Badges - Video of a brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emerges

From: Charles Rahn <c.t.rahn@xxxxxxxx>
To: Badges 1Badge <badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:28:26 -0400
Video of a brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emergesThe Long War 
JournalBy Bill Ardolino and Bill RoggioJuly 18, 2011Warning, the video below is 
extremely graphic in nature. If you choose to watch this video, you will see 
the Taliban brutally execute more than a dozen bound Pakistani policemen. The 
Taliban then proceed to pump rounds into those who survived the initial 
firing.http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/07/taliban_brutally_exe.php  
(CLICK THE LINK AND WATCH)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 after several days of heavy 
fighting.The policemen were captured after the Taliban crossed the border from 
Kunar province in Afghanistan and attacked police outposts and villages in the 
Shaltalu area on June 1. The raid sparked a pitched battle that lasted for 
several days. Dozens of Pakistani policemen were taken hostage during the 
ensuing fighting, according to Pajwhok Afghan News. Pakistani officials claimed 
27 policemen and 45 Taliban fighters were killed during the raid, but Pajwhok 
put the number of policemen killed at more than 40. Raids by the Taliban on 
both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border have increased this year as the 
terror groups has increased their footholds in the region [see LWJ report, 
Taliban step up cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan].The graphic 
video, which was published on the LiveLeak website, begins by showing the 
policemen, whose hands are bound behind their backs, in a line along a 
hillside. A Taliban commander tells the policemen they are responsible for the 
execution of six Pakistani "children" in the neighboring Pakistani district of 
Swat. The Taliban leader gives a quick speech just prior to executing the 
Pakistani men."These are the enemies of Islam who originated from Pakistan," 
the Taliban commander, who is masked and who has not been identified, said 
according to a translation of the statement received by The Long War. He 
describes the men as "murtards," or those who have abandoned Islam."They are 
the Pakistani police, soldiers, and their supporters who recently lined up six 
kids in Swat and shot them execution style," the commander continues. "These 
Pakistanis are now our captive and we will avenge the death of the children by 
doing the same to them."The Taliban commander orders the policemen to remain 
still, then he and his fighters immediately open fire on the bound men. Most of 
the policemen are killed during the initial volley of Taliban fire. Several of 
the men are heard moaning as the Taliban stop shooting. The Taliban quickly 
move in to finish off the survivors at close range. The Taliban then travel up 
and down the line of bodies, pumping rounds into those still alive.A Taliban 
fighter with a video camera tapes the entire execution and its aftermath. Later 
in the video, his shadow is cast over the dead bodies as he films them. The 
video has not been attributed to a specific Taliban faction, however two major 
Taliban groups operate in the region, one commanded by Qari Zai Rahman, and 
another by Mullah Fazlullah.Qari Zai Rahman is the dual-hatted Taliban and al 
Qaeda leader who operates in Pakistan's tribal agencies of Bajaur and Mohmand, 
as well as in Afghanistan's provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. ISAF and Afghan 
forces have been hunting Rahman for more than a year.Mullah Fazlullah commands 
the Taliban forces in the district of Swat, which borders Dir to the east. 
Fazlullah's forces openly ruled Swat and neighboring districts from 2007 until 
April 2009, when the Pakistani military launched an operation to eject the 
Taliban. Fazlullah and most of his top leaders evaded the operation, however, 
and have since sheltered along the Afghan-Pakistani border, particularly in 
Dir.The Pakistani Taliban routinely videotape executions of their captives. The 
most recent high-profile execution was carried out by Hakeemullah Mehsud and 
his followers. Earlier this year, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in 
Pakistan released a videotape of the execution of a former Pakistani military 
intelligence official known as Colonel Imam. While Imam, a senior officer in 
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, was a favorite of the 
Afghan Taliban for his support of Mullah Omar, the Pakistani Taliban thought 
accused him spying against the terror group [see LWJ report, Video: Pakistani 
Taliban execute Colonel Imam].
Badges - Video of a brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emerges

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