Abdullah Mehsud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Abdullah Mehsud | |
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 Abdullah Mehsud from his US "most wanted poster".
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| Born: | 1974 Helmand, Afghanistan |
| Died | July 24, 2007 Balochistan, Pakistan |
| Detained at: | Guantanamo |
| Alias(s): | Said Mohammed Alim Shah |
| ID number: | 92 |
| Alleged to be a member of: | Taliban |
| Conviction(s): | no charge, held in extrajudicial detention |
| Status | released, allegedly "returned to the battlefield", allegedly KIA |
Abdullah Mehsud (Urdu: عبدالله محسود) was an Pashtun belonging to Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. Abdullah Mehsud was a member of the Taliban. The 29-year old militant commander was killed on July 24, 2007 after security forces raided a house in Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Mehsud was born Noor Alam, and was a member of the Mehsud clan in Sourh Waziristan. He was also a clan member to Baitullah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency. He fought against the Northern Alliance and lost a leg to a landmine in 1996.[2]
[edit] Capture
During the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom, Mehsud fought against U.S. and Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan. In December 2001, he surrendered to the Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum in Kunduz. He was handed over to the U.S. and spent 25 months in Guantanamo Bay. He was then handed over to the Pakistani government. They then returned him to South Waziristan.[3]
[edit] Return to the battlefield
After his release, Mehsud immediately begin rebuilding his Taliban cadre. He commanded a force of up to 5,000 Taliban fighters. He then began initiating attacks on Coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.
In Waziristan, Mehsud was believed to be behind the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers from the building of the Gomal Zam Dam, which left one hostage dead during a botched rescue attempt. He was also alleged to have been behind an attack on Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao that killed 31 people.[1]
In 2005, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that Mehsud had been killed by ISI forces, only to later retract the statement.[4]
Mehsud was one of the first three former Guantanamo captives the Bush Presidency reported had returned to the battlefield. As of July 2007 spokesmen reported that over thirty captives had returned to the battlefield, or associated with terrorists, after their release. As of July 2007 the spokesmen had named seven of those individuals.
[edit] Promise to never surrender
Sikh Spectrum reports that, during a telephone interview in 2004, Abdullah Mehsud promised to never surrender.[5]
[edit] Death
On July 24, 2007, Mehsud was at a house with other militants in Zhob, Balochistan. A team of Law-Enforcement Agencies conducted a raid on the house where he was staying. Mehsud killed himself by detonating hand grenade. During the raid, several other militants were killed and his brothers, Abdul Rahman Mehsud and Muhammad Azam, were captured along with a local Taliban leader.[6]
[edit] Relationship with Baitullah Mehsud
Abdullah Mehsud has been described as being the brother of Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal leader of the Wazir tribe.[7] Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.[8][9][10] Islam Online reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Mehsud behind attack: Sherpao", Dawn (newspaper), April 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- ^ Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid - The Long War Journal
- ^ Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid - The Long War Journal
- ^ Salman Masood. "Taliban Leader Is Said to Evade Capture by Blowing Himself Up", New York Times, July 25, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- ^ Mohammad Shehzad. "I Will Never Surrender: Abdullah Mehsud", Sikh Spectrum, February 2004. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
- ^ Abdul Rahman Mehsud and Muhammad Azam
- ^ "Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan", Dawn (newspaper), July 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "During Mehsud's time on the run, his brother Baitullah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan's tribal regions."
- ^ "Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government", The News, July 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Baitullah Mehsud, who abandoned his more well-known colleague Abdullah Mehsud to cut a peace deal with the government some months ago in return for amnesty, has warned of "terrible attacks" against the government if he and his men..."
- ^ Bill Roggio. "Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid", Longwar Journal, July 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Abdullah Mehsud, born Noor Alam, was a member of the Mehsud clan in South Waziristan, and was a clansman of Baitullah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency."
- ^ Saleem Shahid. "Cornered militant blows himself up", Dawn (newspaper), July 25, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Security was beefed up in Zhob and on Balochistan’s border with Waziristan after the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, the most important Taliban commander in the country after Baitullah Mehsud."
- ^ Aamir Latif. "Pakistan's Most Wanted", Islam Online, Tuesday January 29, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
