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25 Terror Suspects Nabbed in Afghanistan
 Afghan intelligence agents backed by international peacekeepers arrested 25 people allegedly linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida in an early morning raid in eastern Kabul Saturday, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said. Lt. Cdr. Ken Mackillop said the raid took place between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the Policharki district of the capital. He gave no details about what the men were allegedly plotting or whether it was linked to presidential elections on Oct. 9. MacKillop said nobody was injured in the operation but gave no further details. Afghanistan's Intelligence Service had no comment.Meanwhile, a spokesman for the 18,000-strong U.S.-led military coalition warned the historic election was entering a dangerous phase and the Taliban were likely to try to disrupt it, despite all the efforts of Afghan and international security forces. "We are getting to a more dangerous time," said spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson. "As we get closer to the election we expect to see more activity. We think we've done a good job along with the government of Afghanistan to disrupt a lot of their operations, but it only takes one person with a car bomb to get in there and get lucky and do something." Nelson said a significant threat still exists to Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, both of which the Taliban has publicly said they hope to target. He said the rebels were concentrating most of their efforts on the south and east of the country, the regions where they have launched the most attacks on election workers, Afghan security forces and ordinary citizens in recent months. Nelson said Taliban forces have tried to intimidate voters and local leaders. "They have significantly increased their information propaganda war. We see a lot of 'night letters' in villages, particularly in the south and southeast. The Taliban claim responsibility for things they didn't do, and also just make things up," he said. "Night letters" are unsigned leaflets that are distributed clandestinely. Posted by: Fred 2004-10-02 |
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