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An Afghan woman passes the street as two armored vehicles of ISAF go on patrol in Kabul
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KABUL,
August 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Less than 48 hours after
IslamOnline published the first statement by the so-called Secret
Afghani Army, U.S. and U.K. officials said they consider expanding the
international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan beyond Kabul.
Both
the U.S. and the U.K are considering several options including the
creation of a mobile, rapid-reaction force that could be sent from Kabul
to particular trouble spots as well as establishing ISAF contingents in
several other cities, including Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat and Kandahar,
reported the BBC, adding that, the Americans would not provide troops
but would give support, as at present - air cover, transport and
emergency evacuation would be vital.
The
U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, was against deploying the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond the Kabul area, as
he thought it would interfere with American operations against the
Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The
United States has, instead, put its faith in training a new Afghan army,
but that is going more slowly than hoped. Some observers say the
strategy is undermined by American support for local warlords helping
the hunt for al-Qaeda.
The
reports about the U.S. change of heart came after an Afghani group sent
a statement to IslamOnline Tuesday, August 27, 2002, claiming
responsibility for a string of attacks targeting U.S. troops in
Afghanistan and promising to continue its attacks in revenge for
innocent civilians killed during the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
The
group, calling itself the Secret Army of the Afghan Fighters
(Mujahideen), said their attacks against the Americans in Afghanistan
will continue until the last U.S. soldier leaves the country and a
“free Islamic Afghanistan” is established.
The
statement - which provides details of 30 attacks against U.S. troops in
Kabul, Bagram military base, and six towns in eastern and southern
Afghanistan from March 4, to August 23 - is apparently the first one
issued by this new group whose name has never been mentioned previously.
“These
attacks were not launched by the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, instead they are
the work of those heroes and fighters who decided to establish a Jihadi
group called the Secret Army of the Afghan Fighters following the unjust
U.S. attacks against Afghanistan,” the statement said.
According
to the statement, these attacks resulted in the deaths of 59 American
soldiers, in addition to three Canadian soldiers and 15 Afghani soldiers
described in the statement as “spies” or “agents.”
The
Pentagon, has continuously denied any news about the killing of its
soldiers in Afghanistan.
The
message was sent to IslamOnline by email, Husbanullah Motawakil, IOL’s
Peshawar correspondent said, adding that although the message was
undated, the mention of the latest attacks meant it was probably written
recently.
The
statement may have been released to mark the anniversary of Afghan
independence from British occupation on August 18, to remind the Afghans
of their ancestors’ fight against occupation and encourage them to
launch Jihad against foreign troops in the country, he said.
