Wonk Watch: The New
America Foundation has just released a series of papers on the threat,
capabilities, and allies of al-Qaeda central that provide context for
two different but simultaneously accurate pictures of the group: one,
wounded and hunted, the other, resilient and determined (NAF).
Kabul shaken
After
more than a month of calm and on the morning of the birthday of the
Prophet Muhammad, several Taliban suicide bombers in cars and on foot
targeted two buildings in the Afghan capital often used by foreign
visitors, killing as many as 18 people including an Italian, a
Frenchman, ten Indians, and a Pakistani (AJE, AP, AFP, BBC, Pajhwok, CNN, Reuters, Wash Post, NYT).
According to witnesses, the bombers also used guns and grenades, and
the attacks left eight Afghans including three police officers dead and
some 40 wounded, and suggest that Taliban across the country have not
been cowed by the ongoing coalition offensive in Marjah, in the
southern Afghan province of Helmand.
Operation Moshtarak in
Marjah, nearly two weeks old, continues and the AP adds its analysis to
those finding that the Afghan National Army is not ready to "go it
alone" (AP).
Two NATO soldiers died in Afghanistan earlier today, one involved in
the Marjah operations, and Afghans and coalition troops are engaged in
active bargaining over compensation for damaged property and injuries
from Moshtarak (AFP, AP). Pajhwok reports that 35 Afghan civilians have been killed in the operation, which the Journal assesses has reached a "turning point" and the Times says has "emerged from the worst of the fighting" (Pajhwok, WSJ, NYT).
Watching the Afghan Taliban...
Josha
Partlow has today's must-read about the complexities of the plans for
reintegrating Taliban militants in Afghanistan, correctly noting that
"the diverse strands of the insurgency make it difficult to generalize
about the motives of fighters across the country" (Wash Post).
And Anand Gopal analyzes whether the Afghan Taliban can recover from
recent blows to its leadership, writing, "While the recent crackdown
may put pressure on the Taliban, the movement has survived the loss of
senior leaders before" (CSM).
In spite of recent reports, Lahore's High Court has
ruled that Mullah Baradar, the captured Afghan Taliban's
second-in-command, will not be extradited to Afghanistan or the United States, nor will four
other recently detained Taliban leaders (BBC, Dawn, NYT). The court also ruled that none but Pakistani security forces and intelligence officials should have access to the men.
...and the Pakistani Taliban
Wednesday's
suspected U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan reportedly killed a
commander in the 'Punjabi Taliban' who was wanted in connection with
the deadly 2006 bombing on the U.S. consulate in Karachi (AP, The News, AFP, Dawn).
Muhammad Qari Zafar, a former member of the sectarian terrorist outfit
Lashkar-i-Jangvi, had allied himself with the Pakistani Taliban
sometime before military operations in South Waziristan began in
October of last year. For regularly updated research on drone strikes
in Pakistan, visit New America's newly-launched drones database, which
includes a map of reported strikes in Pakistan since 2004 (NAF).
And Dawn reports that the nephew of Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah has been arrested in Nowshera in the NWFP (Dawn). Sabrina Tavernise has a story about Sufism, a mystical form of Islam, in Lahore and throughout Pakistan (NYT).
The rule of law
A
few days after the Afghan-American admitted terrorist Najibullah Zazi
pleaded guilty, two of his high school classmates also accused of
terrorism-related activities were indicted and pleaded not guilty in
the plot to bomb New York City subways (AP).
Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin both allegedly traveled to Pakistan
with Zazi in 2008 to join the Taliban, according to authorities, who
also say the plot was "directed by al-Qaeda leadership." For more on
the legal 'war on terror,' subscribe to a new weekly brief from Foreign Policy and New America (LWOT).
Some
prisoners at a new $60 million facility at Bagram Air Base north of
Kabul are unexpectedly cheerful, reports McClatchy, and the new space
is a "vast improvement" over older conditions according to human rights
groups (McClatchy). And Pakistan will reportedly hand over 42 Taliban prisoners in its custody to Afghan authorities sometime soon (Pajhwok).
Congratulations!
A Pakistani woman gave birth to a baby while riding in a rickshaw stuck in traffic yesterday in Quetta (Aaj).
The roads were jammed because Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who
ordered an investigation, was visiting the Baluchistan capital, and mom
and baby are doing well (Dawn/Reuters, Geo).
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