Abdullah Mehsud Explained

Abdullah Mehsud
Birth Date:1977[1]
Birth Place:Nano Village, South Waziristan
Death Place:Balochistan, Pakistan
Id Number:92
Alias:Said Mohammed Alim Shah, Noor Alam (birth name)
Status:released, "returned to the battlefield", KIA

Abdullah Mehsud (Pushto; Pashto: عبدالله مهسود; Urdu: عبدالله محسود; 1977 – 24 July 2007) was a Pashtun militant commander who killed himself with a hand grenade after security forces raided his dwelling in Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan.[2] He belonged to the Mahsud tribe.

American authorities later claimed that he had originally been a prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, who was judicially released and subsequently "returned to terrorism".

Early life

Abdullah Mehsud (Muhammad Alam Mahsud) was born in 1977 in Nano village of South Waziristan, and was a Pashtun, part of the Mehsud tribe's SlimiKhel clan in South Waziristan which is the homeland of the Meshud tribe located in northwest Pakistan. Abdullah Mehsud fought against the Northern Alliance and lost a leg to a landmine in 1996.[3]

Capture

During the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom, Mehsud fought against U.S. and Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan. In December 2001, he surrendered to the Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum in the Battle of Kunduz.[4] He was handed over to the U.S. and spent 25 months in Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where he was fitted with a prosthetic limb.[5] He was released by the U.S. and returned to South Waziristan.

Return to the battlefield

After his release, Mehsud immediately began rebuilding his Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan/TTP) cadre. He commanded a force of up to 5,000 Taliban fighters. He then began initiating attacks on coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.[6]

In Waziristan, Mehsud was believed to be behind the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers from the building of the Gomal Zam Dam, which left one hostage dead during a botched rescue attempt. He was also alleged to have been behind an attack on Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao that killed 31 people.[2]

In March 2005, a Department of Defense document claimed:[7]

In 2005, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that Mehsud had been killed by ISI forces, only to later retract the statement.[8]

Mehsud was one of the first three former Guantanamo captives the Bush Presidency reported had returned to the battlefield. As of July 2007, spokesmen reported that over thirty captives had returned to the battlefield, or associated with terrorists, after their release. As of July 2007, the spokesmen had named seven of those individuals.

See main article: List of released Guantanamo prisoners who allegedly returned to battle.

Promise to never surrender

Sikh Spectrum reported that during a telephone interview in 2004, Abdullah Mehsud promised to never surrender.[9]

Death

On 24 July 2007, Mehsud was at a house with other militants in Zhob, Balochistan. A team of Pakistani law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on the house where he was staying. Mehsud killed himself by detonating a hand grenade. During the raid, several other militants were killed, Abdul Rahman Mehsud and Muhammad Azam, were captured along with a local Pakistani Taliban leader.

Relationship with Baitullah Mehsud

Abdullah Mehsud has been described as a brother of Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal leader of the Waziri Mehsud tribe.[10] Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.[11] [12] [13] Islam Online reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.[14]

Defense Intelligence Agency claims he "returned to terrorism"

The Defense Intelligence Agency asserted Abdullah Mahsud had "returned to terrorism".[15] The DIA reported:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wanted – Abdullah Mahsud. October 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019133107/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/DIA_Af-Pak_wanted_posters,_October_2006.pdf. October 19, 2021. 36.
  2. News: Mehsud behind attack: Sherpao . . 30 April 2007 . 24 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222418/http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/30/top1.htm . 27 September 2007 .
  3. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid - The Long War Journal
  4. South Asia Tribune, Pakistan Army pays more than half million dollars to al-Qaeda in bizarre deal, 10 February 2005
  5. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161171,00.html Pakistani Officers: Gitmo Detainees Abuse Guards
  6. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php Pakistani Taliban
  7. News: JTF -GTMO Information on Detainees . 4 March 2005 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20090530060917/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2005/d20050304info.pdf . 30 May 2009 . dead . dmy-all.
  8. News: Taliban Leader Is Said to Evade Capture by Blowing Himself Up. The New York Times. Salman Masood. Salman Masood. 25 July 2007. 24 October 2007.
  9. News: I Will Never Surrender: Abdullah Mehsud . Sikh Spectrum . Mohammad Shehzad . 19 . February 2004 . 3 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071015072614/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/022005/mehsud.htm . 15 October 2007 . dmy-all.
  10. News: Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan . . 24 July 2007 . 3 March 2008 . During Mehsud's time on the run, his brother BaitUllah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan's tribal regions. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081007032525/http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/24/welcome.htm . 7 October 2008 . dmy .
  11. News: Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government. The News. 29 July 2005. 3 March 2008. BaitUllah Mehsud, who abandoned his more well-known colleague Abdullah Mehsud to cut a peace deal with the government some months ago in return for amnesty, has warned of "terrible attacks" against the government if he and his men....
  12. News: Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid. Long War Journal. Bill Roggio. Bill Roggio. 24 July 2007. 3 March 2008. Abdullah Mehsud, born Noor Alam, was a member of the Mehsud clan in South Waziristan, and was a clansman of BaitUllah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency..
  13. News: Cornered militant blows himself up. Dawn (newspaper). Saleem Shahid. Saleem Shahid. 25 July 2007. 3 March 2008. Security was beefed up in Zhob and on Balochistan's border with Waziristan after the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, the most important Taliban commander in the country after BaitUllah Mehsud..
  14. News: Pakistan's Most Wanted . . Aamir Latif . Aamir Latif . 29 January 2008 . 3 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080331142629/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280012324&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout . 31 March 2008 .
  15. News: Fact Sheet: Former GTMO Detainee Terrorism Trends . . 13 June 2008 . 26 July 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080709112647/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20080613Returntothefightfactsheet.pdf . 9 July 2008 . dmy .