There are signs of foreign fighters moving into border areas with the US-led NATO forces withdrawing from the frontline.
The Taleban are counting on making huge advances in 2014,
The Taleban are counting on making huge advances in 2014, and enlisting the support of both Arabs and Pakistani militants for their cause.
Security authorities in central, eastern and northern provinces have confirmed the reports.
Wahid Muzhda from the Afghan Research and Advisory Center, who was in the Taleban foreign ministry, believes foreign fighters have again entered Afghanistan in large numbers.
Provincial authorities in Logar province say Arabs and Pakistani insurgents have been moved to remote districts in Logar.
Raees Khan Abdul Rahimzai, security chief of Logar, told the BBC on May 15 that most foreign fighters are in Kharwar, Baraki Barak and Charkh districts.
Abdul Rahimzai said the information has been gathered by “our detective and intelligence agencies.” The foreign fighters are being used for “advancing guerilla attacks” (reconnaissance) and mine laying, he claimed.
Mohammad Qasim, district security chief, Baraki Barak, has warned that unless action is taken against the foreigners “the graph of insecurity” would rise in the province.
Habibullah, a resident of Shah Mirza in Baraki Barak, claimed the insurgents he had seen were speaking Urdu (from Punjab province in neighbouring Pakistan). He alleged they were tracking down “local police and menacing their families”; and extracting money from civilians through their counterparts among the Afghan Taleban.
Serious fights
Jumagul, another local from Charkh district, confirmed the presence of more foreign fighters this year than in the past.
Logar is strategic for Afghan security forces as the highways to Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Maidan Wardak run through the province.
There is also concern about the security situation in the northern provinces where many foreign insurgents have been killed or injured in operations led by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
Local authorities in Faryab province identified Pakistani or Chechen insurgents in the skirmish on May 2.
Governor of Faryab Mohammadullah Batash confirmed there have been serious fights in the past one month in Qaisar and Ghormach districts. He told a press conference that 70 insurgents were killed in Qaisar district and 10 including three commanders in Ghormach district. “I am sure most of the killed insurgents were either Pakistani or Chechen insurgents.”
On May 3, four members of Jundullah (a shadowy group with alleged links to the Taleban) were killed in joint ANSF-ISAF operations in Baghlan province. Mohammad Sadiq Muradi, chief of security of Baghlan, said an insurgent commander called Jamal and four members of the Jundullah were killed in the Baghdara area of Burka district, Baghlan.
Muradi further said Jamal was an expert at making and planting IEDs, and his death was a big achievement for security forces.
Member of the Baghlan provincial council Qudratullah, who is a resident of Burka, also confirmed he has seen foreign fighters alongside the Taleban.
He said on April 11 “two insurgents were killed in joint operations by Afghan and NATO security forces. Both were members of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.” New documentary evidence points to the growing influence of the radical Islamic group in the north. The group has relations with al Qaeda and Taleban in Kunduz and Baghlan provinces. (see Killid 563, April 20, 2013, ‘Fight goes north’)
Killid made repeated attempts to get the Taleban’s view on the presence of foreign insurgents in their ranks.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Affairs Sidiq Sidqi was sure security forces would counter the foreign fighters. “Most of the external insurgents that have been either killed or arrested were nationals of Pakistan, Uzbekistan or Chechnya,” he alleged.
