ABC’s Brian Ross and Christopher Isham report:
Thirty-six hours before he was killed by U.S. forces, Taliban Commander Mullah Dadullah said he was training American and British citizens to carry out suicide missions in their home countries, according to a videotape interview to be broadcast on ABC News’ “World News” Monday. “We will be executing attacks in Britain and the U.S. to demonstrate our sincerity,” he told an Afghan interviewer, “to destroy their cities as they have destroyed our cities.”
A senior U.S. official told the Blotter on ABCNews.com that recent intelligence reports confirmed Dadullah’s claim that U.S. citizens were being trained in Taliban and al Qaeda camps. “The number is small, not large, but even once is dangerous,” the official said.
In the interview, Dadullah said, “This is our religious and moral duty to train suicide bombers against the nuclear power of the infidels, and they will be used when they are needed, whether they are one, 10 or 20.”
The video:
(Also available at ABC News and at Hot Air if the YouTube version disappears.)
AllahPundit is optimistic, citing an expert who claims this represents “one of the most significant setbacks to the Taliban in a very long time.” Perhaps.
AP’s post title description of Dadullah as “The Taliban Zarqawi” is likely quite accurate. As desirable as it is to kill off the best and the brightest, the decentralized nature of these groups virtually ensures they will adapt and continue. If there were Americans and Brits willing to be used as suicide bombers 48 hours ago, that’s unlikely to have changed because one man met his just rewards.
