1 The Long War Journal: Taliban kill pro-government tribal leaders in Pakistan's northwest
Written by Bill Roggio on September 24, 2009 11:18 AM to 1 The Long War Journal
Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/taliban_kill_progove.php
The Pakistani Taliban killed seven tribal leaders who back the government during an attack in the district of Bannu in the Northwest Frontier Province. The attack took place in a region known to have hosted al Qaeda's executive council in the past.
The Taliban killed Malik Sultan and six other tribal leaders as they traveled to "mediate a dispute between local people," according to a report at Dawn. The attack took place in the Jani Khel region in Bannu, a known meeting place for al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied terror groups.
The Taliban ambush sparked fighting that resulted in 12 more people killed, including six Taliban fighters, four civilians, and two members of the lashkar, Geo News reported. The leaders of the lashkar "decided to kill the extremists on sight" after the attack, according to the report.
Sultan is the tribal leader who raised the local anti-Taliban lashkar, or tribal militia, after the Taliban kidnapped more than 300 students and the staff from a cadet college in Ramzak in neighboring North Waziristan.
The kidnappings sparked a punitive strike by the Pakistani Army against the Taliban in Jani Khel and nearby Baka Khel after tribal leaders refused to help free the cadets. The Taliban, under the command of Hafiz Gul Bahadar, moved upwards of 800 fighters into Bannu to fight the Army. The military claimed more than 150 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack.
Jani Khel has long been a strategic meeting place and safe haven for al Qaeda and the Taliban. Jani Khel was identified as the headquarters for al Qaeda's Shura Majlis, or executive council, back in 2007. Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, has operated in the Jani Khel region. The US has struck al Qaeda safe houses in Jani Khel twice since last year. These strikes are the only two Predator attacks that have occurred outside of Pakistan's tribal areas.
The town of Jani Khel is a known haven for al Qaeda leaders and fighters. Senior al Qaeda operative Abdullah Azzam al Saudi was killed in a Predator strike in Jani Khel on Nov. 19, 2008. Azzam served as a liaison between al Qaeda and the Taliban operating in Pakistan's northwest.
Al Qaeda is known to have deposited its donations received from Europe into the Bayt al Mal, or Bank of Money, in Jani Khel, according to a report at the NEFA Foundation.
"The money can only be released on Osama bin Laden's direction, and when such an order is given, it is Mustafa Abu Yazid who executes it," the NEFA Foundation report said. Yazid is the leader of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and also serves as the group's chief financial operative.