Word: talibanism
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Qari Zainuddin was asleep when his assassin struck, although the 26-year-old militant leader had been preparing for battle. Zainuddin was poised to join the Pakistan army's fight against the Taliban by leading his own militia to take down Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's most feared and murderous Taliban commander. Zainuddin had denounced Mehsud's brutality but he also had deep personal motives for joining the fight - Mehsud had killed his father and other relatives, Zainuddin said, obliging him to take revenge...
...assassination of a powerful local warlord willing to fight Mehsud is a blow to the strategy of the Pakistan security forces of turning local militia against the Taliban. It also casts fresh doubts over Pakistan's enduring habit of aligning itself with lesser-evil militants in order to tackle larger, more immediate threats. Recent history has shown not only that the policy has yielded poor results and sometimes backfired disastrously, but it's also at cross purposes with U.S. efforts in Afghanistan...
...loathing of Mehsud, Zainuddin was scarcely the model of a local hero rising up against a tyrant. In recent interviews, he pledged fealty to Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, declared his fondness for al-Qaeda, and waged 'jihad' against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. A key element of his quarrel with Mehsud was a difference in militant priorities: While Mehsud and his allies in the Swat Valley were principally fighting against the Pakistani military and attacking Pakistani territory, Zainuddin believed that it was wrong to attack fellow Muslims and wanted to focus their fire on Western...
...dramatic as Rohde's escape was, the story is not yet complete. The young Afghan driver, Asadullah Mangal, who drove Rohde and Ludin to the unlucky assignment, was apparently too afraid to make a break. Now he is alone. If local journalists have little market value for the Taliban, how much will the group value a driver...
...pictures of the daily life of British soldiers deployed in the battle against the Taliban...