Afghan war moves deeper into Pakistan
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
ISLAMABAD - Information supplied by a Pakistani-German jihadi led to the United
States Predator drone attack in Pakistan on Monday in which at least eight
other Germans were killed, Asia Times Online has learned.
A senior Pakistani security official said the two missile strikes near the town
of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area followed intelligence passed on
by Rami Mackenzie, 27, during interrogation following his arrest in the middle
of this year by Pakistani security officials in Bannu, the principal city of
Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province.
At the time of his capture, Pakistani authorities said they believed Mackenzie,
who had been disguised in a traditional woman's
burqa, was an expert in manufacturing suicide vests.
Drone attacks have been significantly stepped up in the past few months - there
were a record 22 in September - since the arrest in July in Kabul of
Afghan-German Ahmad Siddiqi. He revealed that al-Qaeda was planning attacks in
London, Paris, Berlin and other European cities similar to those carried out in
Mumbai, India, in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed and scores
wounded.
The threat of attacks has set off a Europe-wide travel alert issued by the
United States.
"On Ahmad Siddiqi's tip-off, CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] drones targeted
North Waziristan on September 8 in which a few Germans were killed," the
security official said. Siddiqi attended the same mosque in Hamburg in Germany
as the September 11 lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta.
"The interrogators also gleaned information on the role of Sheikh Fateh
al-Misri as the mastermind and the commander of the new al-Qaeda mission in
Europe." Egyptian Misri, al-Qaeda's chief commander in Pakistan and
Afghanistan, was killed in a drone attack on September 25. Misri, previously
not a member of al-Qaeda, in May replaced Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was also
killed in a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area.
The official said highly concerned American and European intelligence services
were desperately trying to track down suspected al-Qaeda connections in North
Waziristan in an effort to eliminate al-Qaeda's European franchise.
The Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Hussain Haqqani, has confirmed a link
between the increased drone strikes and efforts to disrupt possible attacks in
Europe, which unconfirmed reports said were to take place in November.
"The activity we see in North Waziristan, in terms of strikes and terms of
measures to try to get people from al-Qaeda and associated groups, is connected
to the terrorist warnings that we have heard about potential strikes in
Europe," Haqqani told the BBC.
A failed jihadi
Mackenzie was recruited in Germany this year and sent to North Waziristan for
training. However, after spending only a few months he became disillusioned.
"The Europeans who were recruited by al-Qaeda are in really bad shape. They
converted to Islam or even if they were Muslims born in Europe, they were
reared in a comfortable atmosphere," the security official told Asia Times
Online.
"The rugged terrain of North Waziristan and then the ruthless behavior and
treatment of the local Wazirs and Mehsuds made most of the Europeans
disillusioned. Rami was among one of those who decided to go to Islamabad and
surrender himself to the German Embassy. But to his bad luck he was spotted and
arrested by the security agencies in Bannu."
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which has been active in Pakistan's
tribal areas for many years, split several years ago, leading to the creation
of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU). The IMU remained based in South Waziristan
while the IJU set up in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. The IMU began in the Fergana
Valley in Uzbekistan and has also fought in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Afghanistan, with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate.
The Uzbeks are Turkic by origin and therefore in North Waziristan they became
close with militants from Turkey. The Turks are mostly based in the Shawal
Valley in North Waziristan that borders Afghanistan, from where they regularly
take part in attacks against occupation forces.
Under the umbrella of the IJU, the Uzbeks encouraged the Turks to move to Mir
Ali, away from the border regions, to join forces in a broader alliance that
would shock the Western world - such as attacks in Europe.
There is a sizeable Turk diaspora in Europe, especially in Germany, and many
have acquired German nationality. The IJU encouraged such Turks among their
ranks to return to Germany to recruit Muslim converts, especially ethnic
Germans and other Europeans, into al-Qaeda. Within a short period, a sizeable
number of German, Dutch, Norwegian and Spanish recruits went to North
Waziristan.
"In the town of Mir Ali, this new alliance of Germans, Turks and Uzbeks emerged
alongside other European nationals and al-Qaeda supported the alliance as its
new franchise in Europe," the Pakistani official told Asia Times Online.
According to estimates, at least 150 German nationals are involved with the
al-Qaeda network, including those in North Waziristan in transit to Turkey,
Central Asia or other Pakistani areas.
If the past several weeks are any indication, the intensified drone war can be
expected to continue as long as Europe feels it is under threat from terror
attacks that have their roots in Pakistan's tribal areas.
"The region of Datta Khel [North Waziristan] has been identified as the place
where all al-Qaeda bigwigs are gathered. [Osama bin Laden's deputy] Dr Ayman
al-Zawahiri is also believed to be there, and it therefore looks as if the
Afghan war will cross into North Waziristan this winter," the security official
said.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
(Copyright 2010 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us about
sales, syndication and
republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
