy," said one resident, who would not give his name. "Many are afraid to come to the bazaar from neighbouring villages. They are afraid that the foreigners will come and bomb the district. They are afraid of an attack from the air, as well as from ground troops."

...

The Taleban do enjoy broad support among the population, said this resident, but there was an element of fear in the people's acquiescence.

"The Taleban are very serious in this district, and when they say something, they do it. People give them food, and other kinds of help, not because they are forced to but because they don’t want to upset the Taleban," he said. "People don’t play music at weddings unless they get permission from the Taleban."

Abdul Bari, another Musa Qala resident, is also disgruntled with the new government.

"Who knows how much they have changed?" he grumbled. "We can’t watch television, we can’t watch the news, and there are other restrictions that upset us."

The Taleban are also taxing local businesses, added Abdul Bari, although he would not disclose the percentage or amount ...

[Tom Odom]

This level of sophistication is scary and should be a wake up call to those who portray the Taliban as a bunch of red-eyed, bearded fanatics bent on absolute control. They may well be centered on that degree of control but this approach is a win-win. They win by open control and apparent pacification of an area. They win if the government comes in to disrupt that control.

Tom

[marct]

Senior Taliban commander killed, Afghan military says
Last Updated: Thursday, August 30, 2007 | 6:37 AM ET
CBC News

A wanted senior Taliban commander has been killed in a U.S.-led air raid in the south of Afghanistan, the Afghan Defence Ministry said.

Mullah Brother was killed in the pre-dawn attack in Helmand province.

Brother served as a top military commander for the Taliban government until its removal from power in 2001.

He was also a member of the movement's leadership council, which is led by Mullah Mohammad Omar.

More... (http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2007/08/30/talban-killed.html)

More at the link

[Jedburgh]

The Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Focus, 24 Oct 07:

Al-Qaeda Uses Jaish al-Mahdi to Gain Control over Helmand Province (http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373736)
A movement called Jaish al-Mahdi (The Army of the Mahdi) has emerged in Afghanistan. The leader of Afghanistan's Jaish al-Mahdi is Abu Haris, an Arab commander who fought during the anti-Soviet jihad in eastern Afghanistan. Afghanistan's newly established Jaish al-Mahdi is a combination of Arab and Afghan fighters. In a statement, the movement noted that at its outset Jaish al-Mahdi enjoyed the support of 250 Arab and Afghan fighters, although it is still ambiguous as to which jihadi party these fighters were involved in during the Afghan wars. Today, the group has been attempting to recruit Afghan youth to help undertake operations and participate in what Abu Haris calls the "jihad in Afghanistan"....