sources with knowledge of the explosive devices used in both Afghanistan and Iraq maintain that there is no evidence of shared materials. It might also be ascribed to what Eikenberry called a major challenge in this technological age - the sharing of operational tactics and weapons knowledge through the Internet. The use and increasing sophistication of suicide bombings, beheadings, and improvised explosive devices - including their increased sophistication - might be attributed to training provided by Al-Qaeda elements to the neo-Taliban. General Eikenberry echoed the generally held view that there is no conclusive evidence of any mass migration of fighters from Iraq to Afghanistan. A discussion on the website described Iran - which sits between those two countries - as an obstacle to connecting the Iraqi and Afghan fighting. Postings on a jihadist website recently highlighted the desire within Al-Qaeda to link the Afghan and Iraqi theaters of fighting. While links between the neo-Taliban in southern Afghanistan and al-Zarqawi's terrorist outfit in Iraq still appear remote, there is much to indicate direct cooperation between al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda - which operates in the Afghan-Pakistani borderland. In fact, according to spokesman Mohammad Hanif, the Taliban have no "specific strategy" but rather "adopt different tactics according to circumstances." But it does not provide evidence of any operational relationship between al-Zarqawi's group and the neo-Taliban in Afghanistan. It was reminiscent of the work of the Jordanian Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's group in Iraq. In at least one instance, the videotaped execution of an Afghan accused of spying for the United States was posted on an Arabic jihadist website. But an increasing number of those individuals are reportedly Afghans.Īlso mirroring suicide operations in Iraq, the neo-Taliban have begun recording the testimonials of suicide bombers - along with their grisly crimes. The Afghan government has tended to proclaim that suicide operations are not part of Afghan culture - suggesting they are the work of foreign elements. Mohammad Hanif described suicide operations as part of the "various techniques in a war of liberation." When volunteers seek to conduct suicide missions, he said, "we support them. But he added that the two movements have "tactical alliances based on given circumstances and territorial situations." That "tactical alliance" could be a reference to what Eikenberry described as training and facilitation provided by Al-Qaeda to Afghan insurgents. Purported Taliban spokesman Mohammad Hanif was quoted by the Rome-based daily "La Repubblica" as saying recently that his movement has no "operational ties" to Al-Qaeda. The south has not historically welcomed Arab influence or provided Arabs a foothold - even throughout Afghan resistance to Soviet forces or the subsequent Taliban rule over much of the country.
While the neo-Taliban have acknowledged that there are foreign fighters among their ranks, there is no evidence to suggest concerted cooperation between Al-Qaeda and neo-Taliban - at least not in southern Afghanistan. The Afghan government refers more elliptically to "enemies of peace and stability." Self-described Taliban forces tend to claim responsibility for most of the violence, but some such claims have proven false in the past.įor the sake of discussion, the perpetrators of the violence carried out in the name of the Taliban might best be described as "neo-Taliban." He also blamed purely criminal acts, tribal feuds, and drug traffickers. He attributed increased bloodshed - particularly in the three southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, and Oruzgan - to "very weak institutions of the state" rather than a "stronger enemy." Eikenberry ascribed the heightened violence to more than just Taliban and international terrorists. Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry said in Washington on May 10 that attackers are increasing their reliance on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide bombings. WASHINGTON, (RFE/RL) - The commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan recently acknowledged that "the enemy" has changed tactics in the past year.