BRIEFS

TALIBAN SECRET ARMY APPEARS IN AFGHANISTAN

A previously unknown militant group, the Taliban Secret Army, claimed responsibility for a July 1 attack in Baghlan province in Afghanistan. The attack involved an explosion that ripped through the office of BRAC, a Bangladeshi NGO. The incident caused no casualties due to the weak nature of the explosives used, but it did cause damage to the building (Pajhwok Afghan News, July 1). A man who claimed to speak for the new militant group called Pajhwok Afghan News claiming credit for the operation. Baghlan province is located in the north of the country, just south of Kunduz which sits on the Tajikistan border.

TALIBANIZATION PROCESS CONTINUES IN PAKISTAN

On June 30, the Talibanization process in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) passed another marker as the local Taliban staged a public execution. Tribal elders, speaking to Pakistan’s Daily Times, said that the execution was the first of its kind in North Waziristan. The man who was executed had been accused of murdering two men on June 22. Eight days later, the families of the two dead men were given assault rifles by local Taliban leaders and were allowed to execute the accused in public. One eyewitness, speaking to the Daily Times on July 1, said, “The militants blindfolded him and tied his hands together, dragged him to a public area in the village and gave assault rifles and three bullets to one of the relatives of each of the dead. The sound of the gunshot echoed in the area, as people chanted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great).” The execution came despite the large contingents of Pakistani security forces in the area. The government appears to be allowing the local Taliban autonomy in the tribal regions, provided that the local Taliban suspend attacks against government troops.