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February 1, 2012 Special Dispatch No. 4470

Taliban Website Interviews Former Afghan National Army Soldier Turned Jihadist Who Fired On His Australian Trainers: '[At the Training Camp] We Used to Talk about Jihad All the Time'

February 1, 2012
Afghanistan | Special Dispatch No. 4470

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government) has released a video interview with a former Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier who had opened fire on his Australian trainers at a remote training camp in Uruzgan in November 2011. The Dari-language interview was published on the Urdu-language website of the Islamic Emirate.

After the incident in November 2011, all Afghan soldiers were disarmed and confined to a barracks. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan had confirmed there were three injured and no casualties. Various media reports indicated that the killer escaped in a military Humvee.

The latest video released by the Taliban's Al-Emarah Studios features the interview with the now-former Afghan Army soldier Muhammad Rozi, son of Muhammad Usman, from Hazarsumooth district in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province.

The video is a rare release by the Taliban in the Dari language (their videos are usually in Pashtu). The Afghan soldier is a non-Pashtu speaker. Starting with recitation of Koranic verses about jihad against infidels, a message is read for "Afghan youth," urging them to join the Taliban's jihad against the "infidel invaders" and their "puppets." The video accuses Afghan government officials of double-standards in seeing a difference between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and that of the U.S.

In the background, photos of communist Afghan rulers from before and after the Soviet invasion are shown next to that of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The narrator says that Afghan soldiers are joining the Taliban ranks and introduces the Afghan soldier Muhammad Rozi by claiming that he has killed 12 Australian soldiers, thereby becoming a hero.

Muhammad Rozi says he went to a madrassa and later completed school until tenth grade. He joined the Afghan National Army (ANA) two years ago, after being convinced by an ANA advertisement on TV showing Koranic recitations and calling for Afghans to serve the country. After three months of training in Kabul, he was deployed in Uruzgan Province. He says he thought there would be no foreign troops along with the ANA, but later saw Australian trainers in Uruzgan.

The following are excerpts from the interview:[1]

"I had Been with ANA for One and a Half Years; During This Time, I had One Mission in My Mind - to Kill Foreigners and Teach Them a Lesson; We are Muslims, We Cannot Accept Foreigners"

Detailing his attack on November 9, 2011, Muhammad Rozi said:

"I had been with ANA for one and half years. During this time, I had one mission in my mind - to kill foreigners and teach them a lesson. We are Muslims, we cannot accept foreigners. The name of our patrol camp is Nisar Ahmad. It is in the Chirmistan area. There were 35 ANA soldiers and around 12-13 foreigners.

"It was the third day of Eid. I prepared the grenade-launcher and my gun with 200 bullets. In the afternoon our friend Habibullah, the soldier responsible for the grenade-launcher, went to the headquarters for food, 80 meters away. We were eight soldiers deployed at the post. I went up to the watchtower. I watched with a binocular. Foreigners were sitting in a room. They were fire-worshipers, and around a big fire. There were 12 of them.

"I opened fire six times. A soldier ran to me and asked what I was doing. He suspected my motives. I told him that it was none of his business. I thought now I am in trouble; if I kill them [the foreigners], I will also be in trouble, because someone from the camp saw and he would report to our commander. Fire rockets are not allowed to be released from the tower unless ordered. I thought now it's better to kill the foreigners. If killed, one is martyred according to the will of Allah. I opened fire. When the bullets ran out, I changed, took the machine gun, and killed all of them."

"They were not armed. When foreign trainers are with us on exercise, or when they go out on patrol, they have weapons, but not inside the camp, where they are guarded by Afghan troops."

The interviewer interrupted him several times during the above sentences asking for specific details. The former soldier then says he drove away in a Humvee. After 40 minutes of driving, he says that he was sure there were no ANA posts in the area and it was a mujahideen (Taliban) territory.

"I saw some people on the corner of the road. The tank was hot. I stopped and went to them to ask if I could get a motorcycle. I offered the tank for a motorcycle so I could get out of that area. They could not understand me. I could not speak Pashtu. Then I asked, is there a Muslim who can save me. I have gunned down 12 foreigners. Then a white-bearded old man held my hand and said here it's the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] and mujahideen territory. We will help you. They took me to a house for the night. There were aircraft and helicopters that evening searching around. Then they moved me to another area next morning."

"ISAF Troops Beat up Locals During Searches of Houses and We Cannot Accept It; We are Muslims…; Whenever It is the Will of God, They [My Colleagues at the Military Training Camp] will Take Action [against the Foreign Troops]"

Muhammad Rozi thanked the Taliban, saying that it would have been impossible to escape safely if it was not the help of the "Mujahideen of Uruzgan." Then the interviewer asked, "You are a hero. When you were planning this operation, were you not afraid that if you are caught by ANA or foreign troops, what will happen?"

Muhammad Rozi said it was a difficult plan. But it was "the will of God." He said that he had decided to pursue this operation earlier and used to pray to God to give him a chance to kill foreigners.

In response to the question of the foreign troops' behavior with the ANA soldiers, he glossed over it without clearly answering, and said that ANA and foreign troops live in separate rooms. However, in response to another question about the behavior of the foreign troops with local people, he says: "ISAF troops beat up locals during searches of houses and we cannot accept it; we are Muslims."

Muhammad Rozi added that the Australian troops were very afraid, stating, "They never went out without a prior checking [of the route]. They were afraid of mines and ambushes."

The former ANA soldier also claimed that many of his friends at the camp were thinking about such operations. He said, "Whenever it is the will of God, they will take action. We used to talk about jihad all the time. They are courageous Muslims. They always think about doing such operations."

"Foreigners have Come … to Destroy Our Religion"; Song: "We have Seen the Decline of the West and the Fall of the Dollar; London, Paris and Washington are Crumbling Under Our Fear"

In one question, the interviewer asked him about the thoughts of the ANA soldiers about the Karzai government in Kabul. Muhammad Rozi said that the ANA commanders told them that the Afghan elders had accepted the situation and the presence of foreign troops and so they should follow their advice.

He added, "The casualties are high. The ANA and the foreign troops all have many casualties. When there were 10 foreigners killed, they would announce one. If one mujahid [Taliban fighter] was martyred, they would announce 10. Their claims are just a political statement. They cannot go out of camps. Whenever there is a patrol, unless there is a helicopter and dozens of tanks, they would not go out. They are very afraid, especially about mines."

The former soldier said that the U.S. does not allow other countries to withdraw their troops. He addex that the Afghan troops heard all of the time in the camp that "except for the Americans, all foreign troops from other countries want to leave."

He gave his concluding message, saying, "My message is that if they [the ANA] are Muslim, [and] their forefathers are Muslim, they should not accept the authority of foreign troops. The foreigners have come for a purpose, to destroy our religion. If they help in Afghanistan, they have a purpose behind it. Muslims everywhere should show courage and take action... now my aim is jihad as long as any foreigner is in Afghanistan."

The interview ended with a Taliban propaganda anthem with lines in poetic rhythm, including: "We will spread jihad in the world. We have seen the decline of the West and the fall of the Dollar. London, Paris, and Washington are crumbling under our fear. NATO is in trouble and has run out of supplies. We are the nation of heroes. Our revolution is the defeat of powerful imperials, the Cross and their supporters. We have given jihad and pride to Muslim Ummah. Our land is the grave of empires."


Endnotes:

[1] www.shahamat-urdu.com (Afghanistan), January 24, 2012.

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