Word: rahim
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...these granite ridges rear up out of the desert and are covered in a jumble of boulders that offer perfect cover for snipers. In recent weeks, this hideout had become the base for a new enemy commander whom the U.S. is now confronting for the first time: Hafiz Abdul Rahim, a rebel chieftain and former Taliban secret-police chief who had advanced through the ranks after allegedly massacring dozens of Hazara Shi?ites in the town of Kalat...
...After the Taliban's defeat in December 2001, Rahim drifted back home to Spin Boldak with no more than five men. But lately, Rahim has grown more dangerous?and apparently much better financed. With cash to burn, allegedly from wealthy patrons of terror in Pakistan, he recruited a band of gunmen from nearby villages?sometimes by force?for a new jihad against the Americans. Rahim's gang planted two explosives in Spin Boldak last month, killing four civilians and injuring scores more. His force swelled to more than 60 fighters, and they raced around Spin Boldak on new motorcycles brought...
...With the captured rebel Ghani leading the way, U.S. special forces and their Afghan allies converged on Rahim's mountain hideout on Jan. 27. Surprise was on the Americans' side as dozens of Afghan soldiers and U.S. special forces launched the attack. "Their leader Rahim only had time to grab his turban and run," chuckled one pro-U.S. commander, Abdul Raziq Achakzai. An initial firefight with the rebels lasted just 10 minutes. Then, a swarm of green helicopters dropped out of the clouds and disgorged 250 Marines. They took cover on the rocky slopes, trying to seal off their...
...Qaeda fighters slip away. American commanders didn't want to make the same mistake again. So, at Adhi Ghar, U.S. troops crept up the mountain, blasting rocket-propelled grenades into caves in pursuit of 40 rebels thought to have survived the first attack. It is not known whether Rahim was among them. The mop-up lasted through the weekend, and even with a full contingent of nearly 300 U.S. troops encircling the mountains, some of the rebels are thought to have gotten away. "They may have moved to other caves to escape us, or they may have tried to sneak...
...Before they were ejected from their mountain stronghold, Rahim and his men had apparently received a new terrorist directive: to sow as much fear as possible by setting off bombs around Afghanistan's cities. For now, that plan may have been foiled. But the message of the past week is disturbingly clear: Afghanistan is still a deadly battleground, and America's Taliban and al-Qaeda enemies are ready to fight...