Sunday, July 17, 2011

Taliban Militants Killing Civilians Policemen at Pakistan Border — UPDATED!!

Via Bare Naked Islam, "Barack Hussein Obama’s favorite negotiating partners, the Taliban, dish out Taliban justice to 16 civilians in the Swat area of Pakistan."

Content Warning: Extremely graphic.

I don't see a date on this at Live Leak, but Bare Naked Islam links to Bivouac-ID, "Shock Video: The Afghan Taliban execute 16 civilians with machine guns at the border of Pakistan Shaltalu (July 16)," and from there to Himal Southasian, "From across the border (June 28)."

The insurgents are likely Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant organization allied to Mullah Omar, who was the Supreme Leader in Afghanistan prior to the initial rout of the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom. Mullah Omar in turn was closely linked to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Today, speculation is that Pakistan's ISI provides safe haven for Mullah Omar, as it was with Bin Laden. Americans are fighting these insurgents. U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will be a victory for the terrorists. Obviously, this is precisely why I've opposed the administration's drawdown from the region. It's been a long time, ten years since September 11, 2001. And we're all tired of this war. But we'd been doing well with the Petraeus surge in Afghanistan staring in 2009. Some argue that Obama's withdrawal agenda will cancel out all that we've gained. See Robert Kagan, at the Washington Post, "Military leaders know Obama’s decision is a disaster." Also, Max Boot, at Los Angeles Times, "Staying the course in Afghanistan."

*****

UPDATE: Okay, more information coming in on this. See Long War Journal, "Video of brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emerges." (At Memeorandum.)
The Taliban videotaped the brutal execution of more than a dozen Pakistani policemen who were captured during last month's raid in a remote area of northwestern Pakistan.

The graphic video, which shows 16 Pakistani policemen who are lined up and then gunned down by Taliban fighters wielding AK-47s, was taken in early June in the Shaltalu area of the district of Dir in northwestern Pakistan, a Pakistani official and US intelligence officials who track the region told The Long War Journal. The executions were filmed after the policemen were captured during several days of heavy fighting.
So these were apparently police units and not civlians. Be sure to RTWT at Long War Journal.

See also New York Times, "Taliban Video Shows Execution of 16 Pakistanis":

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