Hakimullah Mehsud alive

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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/20105385413857720.html

Video tapes have been released of what appears to be Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the main Pakistani Taliban group, warning the US of multiple attacks on its citizens.

The tapes of Mehsud, who was reported dead in a January drone attack, emerged just a day after another Pakistani Taliban group claimed responsibility for a failed bombing in New York.

An unidentified voice purportedly belonging to Mehsud, said the Taliban takes "full responsibility for the recent attack in the USA" in a video released by SITE, a US-based group monitoring Taliban media.

The video, allegedly recorded on April 19, makes no specific reference to the attack in New York City, nor does it mention that the location or that it was a car bomb.

Mehsud was presumed to have been killed in a drone strike in northwestern Pakistan, but last week Pakistani intelligence officials suggested Mehsud may have survived the attack.

Dismissed claim

US authorities investigating the failed car bombing of New York's Times Square have dismissed the earlier claim of responsibility made over the internet by a group led by Qari Hussein Mehsud.

Pakistani Taliban sources also told Al Jazeera on Sunday that they were not involved.


In a second video recording, released by IntelCenter, another monitoring agency, a man appearing to be Mehsud promises that "God willing, very soon in some days or a month's time, the Muslim [community] will see the fruits of most successful attacks of our fedayeen in USA".

"Fedayeen" usually refers to suicide bombers, which the car bomb attempt in New York did not involve.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said the threat apparently issued by Mehsud could have ramifications both in the US and in Pakistan.

"Will they [the US] increase the number of drone strikes into Pakistan now that Hakimullah has issued a threat?" he said.

"The claim that there will be suicide attacks in mainland USA is not something the Americans will take lightly. They will, of course, update security operations.

"The question is if the Taliban has the capability to strike on such a large distance. It's not something that many people believe is possible."

Baitullah Mehsud, the predecessor of Hakimullah Mehsud, reportedly claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at the American Civic Association in Binghamton in April 2009. That claim turned out to be false.

Strong leads

New York authorities have said they have several strong leads in the bombing investigation, including camera footage of a suspicious man leaving the scene.

Michael Bloomberg, the city's mayor, said on Sunday that there was no evidence that al-Qaeda was involved.

"There is no evidence that this is tied in with al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist organisation," he said.


Two alarm clocks were attached to the device found in Times Square [Reuters]

Footage from 82 security cameras in the square in central Manhattan is being reviewed at police laboratories.

One sequence of film showed "a white male in his 40s" who Raymond Kelly, the city police chief, said was acting in a "furtive" manner and changing his clothes as he walked away from the area.

The police said the man was a "person of interest".

The bomb, which was discovered after a street vendor saw smoke coming out of a parked car, prompted the evacuation of thousands of people from the square and surrounding areas on Saturday evening.

Raymond Kelly, the police chief, said the amateurish device, had it exploded, would have created a "significant fireball."

The car "would have at least have been cut in half", he said.

Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, said the FBI, the New York police and the government's terrorism task force were probing a "potential terrorist attack."

There was no evidence of a broader plot, but law enforcement authorities had been alerted to "stay on their toes," she said.
 
When o when will we quit playing "sorta, kinda kill you" games with these clowns???? They are obviously not going to be deterred so let's start using more permanent options. I don't think anyone will mind if parts of those mountains in Northern Pakistan glow for a couple hundred years...
 
When o when will we quit playing "sorta, kinda kill you" games with these clowns???? They are obviously not going to be deterred so let's start using more permanent options. I don't think anyone will mind if parts of those mountains in Northern Pakistan glow for a couple hundred years...

I still think giving the Indians intel and allowing them to keep whatever they can acquire east of the Indus is the way to go. Pakistan is a country like the Seminoles are a tribe.....
 
Would India really want it?

Oh yeah. The Indians still view parts of Pakistan as their (Kashmir comes to mind) and historically Afghans have claims on Peshawar (It was theirs until Ranjit Singh captured it in 1818 and between he and the British it was never returned), plus the Durand Line cuts Pashtuns in half. It was then part of British India until 1947.
 
Interesting, thanks for that. I wasn't aware of a couple of those carve ups and thought that Kashmir was a Pakistani preserve which India wouldn't return, hence their determination to get it back.
 
When India and Pakistan were formed in 1947 the rulers of princely states were allowed to choose which country they would belong to; Kashmir was one of these. The Maharaja didn't decide so Pakistan infiltrated soldiers into the disputed area which concerned the Maharaja so he appealed to Lord Mountbatten for him; Mountbatten agreed on the condition that Kashmir become a part of India. There's still a bit of conflict, notably on the Siachen Glacier (the highest battlefield in the world) with commando raids and intermittent artillery fire. Kashmir is mostly Muslim, and for a long time the government of Pakistan tolerated the Taliban on the condition that some of their men fight for Pakistan in Kashmir. I think Ahmed Rashid covered this rather well in Descent into Chaos.
 
Pretty freakin stupid to try and take credit for failed bombing attempts. I'm with Assad on this one...rearrange the topography of N. Waziristan with Cold War surplus.
 
Pretty freakin stupid to try and take credit for failed bombing attempts. I'm with Assad on this one...rearrange the topography of N. Waziristan with Cold War surplus.

Agreed, and while were at it waste a few on the palace @ Iran.
 
I saw this thread was active again and immediately thought, "please don't tell me that this shithead is back alive again," but nope, just some good old-fashioned necro-posting. ;)
 
I saw this thread was active again and immediately thought, "please don't tell me that this shithead is back alive again," but nope, just some good old-fashioned necro-posting. ;)
That made me think of Achmed the Dead Terrorist! :ROFLMAO:
 
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