Shahzada (Taliban commander)

Last updated

Shahzada
Born1960 [1]
Afghanistan
Arrested26 November 2001
Kunduz
Northern Alliance
Released8 May 2003
Kabul
Died7 May 2004
CitizenshipAfghanistan
Detained at  Sheberghan Prison; Kandahar; Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Other name(s) Mohammed Yusif Yaqub
ISN 367
StatusReleased, reengaged, and then killed.
ParentsMohammad Gul Aka (father)

Shahzada Akhund, known also by the title Mullah , was a Taliban field commander who was held in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo. He used a false name, Mohammed Yusif Yaqub, and pretended to be an innocent civilian.

Contents

He succeeded in convincing the Americans that he posed no threat and was released. He subsequently rejoined the Taliban, fighting the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He died in combat in 2004.

Prior to United States invasion of Afghanistan

Shahzada was from Mira Khor, a small village in the Maywand district of Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan. He was from the Tarakai tribe, and his father was Mohammad Gul Aka. [2] He was born in 1960. He was educated at a madrassa in Pakistan. [2]

In 2001, a Mullah Shahzada was reported as a member of the Taliban delegation charged with responsibility over the destruction of statues. [3] The term mullah is primarily understood in the Muslim world as a term of respect for an educated religious man. [4] [5] There was at least one other contemporary "Mullah Shahzada" active in the Taliban in Afghanistan.[*]

A report by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, identified a Mullah Shahzad Kandahari ("Kandahari" refers to Kandahar) as being involved in a massacre in Rabatak, in Samangan province. [6] According to a human rights organisations, he was the commander of Khinjan front, north of Kabul, and it is alleged that he was responsible for the execution of thirty-one civilian detainees near the Rabatak pass in May 2000. [7] [8] The following year, in January 2001, following the Taliban recapture of Yakawlang in Bamyan province from the United Front, the U.N. alleged he was involved in the killing of several hundred civilians, including a U.N staff member and a number of aid agency workers. [9]

United States invasion of Afghanistan

Following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, and the surrender of the Taliban forces holding Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan, Shahzada was captured by Northern Alliance forces on 26 November 2001. [10] He pretended to be an innocent rug merchant captured by mistake and used a false name, [11] Mohammed Yusif Yaqub. [12] In reality, he had been a Taliban officer during the invasion. [11] He was transported to Sheberghan Prison, where he was held for seven weeks, before being handed over to the United States at Kandahar. He was later transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp, arriving on 15 June 2002, where he was given the Internment Serial Number (ISN) 367. [10]

During his time in Guantanamo, he was consistent and stuck to his cover story about being a rug merchant. [11] Ultimately, he was successful in convincing the American authorities that he was not a Taliban leader and that he did not pose a threat to U.S. interests. As a result, in December 2002, Shahzada was recommended for release. This occurred on 8 May 2003, [12] and he was flown to Kabul. [13] Gul Agha Sherzai, the post-Taliban governor of Kandahar, has said that Afghan offers of help in identifying known Talibans, which might have shown Shahzada's cover story to be false, were repeatedly rejected. [14]

Once back in Afghanistan, he returned to combat as a commander, recruiting fighters using stories of established poor treatment at the hands of the Americans in Guanatanamo as a recruiting tool. He was also behind a significant prison break: [14] in October 2003 he arranged for forty-one Taliban prisoners to escape from Sarposa prison, including the brother of the Taliban defence minister. [15] The New York Times reported that after his return to fighting, he was responsible for the operations that killed at least thirteen people, including two aid workers. [11]

Newsweek named him Mullah Shahzada Akhund, describing him as a senior leader. They placed him in the Arghandab district, near Kandahar, where he met with the leader of the Taliban, Mohammed Omar, ten days before his death. [16] He died 7 May 2004. [12] His death has variously been described as occurring in action against the U.S, [12] and as being an accident. [11] Newsweek, whose report is the most detailed, refers to it as a friendly-fire incident. [16] He died in Nalgham, near Kandahar. [2]

Other mentions of a Mullah Shahzada

Two days before the release from Guantanamo of ISN 367, who was released on 8 May 2003, [12] the New York Times reported in an article about the resurgence of the Taliban on an interview with a "religious teacher and former fighter" named Mullah Shahzada, in Quetta, Pakistan. This Shahzada was reported as coming from Helmand province, [17] not Kandahar province.

The People's Daily reports that a Mullah Shahzada was injured during a firefight in Helmand province in October 2005. [18]

Related Research Articles

Mullah Mohammad Rabbani Akhund was one of the main leaders of the Taliban movement who served as Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. He was second in power only to the supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in the Taliban hierarchy.

Muhammad Ismail Agha is an Afghan national who was among some 15-21 juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps. He is believed to be 13 or 14 years old when arrested by Afghan soldiers. Detained without charge, he was released on January 29, 2004, and returned home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Salam Zaeef</span> 2000–2001 Afghan ambassador to Pakistan

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef is an Afghan diplomat who was the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan before the US invasion of Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Fazl</span> Afghan politician

Mullah Mohammad Fazl is the First Deputy Defense Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, having assumed the role on 7 September 2021. He also served in the position during the previous Taliban government (1996–2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khairullah Khairkhwa</span> Information Minister of Afghanistan since 2021

Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa is the Afghan Minister of Information and Culture and a former Minister of the Interior. After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, he was held at the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba for 12 years. He was released in late May 2014 in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl and the Taliban five. Press reports have referred to him as "Mullah" and "Maulavi", two different honorifics for referring to senior Muslim clerics.

Hajji Shahzada is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Shahzada's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 952. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that Shahzada was born in 1959, in Belanday, Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Haq Wasiq</span> Afghan Director of Intelligence since 2021

Abdul Haq Wasiq is the Director of Intelligence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since September 7, 2021. He was previously the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in the former Taliban government (1996–2001). He was held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, from 2002 to 2014. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 4. American intelligence analysts estimate that he was born in 1971 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.

Raes Abdul Wahed(also transliterated as Abdul Rais Wahid and Abdul Wahid) is an Afghan warlord.

A Syrian-Kurd, Abd al-Rahim Abdul Rassak al-Janko is a former student in the United Arab Emirates who traveled to Afghanistan in 2000, where he was captured by the Taliban who announced that he had confessed to plotting to murder Osama bin Laden, as well as spying against the Taliban on behalf of Israel and the United States. He was also denounced for "his sexual indiscretions with other young men" and accused of homosexuality. Following the Invasion of Afghanistan, al-Janko begged a British journalist to alert the Americans that he had been held prisoner by the Taliban for two years; however, he was taken from the Taliban prison by American forces, and sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camps where he spent seven years in detention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Rauf Aliza</span> Taliban/ISIS fighter (1981–2014)

Mullah Abdul Rauf Aliza, widely identified as Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim, was a Taliban member held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba, until 20 December 2007. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 108.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabar Lal Melma</span> Afghan Guantanamo detainee

Sabar Lal Melma was a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Sabar Lal Melma's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 801. American intelligence analysts estimate that Sabar Lal Melma was born in 1962, Darya-e-Pech, Afghanistan.

Mohammed Kamin is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. The Joint Task Force Guantanamo estimate that Kamin was born in 1978. He was transferred to the United Arab Emirates on August 13, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obaidullah Akhund</span> Taliban politician (c. 1968–2010)

Mullah Obaidullah the Akhund was the Defence Minister in the Afghan Taliban government of 1996–2001 and then an insurgent commander during the Taliban insurgency against the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai and the US-led NATO forces. He was captured by Pakistani security forces in 2007 and died of heart disease in a Pakistani prison in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abd al-Rahman Bin Khalil Bin Abdallah Nur</span>

Abd al-Rahman Bin Khalil Bin Abdallah Nur is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, who is named on a "most wanted" poster issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Nayim Farouq</span>

Mohammed Naim Farouq is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 633. Mohammed Naim Farouq is named on a "most wanted" poster issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency, and a press release entitled: "Ex-Guantanamo Detainees who have returned to the fight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of former Guantanamo Bay detainees alleged to have returned to terrorism</span>

Semiannually, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) publishes an unclassified “Summary of the Reengagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba”. According to ODNI's most recent Reengagement Report, since 2009, when current rules and processes governing transfer of detainees out of Guantanamo were put in place, ODNI assess that 5.1% of detainees – 10 men total, 2 of whom are deceased – are more likely than not to have reengaged in terrorist activities.

Abdul Qayyum "Zakir", also known by the nom de guerre Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is the acting Deputy Minister of Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He previously served as the acting Defense Minister, from 24 August 2021 to 7 September 2021.

Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar was an Afghan who was held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 363.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noorullah Noori</span> Afghan Borders and Tribal Affairs Minister since 2021

Mullah Noorullah Noori is the Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021. He was also the Taliban's Governor of Balkh Province during their first administration (1996–2001). Noorullah Noori spent more than 12 years in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Noori was released from the detention camp on May 31, 2014, in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl and the Taliban Five, and flown to Qatar.

References

  1. "Transfer Recommendationfor GTMO Detainee, MohammedYusif Yaqub, ISN: US9AF-00367DP" (PDF). US: Department of Defense. 14 December 2002. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 My Life with the Taliban. Abdul Salam Zaeef. C. Hurst & Co. 2013. p. 20, also note 15. ISBN   9781849044455.
  3. "New Governor for Parwan". Kyrgyzstan Daily Digest. 21 March 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2001 via EurasiaNet.
  4. "Definition of 'mullah'". Collins English Dictionary .
  5. "Definition of mullah". Merriam-Webster Dictionary .
  6. "Report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan submitted by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/18: Addendum". U.N. Commission on Human Rights . 27 March 2001. para. 7, 12 via ReliefWeb.
  7. "Afghanistan: Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan". Human Rights Watch . 19 February 2001. pp. 8–10.
  8. "Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978-2001" (PDF). Afghanistan Justice Project. July 2005. pp. 128–131.
  9. "Report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan submitted by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/18: Addendum". U.N. Commission on Human Rights. 27 March 2001. para. 11, 12 via ReliefWeb.
  10. 1 2 "Transfer Recommendation for GTMO Detainee, Mohammed Yusif Yakub, ISN: US9AF-00367DP". U.S. Department of Defense . 14 December 2002 via New York Times.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "THE REACH OF WAR; U.S. Said to Overstate Value Of Guantánamo Detainees". The New York Times . 21 June 2004.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "FACTBOX: Pentagon releases data on former Gitmo detainees". Reuters . 15 May 2007.
  13. "The Herald, Volume 35, Issues 10-12". Herald . 2004 via University of Michigan.
  14. 1 2 "After Gitmo, A Talib Takes Revenge". TIME . 7 June 2004.
  15. "The Destruction of Sarposa". Stratfor . 18 June 2008.
  16. 1 2 "LAST DAYS OF THE TALIBAN?". Newsweek . 26 December 2004.
  17. "AFTEREFFECTS: ISLAMIC MILITANTS; In Pakistan Border Towns, Taliban Has a Resurgence". New York Times . 6 May 2003.
  18. "Clash leaves 9 police dead in South Afghanistan". People's Daily . 22 October 2005.