Pakistani Taliban leader denies his death in new recording

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Pentagon releases names of Bagram prisoners
Washington (AFP) Jan 16, 2010 - The Pentagon has for the first time made public the names of 645 detainees held at the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, a US human rights group said Saturday. The American Civil Liberties Union said the list of names, dated September 22, 2009, was released by the US defense secretary after the group filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The list is the first official information about the detainees held in a prison sometimes referred to as the "Afghan Guantanamo," but it was released in a heavily-censored form, the ACLU said. "Vital information including their citizenship, how long they have been held, in what country they were captured and the circumstances of their capture has been redacted," the group said in a statement. The ages of the detainees was also not provided.

"Hundreds of people have languished at Bagram for years in horrid and abusive conditions, without even being told why they're detained or given a fair chance to argue for release," said ACLU lawyer Melissa Goodman. The ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking the information in September 2009, after an April request was rejected by the Defense Department and Central Intelligence Agency. Since US President Barack Obama announced his administration would work to close the prison at Guantanamo, where 198 detainees remain, human rights groups have turned their attention to the US prison at Bagram. NATO and Afghanistan signed an agreement in early January authorizing the transfer of the prison to Afghan authorities, though no date was set for the handover. In September, the Obama administration announced it would allow prisoners at the facility to view some of the evidence against them and the right to challenge their detention before limited military tribunals. In the United States, courts are considering whether non-Afghan detainees who were captured outside of Afghanistan should have access to the US justice system to challenge their detention.

by Staff Writers
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Jan 16, 2010
Pakistan's Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud released a new audio recording Saturday, saying he was alive and well after a US drone missile attack was said to have killed him.

The recording comes a day after the Taliban released a similar audio file in which Mehsud said he was alive but did not mention the specific strike Thursday in Pakistan's northwest that triggered rumours of his death.

"After the audio I released yesterday, some people speculated and said that I did not mention the date," Mehsud said.

"Today, on the 16th of January I am saying it again -- I am alive, I am OK, I am not injured... when the drone strike took place, I was not present in the area at that time."

earlier related report
Pakistani Taliban release audio of leader denying his death
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Jan 15, 2010 - The Pakistani Taliban released an audio recording allegedly made Friday in which the group's leader Hakimullah Mehsud says he is alive, after reports he was killed in a US missile strike.

The message comes after missiles from unmanned US aircraft pounded the northwest tribal belt on Thursday killing at least 15 militants, with some security officials saying Mehsud was among the dead.

The recording was sent to media outlets by unnamed Taliban militants. Reporters familiar with Mehsud said the voice appeared to be his, but there was no mention of dates or the specific strike alleged to have killed him.

"Sometimes they (the government) launch propaganda about my martyrdom through media and sometimes they say that the operation has been completed in South Waziristan. This can never happen," Mehsud said.

He was referring to military operations against Taliban strongholds launched last year in the lawless tribal district of South Waziristan.

"I want to caution the Pakistani nation that the drone attacks in tribal areas are a danger to Pakistan's security and sovereignty," he said.

"From now onwards, any dangerous step that the Taliban will take in Pakistan, the responsibility will be on the government."

Mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in attacks in Pakistan after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US drone strike in August last year.

Rumours also surfaced in October last year that Hakimullah Mehsud was killed, prompting the militant chief to put out a number of statements denying his demise. There was no way to independently confirm whether the message released Friday was recorded before or after Thursday's strike.

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