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Taliban commander refuses dismissal order
Updated Sun. Dec. 30 2007 7:27 AM ET

The Associated Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A key Taliban commander reportedly kicked out of the militia believes the dismissal order is a conspiracy against him and has not been signed off by Taliban leader Mullah Omar, his spokesman said Sunday.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid on Saturday said that Mansoor Dadullah, a militant commander in southern Afghanistan, had been kicked out of the Islamic militia for "disobeying orders'' and conducting activities "against the Taliban's rules and regulations.'' Mujahid did not provide any details.

A spokesman for Dadullah said Sunday that Dadullah has refused to accept the dismissal order, which he called a conspiracy.

"Mullah Omar is the Taliban supreme commander. We will always obey his orders. But this message, this order, is not from Mullah Omar,'' Muhibullah Mahajir told The Associated Press.

Mujahid reiterated on Sunday that the order came from Omar and said he would soon provide an audio clip with Omar ordering Dadullah out of the militia.

Dadullah rose in the militia's ranks as a key commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during a military operation last May in Helmand province. Mullah Dadullah was the highest-ranking Taliban commander killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Canada has about 2,500 soldiers operating in southern Afghanistan.

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To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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Taleban sack military commander
Taleban leader Mullah Omar has dismissed one of his top military commanders, Mansoor Dadullah, accusing him of not following orders.

Mansoor succeeded his elder brother Mullah Dadullah when he was killed in a joint Afghan/Nato operation in May.

He was the highest-ranking Taleban official to be killed since 2001.

A Taleban statement did not say how Mansoor Dadullah had disobeyed orders. But it said his associates should carry on with their duties as usual.

Intense attacks

"Mansoor Dadullah does not obey the rules of the Islamic emirate and violates it.

"Therefore it was decided not to appoint any post in the emirate to him," the statement said.

Mansoor Dadullah has been heading Taleban operations in Helmand, Kandahar and other southern provinces where attacks against the Kabul government and international forces are most intense.

His brother was thought to have been the mastermind of Taleban military operations after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

He was said to be particularly close to the Taleban leader Mullah Omar.

Mullah Omar himself has eluded capture by the Afghan and US authorities despite a multi-million dollar reward offer.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Taleban sack military commander

Published: 2007/12/29 17:14:45 GMT

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Taliban defector is made Musa Qala governor - Telegraph

Taliban defector is made Musa Qala governor

By Tom Coghlan in Kabul
Last Updated: 2:10am GMT 09/01/2008

A Taliban commander who defected hours before British and Afghan forces retook the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala has been rewarded with the governorship of the town.

Mullah Abdul Salaam switched sides after months of delicate secret negotiations with the Afghan government, as part of a programme of reconciliation backed by British commanders in Helmand.

Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
Actor Ross Kemp has filmed a series in Afghanistan for Sky. (Contains explicit language)

In a move clearly intended to send a message to other potential Taliban defectors, the Afghan government has announced that he had become the new district governor with the backing of local tribes.

An Afghan government spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, said that the move was consistent with the policy of President Hamid Karzai's government.

"The president has said before that all those former Taliban who come and accept the constitution and who want to participate in the political process through non-violent means ... they are welcome."

He added that Mullah Salaam had provided crucial intelligence to the Afghan government.
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Mullah Salaam is a leader of one of the three sub-tribes of the Alizai, the dominant tribal group in Musa Qala.

As The Daily Telegraph reported in November, Mullah Salaam opened channels of communication with the government after a violent rift emerged in the Taliban around Musa Qala, during which he survived an assassination attempt.

Mullah Salaam told The Daily Telegraph: "There are two groups of Taliban fighters in Musa Qala and I have the backing of the major one. The Taliban who are against peace and prosperity in Afghanistan - I will fight them."

Local people confirmed that he enjoyed the backing of a large swathe of the inhabitants of the town.

The issue of Taliban defections remains a highly sensitive one, following the expulsion of a British and an Irish diplomat from Kabul last month on charges of having "inappropriate contacts" with militants.

Afghan government officials accused the two men of holding meetings with Taliban leaders in Helmand without authorisation.

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has ruled out direct talks with the Taliban leadership, but it is well known in Kabul that both the British and Afghan intelligence agencies are devoting considerable resources to trying to "turn" Taliban-aligned tribal leaders.