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Taliban Leader?s Words of Warning

In a long message to the Afghani nation, fugitive Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, urged the United States to pull its troops out of his homeland and warned that his enemies would be ?surprised? by the level of attacks that his fighters would use to drive western forces out of his country. Declaring himself the Leader of the Faithful in the Afghan Resistance, Omar sent his message to the media in time for Eid-al-Fitr ? the holiday marking the end of the month long Ramadan fast for Muslims around the world.

Mulla Muhammad Omar and his Islamist government were ousted in a US-led invasion in 2001 and since then, he has been in hiding. Despite a $10-million bounty on his head, Omar had evaded captivity and continues to spur a Taliban revolution. Fighting between insurgents and allied forces are almost daily occurrences and suicide bombings are on the rise. In a two-week offensive last month, NATA forces killed hundreds of insurgents in the south of the country.

In his message, Omar also directed scathing words to Afghani President Hamid Karzai. He accused Karzai of cooperating with the enemy and threatened that he would be subject to Islamic justice for his crimes. In a separate message, Karzai made no mention of Omar?s threats but called on his countrymen to follow the path of peace and use their energy to build Afghanistan and not destroy it.