Pakistani Taliban sent hundreds to Syria to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with rebels
A Pakistani branch of the Taliban has sent hundreds of men to Syria to fight alongside rebels in the battle to topple President Assad. The militant organization has reportedly set up camps, aiming to foster ties with al-Qaeda’s central leadership.
Taliban commanders told Reuters on Sunday that they decided to
join the cause in Syria in order to fight alongside their
“Mujahedeen friends.”
“When our brothers needed our help, we sent hundreds of fighters
along with our Arab friends,” one senior commander said,
mentioning that his group would be providing the general public
with videos of their “victories” in Syria.
One commander told the agency that the help was sent at the
request of “Arab friends.”
“We have established our own camps in Syria. Some of our people
go and then return after spending some time fighting there,”
a Pakistani Taliban commander said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
“Since our Arab brothers have come here for our support, we are
bound to help them in their respective countries and that is what
we did in Syria,” he added.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is known for its affiliation with
the al Nusra front, recognized as a branch of al-Qaeda. The
majority of Pakistani Taliban groups work under the banner of the
TTP.
They operate in Pakistan's insurgency-plagued areas along the
Afghan border, seeking to topple Pakistan’s government and
install its own branch of Islam.
Taliban factions are motivated to fight by religion in Syria,
working under the belief that Sunni Muslims - who are a majority
in Syria - are being oppressed by the Shia government.
Foreign Sunni fighters now flock to Syria from countries such as
Tunisia and Libya, in order to wage a holy war against perceived
Shia oppressors.
Prominent Pakistani author and Taliban expert Ahmed Rashid told
Reuters that sending Taliban fighters would be regarded as an act
of loyalty by al-Qaeda.
“The Pakistani Taliban has remained a sort surrogate of al-Qaeda.
We've got all these foreigners up there in Federally Administered
Tribal Areas who are being looked after or trained by the
Pakistani Taliban,” said Rashid. He explained that the
fighters are like global jihadists, and drew the conclusion that
they are aiming to “cement relationships with the Syrian
militant groups.”
Risk of heightened extremism
The relationship between Islamists and the Free Syrian Army is
already fragile, and thousands of people have died in the
year-long armed conflict. Violence erupted again on Thursday
after an al-Qaeda linked group assassinated one of the Free
Syrian Army’s most senior commanders in Latakia.
“Recent credible reports show that there are approximately 29
nationalities of foreign fighters engaged in terrorism activities
within Syria’s borders,” Assad told Argentinian media in May.
A UN report published earlier this year mentioned the same
number, stating that the majority were extreme Salafists.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met with foreign ministers from
European and Arab nations on Saturday, underlining that military
support to rebels would need to increase “in order to have an
impact on the ground.”
Congress appeared to prevent that plan from taking place on
Wednesday. Lawmakers moved to block increased military aid,
fearing that weapons would fall into the hands of terrorist
groups. US analysts are particularly concerned over the
strengthening of the Syrian al-Qaeda-affiliated group al-Nusra
Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra.
European countries have opted not to extend an arms embargo,
which means member states now are allowed to arm the Syrian
rebels.
