BeautifulDisaster - banned
10-22-2006, 01:00 PM
(CNN) -- A message from elusive Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, released at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, warns there will be a surge in violence in Afghanistan "at a surprising level," and advised militants fighting U.S. and NATO troops to stay united.
"By the will of Allah, the fight will intensify in the coming few months," the statement attributed to Omar said. "Our predictions about the war have proved right in the past. I am confident that our fight will gain a strong foothold in the near future."
A Taliban spokesman told CNN the statement came from Omar and was released Saturday in the hours before Eid al-Fitr a three-day festive period marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Eid al-Fitr begins Sunday or Monday, depending on when the crescent moon is sighted.
Omar congratulated Muslims on the occasion of the festival, which celebrates the end of fasting, noting "that it is the fifth Eid al-Fitr and our country is still running under the control of the crusader army."
"But I also congratulate you on another victory; the defeat of the crusaders," he said, referring to American forces.
In the statement, Omar denounced Pakistan for supporting "American propaganda against us"; said Afghanistan's "puppet" government under President Hamid Karzai will have to face an Islamic court of justice; and urged NATO forces -- who are commmanding most of the foreign troops -- to "leave Afghanistan at the earliest."
Omar heads the religious militia in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have made a dramatic resurgence. The United States has been searching for the leader, and is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his capture.
His last known location was in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, which he fled in December 2001 as U.S. forces closed in on the city.
A U.S. intelligence source said in September that the elusive Taliban leader is believed to be in or near Quetta, Pakistan, a city of 1 million in southwestern Pakistan. However, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf disputes this.
"By the will of Allah, the fight will intensify in the coming few months," the statement attributed to Omar said. "Our predictions about the war have proved right in the past. I am confident that our fight will gain a strong foothold in the near future."
A Taliban spokesman told CNN the statement came from Omar and was released Saturday in the hours before Eid al-Fitr a three-day festive period marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Eid al-Fitr begins Sunday or Monday, depending on when the crescent moon is sighted.
Omar congratulated Muslims on the occasion of the festival, which celebrates the end of fasting, noting "that it is the fifth Eid al-Fitr and our country is still running under the control of the crusader army."
"But I also congratulate you on another victory; the defeat of the crusaders," he said, referring to American forces.
In the statement, Omar denounced Pakistan for supporting "American propaganda against us"; said Afghanistan's "puppet" government under President Hamid Karzai will have to face an Islamic court of justice; and urged NATO forces -- who are commmanding most of the foreign troops -- to "leave Afghanistan at the earliest."
Omar heads the religious militia in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have made a dramatic resurgence. The United States has been searching for the leader, and is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his capture.
His last known location was in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, which he fled in December 2001 as U.S. forces closed in on the city.
A U.S. intelligence source said in September that the elusive Taliban leader is believed to be in or near Quetta, Pakistan, a city of 1 million in southwestern Pakistan. However, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf disputes this.