Kidnapper made governor of Kabul
A TALIBAN commander with links to al-qaeda who was notorious for kidnapping foreign journalists and directing suicide attacks in the Afghan capital has been made governor of Kabul province.
Qari Baryal’s appointment was one of 44, including police chiefs, announced by the Taliban at the weekend, three months after they took power.
Baryal was thought to have been killed in an American air strike more than a decade ago when the international military coalition described him as an “al-qaeda associated Taliban leader” and “an active attack planner”.
Instead he rose to be the chief of the Taliban’s northern zone and was responsible for attacks in and around Kabul. He was also accused of kidnapping two French journalists and staging attacks on troops in Kapisa province.
The appointment is the latest in a series of promotions for vicious and hard-line commanders, which analysts suggest show the Taliban regime has little desire to become more moderate.
Bill Roggio, a fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said that Baryal was a key commander in what international troops used to call the Kabul Attack Network.
His forces had been known to move weapons, explosives and suicide bombers from the Pakistan border to Kabul, Mr Roggio said.
A US military intelligence report declared his network had planned and coordinated attacks on military bases in the provinces of Kabul and Parwan.
More moderate factions within the Taliban appear to have lost out to more ruthless comrades since the regime took power in August, analysts say.
The Taliban had vowed to form an inclusive government with other Afghan political factions, but the complete collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s administration appears to have emboldened military commanders opposed to compromise.