Author: AP
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 8, 2010
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/288362/German-militants-training-in-Pakistani-border-area.html
The video at first seems like many others
filmed in Pakistan's tribal areas: The bearded militant sits cross-legged
on the floor, an AK-47 propped against the wall behind him. But as he applauds
his three companions' decision to join jihad, the words come out in fluent
German: "Wir sind die Soldaten Allahs," he says "We are the
soldiers of Allah."
Between 15 and 40 Germans and a smaller contingent
of other Europeans are believed to be getting militant training in Pakistan's
lawless border region, intending to join the Taliban's fight against NATO
forces in neighbouring Afghanistan or return to Europe and strike at the soft
underbelly of those countries. Their presence has attracted fresh scrutiny
after a European terror warning based on information from a German-Afghan
captured in Afghanistan, and a CIA drone strike on Tuesday that allegedly
killed eight German militants in North Waziristan an Al Qaeda and Taliban
hub that the Pakistani army has so far left largely alone. The German speaker
in the jihad video, Mounir Chouka, is one of two Bonn-born brothers of Moroccan
background well known for appearances in videos made by the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan apparently aimed at recruiting more militants from Germany.
The clip appeared on a militant website earlier this summer, a nearly 40-minute
video telling new recruits of the legitimacy of jihad, or holy war."
