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Taliban execute opposition leader
Friday, Oct. 26, 2001
 
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By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a grim warning to opponents, the Taliban on Friday captured and executed a former guerrilla leader accused of spying for the United States and Britain. U.S. jets struck a Red Cross compound in the Afghan capital for a second time this month.

Abdul Haq's killing, which was confirmed by his family, was the second of a prominent Afghan opposition leader — northern alliance military leader Ahmed Shah Massood was assassinated by suicide bombers last month.

Haq's nephew Mohammed Yousuf told reporters in Pakistan that the former guerrilla and a companion were taken to the Rishkore barracks near Kabul and hanged. Their bodies were then sprayed with bullets, he said.

Mostapha Zaher, grandson and chief spokesman of the former Afghan king, said in Rome that "Afghanistan has lost one of its finest and greatest sons and I and my family have lost a great friend.''

The American attacks on the capital, Kabul, took place on the Muslim holy day, some of them at a time when many people were preparing for midday prayers in the mosques.

After a lull, wave after wave of attacks resumed after sundown, with jets diving, unleashing their bombs and missiles, climbing high into the night sky and then returning moments later to bombard the city again.

Sounds of staccato-like blasts echoed through the streets — apparently from a munitions dump targeted in the east of Kabul. Large explosions shook the city in rapid succession — apparently from heavy bombers flying high overhead.

Haq, a veteran of Afghanistan's war against the invading Soviets, was captured early Friday about 20 miles south of Kabul after a shootout between the Taliban and his party, according to the Taliban's Bakhtar news agency.

The 43-year-old Haq was tried and executed under a religious decree that stipulates death for anyone spying for Britain and the United States, the agency said.

He had slipped into Afghanistan six days ago to try to persuade Afghan tribes to back a U.S.-supported plan to organize a new administration under the chairmanship of the former Afghan king, Mohammad Zaher Shah.

"Commander Haq went there unarmed with five or six people to talk to elders to find out how to bring peace to the country,'' his nephew Yousuf said. "The Taliban have gone out of their minds. It's a great loss.''

During the daylight attacks in Kabul, one bomb exploded near the compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross, setting a warehouse filled with humanitarian goods on fire. U.S. jets attacked the same compound Oct. 16.

"This is the second time our warehouses have been hit,'' ICRC worker Abdul Rashid said as he watched the flames. "Of course, I am sad. We had special programs over the next several days to distribute these items to the disabled people.''

Attacks against Kabul on the Islamic holy day enraged devout Muslims and drew strong condemnations during sermons in the capital's mosques.

One Islamic cleric said the "infidel hit our nation, even on Friday. They are very unkind to our people.'' He urged the faithful to be patient because "we will win.''

The raids Friday followed one of the heaviest nighttime bombings in Kabul in days. Three children were killed — two from one family living in the northwest area of the city and a third from the east part of town, officials at the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital said. The United States has repeatedly said it is not targeting civilians and regrets any loss of life.

President Bush launched the attacks Oct. 7 after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

In other attacks-related developments:

— Britain announced it will commit 200 special forces troops to the offensive in Afghanistan as part of a larger military force to include warships and planes. They are to be stationed on assault ships in the region, and 400 more will be on standby.

— Tens of thousands of people marched peacefully through the middle of Karachi, Pakistan, to protest U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan and the support of Pakistan's government in carrying them out.

— President Bush signed a sweeping anti-terrorism bill into law, giving police and intelligence agencies vast new powers to fight terrorism.

As a war hero and member of the majority Pashtun community, Haq represented the kind of figure the United States and its allies need if they are to form a multiethnic, broad-based government to replace the Taliban.

In a statement to the Afghan Islamic Press, Taliban intelligence chief Mullah Qari Ahmedullah warned that the Islamic militia maintains a "very effective spying system'' in every province and "no opponent can escape from it.''

He said Taliban agents in Pakistan had been shadowing Haq since he returned from the United Arab Emirates to help organize Taliban opponents.

Bakhtar said Haq, who lost a foot in the war against the Soviets, was captured after villagers in Logar province tipped off Taliban intelligence agents.

Taliban troops cornered Haq's party and he was taken into custody following a firefight in which four Taliban and three civilians were injured, the agency said. According to Bakhtar, Haq was found with two satellite telephones, U.S. dollars and unspecified documents.

"At the same time Abdul Haq was captured, one jet and two helicopters came to try to help him but they failed,'' the agency said.

Haq turned to the former Afghan king because he believed the opposition northern alliance, which is fighting the Taliban, would never be accepted by the Pashtun majority. He also opposed efforts by Russia, the United States and other governments to promote the alliance, which is dominated by ethnic minority Tajiks and Uzbeks.

Although the United States initially distanced itself from the northern alliance, negotiations among Afghan groups on an alternative government to replace the Taliban have been painfully slow. That has prompted the Americans to begin air attacks in support of the northern alliance along front lines near Kabul and the key northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — AP correspondent Steven Gutkin contributed to this report from Dashtak, Afghanistan.

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