Afghan Taliban warn of revenge if U.S. attacks

Reuters/September 14, 2001

Kabul -- Afghanistan's ruling Taliban warned on Friday of revenge "by other means" if the United States attacked their country in retaliation for this week's devastating terror assaults on New York and Washington.

The warning came as fundamentalist Taliban clerics in the capital Kabul used Friday prayers to urge the world's Muslims to unite against the United States.

"Oh Muslims of the world, we should unite together if the United States attacks us," one cleric told the faithful at a Kabul mosque.

The theme was repeated across the capital as thousands of Afghans attended prayers on the Muslim holy day and made plans to flee the capital in fear of retaliatory military action by the United States.

Washington says Osama bin Laden, who lives in Afghanistan as a "guest" of the Taliban, is a prime suspect in connection with Tuesday's deadly attacks and has vowed to strike against those responsible as well as any country which harbours them.

But the Taliban, which says neither bin Laden nor Afghanistan had the capacity to carry out such a sophisticated attack, warned Washington against retaliation.

"We will take revenge if America attacks through different means," Abdul Hai Mutamaen, the Taliban's chief spokesman, told reporters.

The theme of Muslim unity against a perceived American aggressor echoed over loudspeakers in Afghan capital on Friday.

"America has announced war against us for its enmity with Allah and for imposing its corrupt ideology," said one sermon. "We won't die without His will so don't be frightened."

Campaign to suppress Islam

Another cleric said the United States had started its campaign to suppress Muslims worldwide even before the Taliban rose to power in 1996.

"Allah says that a Christian and a Jew will never become your companion unless you give up your religion, and that is what America and Israel want to do," he said.

He said the presence of bin Laden in Afghanistan was just an excuse used by the United States to carry out its "suppressive" actions.

The Taliban spokesman, meanwhile, also warned neighbouring Pakistan against giving any assistance to the United States in attacking Afghanistan or bin laden.

Washington has asked Pakistan -- one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban -- to join its fight against global terrorism and Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf has promised "full cooperation."

"If Pakistan co-operates ... then it should wait for the enmity of Afghans which is more dangerous than any other thing," the spokesman said.

The Taliban -- meaning religious students -- have imposed a strictly fundamentalist interpretation of Islam on Afghanistan since taking control of most of the country.

They have been criticised even by other Muslim nations for their treatment of women and the recent destruction of Afghanistan's ancient non-Islamic cultural heritage.

Some of the Taliban's respected clerics have little education outside religion, can barely read or write and know the Koran only by rote.

Their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has never been photographed or filmed and has only met two non-Muslims in his entire life.

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