(Sydney Morning Herald) Deep in a valley on the Iran-Iraq border in Iraqi Kurdistan, al Qaeda has taken over 12 villages and Taliban law is being enforced. The Ansar al-Islam group, believed to be in communication with al Qaeda, is an amalgamation of three local fundamentalist groups and fields a force of about 600 mostly local fighters, with estimates of its "Arab-Afghan" ranks varying from 50 to 150.
2002-12-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive