Talib heavyweight promotes schism among Taliban

[joeblow]

Talib heavyweight promotes schism among Taliban
Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:49:48 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=9 ... =351020401


Qari Zainuddin's coffin being lowered into the grave in Dera Ismail Khan


Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban chief in Pakistan, (C) with his back to the camera


Qari Zainuddin (C) surrounded by his armed guards before his assassination in northwestern Pakistan

More splits emerge within Baitullah Mehsud's terrorist network after his close allies accused him of pursuing a US-Israeli agenda in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

A notorious militant leader, Turkistan Bittani, who earlier broke away from the Taliban chief, vowed Thursday that his militiamen would fight until the elimination of Mehsud's terror network.

Bhittani went on to say that the Mehsud tribesmen were also willing to cooperate with the Pakistani Army against insurgents.

The remarks come after Mehsud's men accepted responsibility for the killing of his rival pro-government militant commander, Qari Zainuddin.

Zainuddin, a 26-year-old rising tribesman, was killed by one of his bodyguards in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday.

Bittani and Zainuddin were among the commanders who defected from the Taliban chief in the volatile Waziristan region weeks ago.

They were increasingly critical of Mehsud's use of suicide bombings to target civilians.

The defected commanders revealed in an interview that their comrade had established strong links with Israeli intelligence services which allegedly sought to destabilize the nuclear armed country.

"These people (Mehsud and his men) are working against Islam," they said in an interview last week.

Mehsud, a warlord in his late 30s, has claimed responsibility for dozens of devastating attacks on both civilians and security forces.

The splits are suspected to demoralize Mehsud's supporters who are already on the run across the lawless northwestern region where the army has opened several new fronts against insurgents.

JR/HGH/AA