Page 2 of 2 AN ATol EXCLUSIVE Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
On February 25, 2000, the Indian army killed 14 civilians in Lonjot village in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir after commandos had crossed the Line of Control
(LoC) that separates the two Kashmirs. They returned to the Indian side with
abducted Pakistani girls, and threw the severed heads of three of them at
Pakistani soldiers.
The very next day, Ilyas conducted a guerilla operation against the Indian army
in Nakyal sector after crossing the LoC with 25 fighters of 313 Brigade. They
kidnapped an Indian army officer who was later beheaded - his head was paraded
in the bazaars of Kotli back in Pakistani territory.
However, the most significant operation of Ilyas was in Aknor
cantonment in Indian-administered Kashmir against the Indian armed forces
following the massacre of Muslims in the Indian city of Gujarat in 2002. In
cleverly planned attacks involving 313 Brigade divided into two groups, Indian
generals, brigadiers and other senior officials were lured to the scene of the
first attack. Two generals were injured (the Pakistan army could not injure a
single Indian general in three wars) and several brigadiers and colonels were
killed. This was one of the most telling setbacks for India in the long-running
Kashmiri insurgency.
Despite what some reports claim, Ilyas was never a part of Pakistan's special
forces, nor even of the army. Nearly 30 years ago when he joined the Afghan
jihad against the Soviets from the platform of the HUJI, he developed expertise
in guerrilla warfare and explosives.
Within just months of arriving in the Afghan war theater in 2005, Kashmiri
redefined the Taliban-led insurgency based on legendary Vietnamese General Vo
Nguyen Giap's three-pronged guerrilla warfare strategy. For the Taliban, the
main emphasis was to be placed on cutting NATO's supply lines from all four
sides of Afghanistan, and carrying out special operations similar to the Mumbai
attack in Afghanistan.
Over the years, Ilyas has deliberately adopted a low key presence in the
militants' hierarchy. His attacks are just the opposite, although he never
issues statements or claims responsibility for any operation.
His 313 Brigade is believed to be the main catalyst of high-profile operations
such as the one in Mumbai and others in Afghanistan, as well as al-Qaeda's
operations in Somalia and to some extent in Iraq.
"Do you believe that the upcoming South Waziristan operation will be the
'mother of all operations' in the region, as some analysts say," I asked after
we had finished lunch and I was alone with Ilyas and his trusted confidant.
"I don't know how to play with words during an interview," Ilyas responded. "I
have always been a field commander and I know the language of battlefields. I
will try to answer your questions in the language I am familiar with. (Ilyas
spoke mostly in Urdu, mixed with some Punjabi.)
"Saleem! I will draw your attention to the basics of the present war theater
and use that to explain the whole strategy of the upcoming battles. Those who
planned this battle actually aimed to bring the world's biggest Satan [US] and
its allies into this trap and swamp [Afghanistan]. Afghanistan is a unique
place in the world where the hunter has all sorts of traps to choose from.
"It might be deserts, rivers, mountains and the urban centers as well. This was
the thinking of the planners of this war who were sick and tired of the great
Satan's global intrigues and they aim for its demise to make this world a place
of peace and justice. However, the great Satan was full of arrogance of its
superiority and thought of Afghans as helpless statues who would be hit from
all four sides by its war machines, and they would not have the power and
capacity to retaliate.
"This was the illusion on which a great alliance of world powers came to
Afghanistan, but due to their misplaced conceptions they gradually became
trapped in Afghanistan. Today, NATO does not have any significance or
relevance. They have lost the war in Afghanistan. Now, when they realized their
defeat, they developed an emphasis that this entire battle is being fought from
outside of Afghanistan, that is, the two Waziristans. To me, this military
thesis is a mirage which has created a complex situation in the region and
created reactions and counter-reactions. I would not like to go into the
details, to me that was nothing but deviation. As a military commander, the
reality is that the trap of Afghanistan is successful and the basic military
targets on the ground have been achieved," Ilyas said.
I responded that the relocation of 313 Brigade from Kashmir was itself proof
that foreign hands were involved in Afghanistan.
"The entire basis of your argument is wrong, that this war is being fought from
outside of Afghanistan. This is just an out-of-context understanding of the
whole situation. If you discuss myself and 313 Brigade, I decided to join the
Afghan resistance as an individual and I had quite a reason for that. Everybody
knows that only a decade ago I was fighting a war of liberation for my homeland
Kashmir.
"However, I realized that decades of armed and political struggles could not
help to inch forward a resolution of this issue. Nevertheless, East Timor's
issue was resolved without losing much time. Why? Because the entire game was
in the hands of the great Satan, the USA. Organs like the UN and countries like
India and Israel were simply the extension of its resources and that's why
there was a failure to resolve the Palestinian issue, the Kashmir issue and the
plight of Afghanistan.
"So I and many people all across the world realized that analyzing the
situation in any narrow regional political perspective was an incorrect
approach. This is a different ball game altogether for which a unified strategy
is compulsory. The defeat of American global hegemony is a must if I want the
liberation of my homeland Kashmir, and therefore it provided the reasoning for
my presence in this war theater.
Ilyas continued, "When I came here I found my step justified; how the world
regional powers operate under the umbrella of the great Satan and how they are
supportive of its great plans. This can be seen here in Afghanistan." He added
that al-Qaeda's regional war strategy, in which they have hit Indian targets,
is actually to chop off American strength.
"The RAW [India's Research and Analysis Wing] has detachment command centers in
the Afghan provinces of Kunar, Jalalabad, Khost, Argun, Helmand and Kandahar.
The cover operations are road construction companies. For instance, the road
construction contract from Khost city to the Tanai tribe area is handled by a
contractor who is actually a current Indian army colonel. In Gardez,
telecommunication companies are the cover for Indian intelligence operations.
Mostly, their men operate with Muslim names, but actually the employees are
Hindus."
"So should the world expect more Mumbai-like attacks?" I asked.
"That was nothing compared to what has already been planned for the future,"
Ilyas replied.
"Even against Israel and the USA?" I asked.
"Saleem, I am not a traditional jihadi cleric who is involved in sloganeering.
As a military commander, I would say every target has a specific time and
reasons, and the responses will be forthcoming accordingly," Ilyas said.
As I noted Kashmiri's answers, I thought of how several years back he was the
darling of the Pakistani armed forces, their pride. The highest military
officers were proud to meet him at his base in Kashmir, they spent time with
him and listened to the legends of his war games. Today, I had a different
person in front of me - a man condemned as a terrorist by the Pakistani
military establishment and their biggest wish is his death.
"What impressed you to join al-Qaeda?" I asked.
"We were both victims of the same tyrant. Today, the entire Muslim world is
sick of Americans and that's why they are agreeing with Sheikh Osama. If all of
the Muslim world is asked to elect their leader, their choice would be either
[Taliban leader] Mullah Omar or Sheikh Osama," Ilyas said.
"If it is so, why are a section of militants bent on war on Muslim states like
Pakistan? Do you think this is correct?"
"Our battle cannot be against Muslims and believers. As I have mentioned
earlier, what is happening at the moment in the Muslim world is a complexity
due to American power games which have resulted into reactions and
counter-reactions. This is a totally different debate and might deviate me from
the real topic. The real game is the fight against the great Satan and its
adherents," Ilyas said.
"What turned you from the most-beloved friend to the most-hated foe in the eyes
of the Pakistani military establishment?" I asked.
"Pakistan is my beloved country and the people who live there are our brothers,
sisters and relatives. I cannot even think of going against its interests. It
was never the Pakistan army that was against me, but certain elements who
branded me as an enemy to cover up their weaknesses and to appease their
masters," Ilyas said.
"What is 313 Brigade?" I asked.
"I cannot tell you, except war is all tactics and this is all 313 Brigade is
about; reading the enemy's mind and reacting accordingly. The world thought
that Prophet Mohammad only left women behind. They forgot there were real men
also who did not know what defeat was all about. The world is only familiar
with those so-called Muslims who only follow the direction of the air and who
don't have their own will. They do not have their own minds or dimensions of
their own. The world has yet to see real Muslims. They have so far only seen
Osama and Mullah Omar, while there are thousands of others. Wolves only respect
a lion's iron slap; lions do not impress with the logic of a sheep," Ilyas
said.
As the shadows of darkness emerged, the conversation ended. The next day, a
curfew was to be imposed in North Waziristan in preparation for the grand
operation in the region, and I had to leave the area. Ilyas also needed to move
to a new destination, as he does on a regular basis to hide from the eyes of
Predator drones.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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