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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan rebels wage war on 'soft targets' |
| 2007-05-14 |
| The cleric was known throughout eastern Afghanistan as "The Muslim" for his great knowledge of Islam. At a community meeting last month, he thundered at his audience, waving his arms and pounding on the lectern. "Everywhere innocent people are dying!" Fazal Ahad shouted at the crowd members, who listened silently. "My people, please do not use the word Islam to justify your bad deeds." Four days later, on April 29, Ahad's vehicle was pulled over as he was on his way to negotiate a dispute between tribes in remote Nuristan province. His three companions were told to leave or be killed. As they rushed for help, they heard a gunshot. Ahad, considered the top religious leader in Nuristan, had been fatally shot in the face. He was a victim of a different war being waged by Afghan insurgents, this one targeting so-called soft targets -- religious leaders, teachers, government employees and reconstruction workers, all accused of links, however slight, to the West and the U.S.-backed government. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 He told a reporter he was not sure what to do. If he supported the U.S.-led coalition, Al Qaeda would kill him, he said. But he also believed that if he supported Al Qaeda, the coalition would kill him. I hope the latter belief is at least as strongly held as the first. I doubt it is. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-05-14 12:42 |