White House hails capture of Taliban leader

The White House broke its silence on Wednesday on the capture of a key Taliban military commander, calling the development a “big success for our mutual efforts in the region.”
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, after declining to speak on Tuesday about the capture of Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, confirmed the arrest of Baradar. Reuters

NY Times holds Taliban news at White House request

The New York Times nailed down the news about the capture of the Taliban’s No. 2 commander in Afghanistan last week but held off publishing the information at the request of a key player in the article — the Obama administration.

The cooperation with the White House added another layer of intrigue to the Times’ exclusive report about the arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence forces. The newspaper broke the news on its Web site on Monday night, at least three days after its reporters learned about the action. AP

Was Pakistani Taliban leader killed?

The Pakistani military on Sunday was looking into a local report that the region’s Taliban leader had died, officials said.
State broadcaster PTV reported that Hakimullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander in Pakistan, was wounded in a drone attack this month, and that he died and was buried last week. PTV cited local sources and its correspondent in North Waziristan.
But military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN that “we cannot yet confirm” Mehsud’s death.
Pakistani officials said Sunday they were investigating the reports
Rumors of Mehsud’s death have been swirling for days, and officials had been largely dismissive of the reports.

Karzai urges Taliban talks before US, Nato leave

Taliban fighters should drop their demand that US and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan before peace talks can be held, President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday, saying talks would make it easier for troops to leave.

Al Qaeda,Taliban allies of convenience, says Bin Ladin’s son

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are only allies of convenience and “do not love one another,” according to a son of Osama bin Laden, who grew up partly in a group of al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
The ties between the two groups are of intense interest because international forces are contemplating talks with the Afghan Taliban to forge a political settlement in Afghanistan and foment a rift between the group and al Qaeda. Reuters

Taliban attacks Afghan capital, 5 people killed

Afghan security forces have locked down the centre of Kabul after Taliban fighters launched a series of attacks on key government targets in the Afghan capital.

The first attack on Monday was reported close to the presidential palace as Hamid Karzai, the president, swore in several of his cabinet ministers inside.

The attacks triggered protracted gun battles and at least five people had died and some 38 more were wounded, according to the public health ministry. Al Jazeera

Blast that killed 7 CIA agents blamed on Jordanian double agent

The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer was a double agent the CIA had recruited to provide intelligence on senior al Qaeda leadership, according to current and former U.S. officials and an Afghan security official.
The officials said the bomber was a Jordanian doctor likely affiliated and working with al Qaeda.
The Afghan security official identified the bomber as Hammam Khalil Abu Mallal al-Balawi, who is also known as Abu Dujana al-Khurasani.
The Pakistani Taliban also claimed that Mr. al-Balawi was the bomber, Arabic-language Web sites reported Monday. WSJ

U.S. condemns Taliban video of captive soldier

The U.S. has condemned a Taliban video of an American soldier captured by the militants in Afghanistan last June as an affront to his family at Christmas. BBC

Suicide bombing kills 5 in Pakistan

A suicide bombing on Thursday killed five people near a security checkpoint in this Peshawar that has borne the brunt of Pakistan’s rising Islamist insurgency, police and government officials said.
It was the latest in a deadly string of attacks in Peshawar, a northwestern city near the Afghan border and a rugged tribal region where the military has been battling the Pakistani Taliban. Authorities said they were not sure of the target of Thursday’s blast, which killed a police officer and civilians, but many recent attacks have targeted security forces in apparent retaliation for the military operation. Washington Post

5 U.S. men arrested in Pakistan on their way to Taliban area

Five young Muslim American men arrested in Pakistan Wednesday were on their way to the heart of the Taliban sanctuary in Pakistan’s tribal areas with the intention of training to fight against American troops in Afghanistan, Pakistani police authorities said Thursday.
The men, a tight circle of friends in their late teens and their 20s from the Washington suburbs, had been in contact through YouTube with a Pakistani militant with links to Al Qaeda before arriving in Pakistan on Nov. 30, said the Pakistani officials, who had firsthand knowledge of the case. Source: NYT