Suicide bombers: from Palestine to Afghanistan

The News, May 11, 2006
Suicide bombers: from Palestine to Afghanistan
By Rahimullah Yusufzai

Suicide bombers, or fidayeen (those offering sacrifice) in the language of the Islamic militants, are no longer alien to our part of the world. The idea, originating in the Israeli-occupied Palestine, has caught on. We have had suicide bombings in Chechnya and other parts of Russia, Sri Lanka, India, Iraq and now Afghanistan and Pakistan. For sure it has become the preferred mode of attack in places under foreign occupation. More importantly, there is little that can be done to stop such attacks.

Not long ago arranging for suicide bombers to record a final statement before heading for their mission used to be a Palestinian prerogative. Young men, and lately a few women, would read out an emotionally written statement to explain the reason for carrying out the fidayee attack. They would be holding a gun or would have explosives strapped to their waists. Headbands of cloth inscribed with Islamic slogans, or simply with the prayer declaring that Allah is One and Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is His Prophet, would cover the would-be fidayeen's forehead while standing in front of Palestinian and Hamas or Islamic Jihad flags. Little wonder that such images helped immortalise the fidayeen and inspired others to walk the same path.

Now videotapes of Afghan suicide bombers have become available. Two such tapes, converted into CDs, featured three Taliban fighters making their last statement before embarking on their fidayee mission. Produced by the "Voice of Jihad Studio" affiliated to the information and culture wing of the erstwhile Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the footage was titled the "Caravan of Martyrdom Seekers". It was obvious that the tapes aimed at not only glorifying the suicide bombers but also seeking new recruits.

In one of the CDs, young Saifullah from the southern Paktia province uses his farewell statement to criticise the Christians and Jews for waging war against Muslims and for conspiring to occupy Islamic countries including Afghanistan. Declaring his loyalty to Taliban leader Mulla Mohammad Omar, he argues that his sacrifice would contribute toward liberating Afghanistan from Western occupation and make his homeland a true Islamic country in due course of time. Following his statement, there is footage of an attack on US troops in Girishk in Helmand province and a voice in Pashto language hails "Shaheed Saifullah" for embracing martyrdom in this fidayee mission that inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.

The second CD has two Taliban suicide bombers, the bearded Mulla Mohammad Yousaf and his younger colleague, Amanullah. Both are from the southern Khost province. Yousaf reads out the mission statement as Amanullah, so young that there is no hair on his face, nervously and innocently looks on. Yousaf exhorts the Afghans to follow in the footsteps of the Sahaba, companions of Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who embraced martyrdom.

He prays to Allah to accept his sacrifice and empower the mujahideen to liberate Afghanistan from the occupation of the US and its allies. Later in the footage, an attack in Kandahar on a US convoy of tanks is shown and it is claimed that the two young fidayeen bombers were responsible for it. A commentator speaking in Pashto and reciting Arabic verses from the Quran proclaims the two as martyrs and beseeches Allah to accept their sacrifice.

These are probably the first CDs of Afghan, or to be specific Taliban, suicide bombers. More could follow as the number of suicide attacks has been rising in recent months. In fact, more than 30 suicide assaults have been reported from different parts of Afghanistan during the past six months. The figures appear unbelievable in view of the fact that suicide bombings were unheard of in Afghanistan during the long years of Soviet military occupation from 1979-89, the Afghan jihad that devastated the country, and the brutal civil war.

At that time, the Afghans considered suicide bombings cowardly and preferred dying in frontal assaults. Now times have changed following fatwas by certain ulema authorising suicide attacks against foreign occupation forces. Those ulema may be few in number but their fatwas have given Islamic sanction to such deeds. That is all the suicide bombers or their sponsors needed and this is the reason for the sudden increase in the number of attacks involving men and women ready to lay down their lives for a cause.

Each and every Palestinian suicide bomber is known. Their acts have been documented and glorified. The suicide bombers in Iraq are largely unknown but it is possible that their record is being maintained and will be made public at a later stage. Only three Afghan suicide bombers have been videotaped giving their farewell statements and their names and addresses are now known. Many others who took the same path remain faceless and nameless. The same is true of the suicide bombers in Pakistan. We don't know as to how many of them were Pakistanis, Afghans or Arabs. But it is more likely for Afghans to undertake suicide missions in Afghanistan and for Pakistanis to do so in Pakistan.

Though the Afghan government has repeatedly claimed that suicide bombers involved in attacks in Afghanistan were non-Afghans, it has done very little to provide evidence to substantiate its claim. Blaming outsiders for one's troubles is not new and any government, whether Afghan, Pakistani or American, does that so it doesn't look bad. But the fact remains that those inclined to undertake suicide missions are, in the majority of cases, home-grown.

There are factors that push young men, and also women, to take their own lives as well as that of others. Unless efforts are made to address those concerns, there will be no dearth of suicide bombers who firmly believe their fidayee missions will confer martyrdom on them and transplant them straight to paradise.

The writer is an executive editor of The News International based in Peshawar
Email: bbc@pes.comsats.net.pk