Pakistani Taliban Vows Revenge Attacks After Osama Bin Laden Death
May 18, 2011 — -- The Pakistani Taliban added its voice to those of several terror groups who have vowed to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, telling two news organizations separately it would continue the mission of the al Qaeda leader.
Waliur Rehman, the organization's deputy commander, told The Associated Press Monday his men would fight "with new zeal" against the West.
"We have the same target, program and mission," he said, according to the AP report published today. "Our enemies are NATO, Jews and Christians."
Separately, in a video obtained by al-Jazeera today, a Pakistani Taliban fighter named Umar Khalid said the group would "take revenge" for bin Laden's death and that the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, have been added to their "hit list."
"Osama bin Laden has given us the ideology of Islam and Jihad ... by his death we are not scattered. But it has given us more strength to continue his mission," he said, according to al-Jazeera's report. "It took the Americans 11 years to kill Osama but for us it is easy. We will take our revenge in less than a few months."
Though the Pakistani Taliban is known to operate primarily within the Pakistani borders, it has been linked to direct threats against the U.S., including the failed Times Square bombing attempt and the deadly suicide bombing of a CIA base in Afghanistan last year.
READ: Martyrdom Video From CIA Base Bomber Links Attack to Pakistani Taliban
The comments come just days after the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing at a police training facility in Pakistan that claimed 90 lives. The group said that attack was in response to the U.S. Navy SEALs May 1 operation that killed the al Qaeda leader, according to the AP.
Another attack today, this one a suicide bombing that claimed as many as 13 lives in Jalalabad, Pakistan, was claimed by the Taliban, according to local media reports.
