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Posted on 11/07/2001 2:52:32 AM PST by Harp

PESHAWAR: The Taliban of Afghanistan have raised a death squad to combat the ongoing United States assault, The Frontier Post learnt on Tuesday.

Ranks of this suicide squad (fidaiyan) include Afghan as well as non-Afghan fighters, ready to lay down their lives in the war against the US, well placed sources from Kabul told this scribe.

The strategy of the fidaiyan will be to carry out kamikaze-style suicide attacks using gliders or improvised machine-propelled vehicles against US and British aircraft and commando units.

According to the source, himself supporting pro-Taliban sentiments, the fidaiyan will lay in ambush close to buildings, hilltops, hideouts and trenches considered potential targets for US troops.

A fighter who sees a low-flying helicopter or aircraft or a Special Forces team approaching will crash himself into it.

Formation of this death squad is a major new development in the Afghan history of warfare.

Never before in the history have Afghan countenanced the idea of suicide attacks against advancing contingents or stationed troops.

The mastermind of the plan is said to be an Arab fighter whose name could not be ascertained.

He is Moroccan by origin and a relative and associate of Palestinian Hashem Menqarah, a prominent member of the Brigade No. 10 responsible for the security of the top brass in Al Fatah organisation.

The Frontier Post can report that fidaiyan (literally: those who sacrifice their lives) have been spotted in several Taliban-controlled areas.

They are easily recognizable by their vehicles, livery and weapons.

Fidaiyan mainly carry small Russian-made AK-83 commando sub-machine guns or German-made HK MP5s, both with folding butts.

They sport black, navy blue and olive green bands inscribed with verses from the Holy Quran on their chest.

The source shied away from disclosing the marks on the on the vehicles of the fidaiyan, but said they are highly respected and given full protocol by the ‘common Taliban.’ They are allowed to enter sensitive installations riding their vehicles without being stopped and searched.

A veteran of Afghan struggle against the Soviet invasion who remembers the days and efforts ahead of Osama bin Laden’s flight from Khartoum to Afghanistan in early August 1996, and has recently returned from Kabul, confirmed the formation of the fidaiyan force.

Suicide attacks have always been an issue of hot debate between the followers of the Hanafi and Hanbali Islamic schools of thought, a scholar said.

While many scholars in the Hanbali school allow suicide attacks in emergency situations, Hanafi scholars are firm this practice is forbidden under Islam and lacking precedent in the early days of the advent of Islam.

Taliban are predominantly Hanafi, but the asymmetries of the current conflict may have convinced their leadership to have a second look to issue.

Shaikh Yousuf al Qardhawi, one of greatest contemporary Muslim scholars, who has sanctioned Palestinian suicide attacks, urges Muslims to call the operations ‘esteshhadi’ (seeking martyrdom) rather than ‘entehari’ (suicidal).

Interestingly, al Qardhawi last year dashed to Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from destroying the Buddha statues, only to be ridiculed by them for lacking understanding of the wisdom behind monotheism in Islam.

The advent of Afghan suicide attacks may have serious repercussions for other predominantly Hanafi Islamic countries, particularly Pakistan.

While Islamabad has sided with the US-led coalition in its war on terrorism, citizens have been vociferous in their criticism of the campaign, and in sympathising with the Taliban.

Puritanical leaders have said they would send volunteers to fight side by side with the Taliban, and some of them have already matched their words with action.

"Mooslim" launching machine in a secret test run.

Note: The "projectile pictured here is an "infidel".

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