Current Status of the Taliban
Table of content
- Leader
- Current Activities
- Current Location
Leader
Mohammed Omar, or more simply known as Mullah Omar, is the current leader of the Taliban. In 1992 he started his movement with less than 50 armed madrassah students, Taliban's meaning is actually students. One legend says that in 1994 he had a dream in which a woman told him: "We need your help; you must rise. You must end the chaos. God will help you." In a BBC's Pashto interview after the September 11 attack sin 2001, he said that "You (the BBC) and American puppet radios have created concern. But the current situation in Afghanistan is related to a bigger cause, that is the destruction of America...This is not a matter of weapons. We are hopeful for God's help. The real matter is the extinction of America. And, God willing, it [America] will fall to the ground... We will not accept a government of wrong-doers. We prefer death than to be a part of an evil government..." the US led Operation Enduring Freedom in early October 2001, Omar went into hiding and is still at large. He is thought to be in the Pashtun tribal region of Afghanistan or Pakistan. At first, the United States offered a reward of $10 million, in US dollars, for information leading to his capture but eventually the reward was raised to $25 million. On 23 May 2011, TOLO News in Afghanistan quoted unnamed sources saying Omar had been killed by ISI, Inter-Service Intelligence, two days earlier. These reports remain unconfirmed.
Current Activities
A vast majority of the Taliban's current activity consists of suicide bombings. On May 13, 2011 a Taliban suicide bomber posing as an army recruit blew himself up in the midst of a crowd outside an Afghan military recruiting center in the northern city of Kunduz, killing 36 people, including five children. On September 19, 2011 eight people were killed in a suicide bombing outside of a senior police officer's house in Karachi. Six of the killed were police officers and the other two were a woman and child. Police said that 136 pounds of explosives were used in the attack. In the past few years, these and many other suicide bombings have been the main activities of the Taliban.
Current Locations
References
All Voices. (2010, September 15). Taliban and Al Qaeda are on their heels in Pakistan and Afghanistan! Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5276847/image/48935202-taliban-locations-in-pakistan-and-afghanistan.
Chicago Tribune. (2011, May 6). Mohammed Omar. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/government/mohammed-omar-PEHST00000301.topic
The Guardian. (2011, September 19). Taliban Suicide Bomber Attacks Senior Police Officer's Home in Karachi. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/19/taliban-suicide-bomber-police-karachi
The New York Times. (2011, March 14). Bomber Kills 36 Outside Afghan Recruiting Center. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15afghanistan.html?_r=1
Chicago Tribune. (2011, May 6). Mohammed Omar. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/government/mohammed-omar-PEHST00000301.topic
The Guardian. (2011, September 19). Taliban Suicide Bomber Attacks Senior Police Officer's Home in Karachi. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/19/taliban-suicide-bomber-police-karachi
The New York Times. (2011, March 14). Bomber Kills 36 Outside Afghan Recruiting Center. Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15afghanistan.html?_r=1
