Afghan Biographies

Fidayee Front of Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement


Name Fidayee Front of Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement
Ethnic backgr.
Date of birth
Function/Grade Background
History and Biodata

Fidayee Front of Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement Mullah Dadullah Mahaz ‘Mulla Dadullah Feda’i [Self-Sacrificing] Front’ aka Afghanistan Islamic Movement Fidai Mahaz

The name mentioned as ‘the Front leader’: Mulla Faruq Mansur (20120522)
Spokesmen: Qari (Mir) Hamza Qari Hamza (20120522, 20140312, 20150722) and Mulla Shahabuddin Atal (20120522).
These names – as all others – may be noms de guerre.

Afghanistan Islamic Movement Fidai Mahaz, a splinter group of the Taliban group in Afghanistan has claimed that the Supreme Leader of the Taliban group Mullah Mohammad Omar was poisoned to death. A statement by the group said Mullah Omar was eliminated following the opening of the group’s liaison office in Qatar which sparked serious argunment between him and Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. The group’s spokesman Qari Hamza said Mullah Omar was killed two years ago. Hamza claimed that the group has evidences to prove their claims that Mullah Omar was killed by Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor and Gull Agha.(20150802)


 

Background:
Unverifiable incidents attributed to the Fedai Mahaz usually originate from a man calling himself Qari Hamza who acts as the group’s spokesman and is one of only two names publically connected with Fedai Mahaz. Three journalists in Afghanistan and Pakistan who regularly receive his messages reported he uses a Pakistani number and has threatened at least one of them  with death if he did not publish his statements. According to Pakistani journalists covering Afghanistan, Qari Hamza is based in Karachi and is the same person who used to speak for the Dadullah Front. (20140320)
The group, which according to some Afghans has been operating separately from the Taliban insurgents led by Mullah Mohammad Omar, was formed in recent years. The group claims loyalty to Mullah Dadullah, a notorious Taliban commander killed in 2007. U.S. Military and intelligence officials have claimed that the Dadullah Front is led by Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Gulam Rasoul, a former detainee of Guantanamo Bay who was released in 2007. They have furthermore stated that the spokesman for the group as of 2010 was named Barialay Rahbarmal, though the group'sspokesman in 2012 identified himself to the Express Tribune as Qari Hamza. the Dadullah Front, apparently named in his memory, now operates in Kandahar, Helmand, and Uruzgan Provinces, with near or total independence from, and even hostility towards other Taliban forces. Afghan intelligence officials have claimed that the Dadullah Front is affiliated with or a splinter faction of the Taliban. Taliban spokesmen have denied any relationship to the Front or the assassinations of Rabbani (2011) and Rahmani (2012). They have furthermore suggested that the group is a creation of the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security.
The Western security forces also mentioned the Front in one go with the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e Taiba and with the hands of both the ISI and Iran behind it. These are not unbelievable claims, but they also are cheap to make.

The group said it killed british-swedish  journalist Nils Horner because it believed he was a spy for the British M.I.6. It has also claimed responsibility for killing a former Taliban minister, Mullah Arsala Rahmani, in 2012 in Kabul. Rahmani, who lived under government protection in Kabul, was viewed as a potential intermediary in stalled peace talks between the government and the Taliban led by Mullah Omar and other insurgents.(20140312)

The spokesman of Afghanistan Islamic Movement Fidai Mahaz Qari Hamza has said Mullah Omar was killed by Taliban leaders Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor and Gull Agha two years ago in July 2013.(20150723)
 

Last Modified 2015-08-02
Established 2014-03-12