Word: mullah
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Tales of treachery and travail at Kunduz dominated world headlines late in the week, and Britain's Guardian provided a riveting account of the bizarre negotiations over a Taliban surrender there. According to reporter Luke Harding, the talks between Northern Alliance general Rashid Dostum and Taliban commander Mullah Faizal were held in Dostum's castle near Mazar-i-Sharif, with three uniformed U.S. special forces officers in attendance. "Over cups of tea and biscuits, the terms of the surrender were agreed: all the Afghan fighters trapped in Kunduz would be allowed to go home. The Arabs, however, would be taken...
...Chechen and Chinese volunteers mostly linked with Al Qaeda, are surrounded by thousands of Alliance troops. There are plainly sharp divisions between the foreigners and the Afghan Taliban, whose commanders have been negotiating with Northern Alliance commanders behind the backs of the foreigners and in defiance of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's orders to fight. Reports from refugees fleeing the city say hard-line foreigners had even executed hundreds of Afghan Taliban to prevent them surrendering. Their resistance is unsurprising - while the Northern Alliance have been willing to forgive the Afghan Taliban all along, they have previously threatened to kill...
...Although Taliban chief Mullah Omar has urged the defenders of Kunduz to resist, the local commander, Mullah Dadullah, has previously clashed with his supreme leader. Local observers are not surprised that he may be seeking an honorable way of keeping his men alive. And like those who retreated from Mazar-i-Sharif, many Afghan Taliban fighters in Kunduz may be quite willing to leave the foreigners to their fate, if not to turn their guns on the "tourists" who have reportedly killed hundreds of Afghan Taliban...
...deadly rivalry has been running since the 16th century between two main Pashtun tribes, the Durranis and the Ghilzais. The events since Sept. 11 have changed little. The Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is a Ghilzai, and so are most of his top commanders. The ex-monarch's supporters are all Durranis...
...Sharif gathered an irresistible momentum. Some Taliban soldiers ran and hid, others switched sides. One Taliban commander on the front lines secretly arranged to defect with a few hundred of his men and agreed to let the Alliance through his line. The advancing rebels found another Taliban commander, Mullah Qahir, trying to avoid capture by snipping off his beard with nail scissors. He wasn't the only one. "From what I hear," said an Alliance officer, "it's a good time to be a razor salesman in Mazar...