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'German Taliban' video posted on al-Qaeda website
Rob Crilly in Islamabad
Published: 1:27PM BST 05 Oct 2010
A recruiting video produced by German militants and posted on an al-Qaeda website has cast fresh light on how European Islamists are joining insurgents fighting in Pakistan's mountainous tribal areas.
The 51-minute film shows German-speaking gunmen, armed with AK-47s, light machine guns and mortars, apparently taking on Pakistani troops in South Waziristan and Orakzai, areas close to the border with Afghanistan. They include a clean-shaven man of Caucasian appearance, who wears a baseball hat pulled low on his face and sunglasses.
The role of the "German Taliban", as analysts have dubbed them, emerged last week when security sources said eight Germans were believed to be at the centre of a plot by al-Qaeda cells to launch commando attacks on European cities. German authorities believe at least 70 German nationals have travelled to Pakistan for training, with about a third returning home.
A drone strike on Monday killed eight militants, including possibly five Germans, according to Pakistani security sources, as part of a US surge in attacks to kill the plotters. The new video is filmed in the style of a travelogue – offering a running commentary on the beauty of the region's forested valleys and scenic waterfalls – but includes a chilling call to arms in German, exhorting young Muslims to join them in their fight against Pakistan and its American ally.
"Join the Taliban and the Mujahedeen in the holy war against the infidel government so we can establish sharia law in Pakistan and avenge all the crimes against us," says a bearded fighter. The video was produced by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is closely linked to al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, and appears to include footage shot from April to June this year.
Imtiaz Gul, author of The Most Dangerous Place which details the region's militant links, said: "The IMU is clearly trying to recruit people in Germany using these videos, addressing German Muslims, who may have grown up in Germany but have come from Turkish, Algerian or Arab roots."
