- PESHAWAR (ANI) -- Remnants
of the dismembered Taliban claim to possess chemical and other sophisticated
weapons provided by 'friendly' states to the Afghan resistance aimed at
challenging presence of US and the allied forces in the war-shattered Afghanistan.
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- "Mujhaideen are now in possession of chemical and
other sophisticated weapons provided by friendly countries. We have still
not used them but guided missiles and remote control weapons have been
used and the results are very encouraging," claimed former Taliban
diplomat, Naseer Ahmad Rohi.
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- Rohi, who claimed to have served as first secretary at
the Afghan Embassy in the United Arab Emirates before the fall of Taliban
regime, briefed a selected group of senior journalists here on Friday.
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- He said the new weapons have not been used by Mujahideen
in the past, neither by the Arabs nor the Afghans. However, experts and
analysts of the Afghan situation believe that the claim by the Taliban
official needs verification.
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- The former Taliban official categorically denied Pakistan's
role in the provision of the latest technology and dangerous weapons, but
said some Muslims as well as non-Muslim friendly countries had supplied
the Mujahideen with the weaponry.
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- Rohi did not name any country providing what he claimed
chemical weapons to the resistance forces in Afghanistan, but said the
situation was encouraging for them because of the coordinated attacks on
the US and allied forces in eastern and southern provinces during the last
few months.
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- Rohi claimed that Taliban, al-Qaeda fighters loyal to
Osama bin Laden and Hezb-i-Islami's Mujahideen under the leadership of
Gulbaddin Hekmatyar have joined hands and reactivated its dormant cells
in several provinces to take on the enemy.
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- "Hekmatyar met Taliban supreme leader, Mulla Muhammad
Omar in Uruzgan province and both the leaders have agreed on the war strategy
and coordination among the resistance groups," he said adding that
the two leaders have resolved to launch a joint struggle for the liberation
of Afghanistan from foreign forces and holding of general elections in
the country in case of success in ousting the invaders. "It was Hekmatyar's
insistence to hold general elections in the country after the victory,"
Rohi said.
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- He said that Mulla Omar has not changed his get-up neither
did Osama bin Laden, but certain key Taliban leaders wanted by the US,
have done it by shaving beards or trimming them out of compulsion. Rohi
said that Hezb's fighters have taken responsibility to launch attacks on
the US forces in eastern provinces while Taliban and their supporters would
carry out such activities in southern parts of Afghanistan.
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- About Osama bin Laden, he said the al-Qaeda chief was
alive and moving in areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan along with his
one wife and kids. Osama bin Laden has four wives and more than a dozen
children.
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- "Osama sustained injuries in the chest at the Tora
Bora bombing by US planes, but has survived the air strikes. However, the
entire family of Aiman al-Zawahiri has been killed including his two wives
and kids," the Taliban official claimed. He said that al-Zawahiri,
second in command in the al-Qaeda network, has moved out of the region
saying that according to his information, Zawahiri was no longer in Asia.
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- Rohi claimed that Hekmatyar's forces have captured as
many as 50 US soldiers on way to Kabul from Logar while the Taliban fighters
captured another 26 US special forces personnel during the Shai Kot fighting,
which was code-named as "Operation Anaconda". "We will bring
them before the press after the approval of the top leadership," he
said.
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- However, Pakistani intelligence officials did not agree
with the number of missing US soldiers saying that news about 10 to 15
missing US soldiers was in circulation since long. "I believe that
the operation in Kunar province of Afghanistan last month was aimed at
finding clues to the whereabouts of the missing Americans," an official
of the secret agencies said.
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- Rohi also claimed that as many as 5,000 fighters loyal
to the Taliban Movement have been activated in southern as well as eastern
provinces. "We still have Arab, Chechen, Uzbeck and even Pakistani
fighters with us and were ready to fight against the foreign invaders.
"Taliban as well as the Arab Mujahideen are not happy with Pakistan's
policy of arresting and handing over hundreds of Muslims to the US,"
he said. (ANI)
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