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{{Short description|Pakistani militant commander}}
'''Abdullah Mehsud''' is an [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] and member of the [[Taliban]]. He is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. Rumors have persisted on this website that he is dead but it is not true.
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox War on Terror detainee
| name = Abdullah Mehsud
| image = Abdullah Mehsud -- most wanted poster.png
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Abdullah Mehsud from his US "most wanted poster".
| birth_date = 1977<ref>{{cite web |url=https:/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/DIA_Af-Pak_wanted_posters,_October_2006.pdf |title=Wanted – Abdullah Mahsud|date=October 2006|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019133107/https:/upwiki/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/DIA_Af-Pak_wanted_posters,_October_2006.pdf|archivedate=October 19, 2021|page=36}}</ref>
| birth_place = Nano Village, South Waziristan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2007|07|24|1977}}
| death_place = Balochistan, Pakistan
| detained_at = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo]]
| id_number = 92
| group = [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
| alias = Alam Mehsud (birth name)
| charge = no charge, held in [[extrajudicial detention]]
| penalty =
| status = released, "returned to the battlefield", [[Killed in action|KIA]]
}}


'''Abdullah Mehsud''' ({{langx|ps|عبدالله مهسود}}; {{langx|ur|عبدالله محسود}}; 1977 –
[http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=192]
24 July 2007) was a [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] militant commander who was killed by Pakistani Army in Zhob after security forces raided his dwelling in [[Zhob]], [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], Pakistan.<ref name=Dawn20070430>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/30/top1.htm
|title=Mehsud behind attack: Sherpao
|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]
|date=30 April 2007
|accessdate=24 October 2007
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222418/http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/30/top1.htm
|archivedate=27 September 2007
}}</ref> He belonged to the [[Mahsud]] tribe.


American authorities later claimed that he had originally been a prisoner in the [[GTMO|Guantanamo Bay detainment camps]], who was judicially released and subsequently "returned to terrorism".
Mehsud lost a leg to a land mine while fighting the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] in [[1996]].


== Early life ==
Mehsud surrendered to [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]] in December [[2001]], and was sent for [[interrogation]] to [[Camp Delta]] at the [[United States|American]] [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]], [[Cuba]].
Abdullah Mehsud (Muhammad Alam Mahsud) was born in 1977 in Nano village of South Waziristan, and was a [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]], part of the Mehsud tribe's SlimiKhel clan in [[South Waziristan District|South Waziristan]] which is the homeland of the [[Mahsud|Meshud]] tribe located in northwest Pakistan. Abdullah Mehsud fought against the [[Northern Alliance]] and lost a leg to a landmine in 1996.<ref>[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid - The Long War Journal]</ref>


== Capture ==
In spite of his history Mehsud was released in March [[2004]], and returned to a senior leadership role within the Taliban. He was believed to be in North [[Waziristan]], part of [[Pakistan]]'s "tribal areas".
During the opening days of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]], Mehsud fought against U.S. and Northern Alliance forces in [[Afghanistan]]. In December 2001, he surrendered to the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] warlord [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]] in the [[Battle of Kunduz (2001)|Battle of Kunduz]].<ref>South Asia Tribune, [http://www.hvk.org/articles/0205/21.html Pakistan Army pays more than half million dollars to al-Qaeda in bizarre deal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120906/http://www.hvk.org/articles/0205/21.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, 10 February 2005</ref> He was handed over to the U.S. and spent 25 months in [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]], where he was fitted with a [[prosthetic limb]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161171,00.html Pakistani Officers: Gitmo Detainees Abuse Guards]</ref> He was released by the U.S. and returned to South Waziristan.


== Return to the battlefield ==
The group Mehsud leads captured two [[China|Chinese]] engineers, who were helping to build a [[dam]] in South Waziristan. One of the Chinese engineers was killed during a botched rescue attempt. The other engineer was rescued unharmed.
After his release, Mehsud immediately began rebuilding his [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan|Pakistani Taliban]] (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan/TTP) cadre. He commanded a force of up to 5,000 Taliban fighters. He then began initiating attacks on coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.<ref>[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php Pakistani Taliban]. July 2007. [[Long War Journal]].</ref>


In Waziristan, Mehsud was believed to be behind the kidnapping of two [[China|Chinese]] engineers from the building of the [[Gomal Zam Dam]], which left one hostage dead during a botched rescue attempt. He was also alleged to have been behind an attack on Pakistan's Interior Minister [[Aftab Ahmad Sherpao]] that killed 31 people.<ref name=Dawn20070430/>
He is also alleged to attack on Pakistan Interiors Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Shrpao, that killed 31 other people and wounded many. <ref>[http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/30/top1.htm Mehsud behind attack: Sherpao]</ref>
== References ==
</references>


In March 2005, a [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] document claimed:<ref name=DoD2005-03-04>
==External links==
{{cite news
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3745962.stm Profile: Abdullah Mehsud], [[BBC]], October 15, 2004
|url = http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2005/d20050304info.pdf
*[http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/10/18/7_ex_detainees_return_to_fighting?mode=PF 7 ex-detainees return to fighting: Guantanamo release process called imperfect], [[Boston Globe]], October 18, 2004
|title = JTF -GTMO Information on Detainees
*[http://www.satribune.com/archives/200502/P1_deal.htm Pakistan Army Pays More Than Half Million Dollars to Al Qaeda in Bizarre Deal], [[South Asia Tribune]], February 10, 2005
|date = 4 March 2005
|publisher = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090530060917/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2005/d20050304info.pdf
|archivedate = 30 May 2009
|url-status = dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>
{{quotation|Mahsud, now reputed to be a militant leader, claimed to be an office clerk and driver for the Taliban from 1996 to 1998 or 1999.<ref name=DoD2005-03-04/> He consistently denied having any affiliation with al Qaida. He also claimed to have received no weapons or military training due to his handicap (an amputation resulting from when he stepped on a land mine 10 years ago). He claimed that after 11 September 2001 he was forcibly conscripted by the Taliban military.}}
{{Wikisource|Former GTMO Detainee Terrorism Trends}}


In 2005, Pakistani President [[Pervez Musharraf]] announced that Mehsud had been killed by [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]] forces, only to later retract the statement.<ref name=NYTimes20070725>
{{afghanistan-bio-stub}}
{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/world/asia/25pakistan.html
| title=Taliban Leader Is Said to Evade Capture by Blowing Himself Up
| work=[[The New York Times]]
| author=Salman Masood
| author-link=Salman Masood
| date=25 July 2007
| accessdate=24 October 2007
}}</ref>

Mehsud was one of the first three former Guantanamo captives the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] [[United States President|Presidency]] reported had returned to the battlefield. As of July 2007, spokesmen reported that over thirty captives had returned to the battlefield, or associated with terrorists, after their release. As of July 2007, the spokesmen had named seven of those individuals.
{{Main|List of released Guantanamo prisoners who allegedly returned to battle}}

== Promise to never surrender ==
''Sikh Spectrum'' reported that during a telephone interview in 2004, Abdullah Mehsud promised to never surrender.<ref name=SikhSpectrumFebruary2004>
{{cite news
|url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/022005/mehsud.htm
|title = I Will Never Surrender: Abdullah Mehsud
|publisher = Sikh Spectrum
|author = Mohammad Shehzad
|issue = 19
|date = February 2004
|accessdate = 3 March 2008
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015072614/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/022005/mehsud.htm
|archivedate = 15 October 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>

== Death ==
On 24 July 2007, Mehsud was at a house with other militants in [[Zhob]], [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]]. A team of Pakistani law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on the house where he was staying. Abdullah Mehsud was shot by soldiers. He was holding a grenade in hand intended to kill the soldiers but he fell down due to injuries and blown by grenade During the raid, several other militants were killed, Abdul Rahman Mehsud and Muhammad Azam, were captured along with a local [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan|Pakistani Taliban]] leader.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

== Relationship with Baitullah Mehsud ==
Abdullah Mehsud had no relationship with [[Baitullah Mehsud]], a tribal leader of the Mehsud tribe]].<ref name=Dawn20070724>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/24/welcome.htm
|title=Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan
|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]
|date=24 July 2007
|accessdate=3 March 2008
|quote=During Mehsud's time on the run, his brother BaitUllah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan's tribal regions.
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007032525/http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/24/welcome.htm
|archivedate=7 October 2008
|df=dmy
}}</ref>
Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.<ref name=TheNews20050729>
{{cite news
| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10BA83FB28D8CD68&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
| title=Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government
| publisher=[[The News International|The News]]
| date=29 July 2005
| accessdate=3 March 2008
| quote=BaitUllah Mehsud, who abandoned his more well-known colleague Abdullah Mehsud to cut a peace deal with the government some months ago in return for amnesty, has warned of "terrible attacks" against the government if he and his men...
}}</ref><ref name=LongwarJournal>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php
| title=Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid
| publisher=[[Long War Journal]]
| author=Bill Roggio
| author-link=Bill Roggio
| date=24 July 2007
| accessdate=3 March 2008
| quote=Abdullah Mehsud, born Noor Alam, was a member of the Mehsud clan in South Waziristan, and was a clansman of BaitUllah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency.
}}</ref><ref name=Dawn20070725>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/25/top2.htm
| title=Cornered militant blows himself up
| publisher=Dawn (newspaper)
| author=Saleem Shahid
| author-link=Saleem Shahid
| date=25 July 2007
| accessdate=3 March 2008
| quote=Security was beefed up in Zhob and on Balochistan's border with Waziristan after the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, the most important Taliban commander in the country after BaitUllah Mehsud.
}}</ref>
''[[Islam Online]]'' reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.<ref name=IslamOnline20080129>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280012324&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
|title=Pakistan's Most Wanted
|publisher=[[Islam Online]]
|author=Aamir Latif
|author-link=Aamir Latif
|date=29 January 2008
|accessdate=3 March 2008
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331142629/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280012324&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout
|archivedate=31 March 2008
}}</ref>

== Defense Intelligence Agency claims he "returned to terrorism" ==
The [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] asserted Abdullah Mahsud had "returned to terrorism".<ref name=Dia20080613>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20080613Returntothefightfactsheet.pdf
|title=Fact Sheet: Former GTMO Detainee Terrorism Trends
|publisher=[[Defense Intelligence Agency]]
|date=13 June 2008
|accessdate=26 July 2008
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709112647/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20080613Returntothefightfactsheet.pdf
|archivedate=9 July 2008
|df=dmy
}}
</ref>
The DIA reported:
{{quotation|
Abdullah Mahsud blew himself up to avoid capture by Pakistani forces in July 2007. According to a Pakistani government official, Mahsud directed a suicide attack in April 2007 that killed 31 people. After being transferred to Afghanistan in March 2004, Mahsud sought several media interviews and became well known for his attacks in Pakistan. In October 2004, he kidnapped two Chinese engineers and claimed responsibility for an Islamabad hotel bombing.}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
<!--
* {{cite news|title=WikiLeaks reveals US blunders at Guantanamo|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/wikileaks-reveals-us-blunders-at-guantanamo/story-4VKW42YdyJ5vdt8zQ9iZsL.html|via=[[Agence France Press|AFP]]|date=April 25, 2011|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]}}
The following categories contain articles about individuals who almost all have Arabic names.
Arabic names don't have European style surnames that are inherited, father to son.
So, there is no point changing the order in which they are sorted in the categories.


{{Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan}}
Thanks!
{{Afghanistan War}}
-->
{{WoTPrisoners}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehsud, Abdullah}}
Category:Guantanamo Bay detainees missing from the official list
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members]]
[[Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released]]
[[Category:Suicides in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pashtun people]]
[[Category:People from South Waziristan]]
[[Category:Suicides by explosive device]]
[[Category:2007 suicides]]

Latest revision as of 05:21, 6 December 2024

Abdullah Mehsud
Abdullah Mehsud from his US "most wanted poster".
Born1977[1]
Nano Village, South Waziristan
Died24 July 2007(2007-07-24) (aged 29–30)
Balochistan, Pakistan
Detained at Guantanamo
Other name(s) Alam Mehsud (birth name)
ISN92
Alleged to be
a member of		Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Charge(s)no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Statusreleased, "returned to the battlefield", KIA

Abdullah Mehsud (Pashto: عبدالله مهسود; Urdu: عبدالله محسود; 1977 – 24 July 2007) was a Pashtun militant commander who was killed by Pakistani Army in Zhob after security forces raided his dwelling in Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan.[2] He belonged to the Mahsud tribe.

American authorities later claimed that he had originally been a prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, who was judicially released and subsequently "returned to terrorism".

Early life

[edit]

Abdullah Mehsud (Muhammad Alam Mahsud) was born in 1977 in Nano village of South Waziristan, and was a Pashtun, part of the Mehsud tribe's SlimiKhel clan in South Waziristan which is the homeland of the Meshud tribe located in northwest Pakistan. Abdullah Mehsud fought against the Northern Alliance and lost a leg to a landmine in 1996.[3]

Capture

[edit]

During the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom, Mehsud fought against U.S. and Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan. In December 2001, he surrendered to the Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum in the Battle of Kunduz.[4] He was handed over to the U.S. and spent 25 months in Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where he was fitted with a prosthetic limb.[5] He was released by the U.S. and returned to South Waziristan.

Return to the battlefield

[edit]

After his release, Mehsud immediately began rebuilding his Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan/TTP) cadre. He commanded a force of up to 5,000 Taliban fighters. He then began initiating attacks on coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.[6]

In Waziristan, Mehsud was believed to be behind the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers from the building of the Gomal Zam Dam, which left one hostage dead during a botched rescue attempt. He was also alleged to have been behind an attack on Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao that killed 31 people.[2]

In March 2005, a Department of Defense document claimed:[7]

Mahsud, now reputed to be a militant leader, claimed to be an office clerk and driver for the Taliban from 1996 to 1998 or 1999.[7] He consistently denied having any affiliation with al Qaida. He also claimed to have received no weapons or military training due to his handicap (an amputation resulting from when he stepped on a land mine 10 years ago). He claimed that after 11 September 2001 he was forcibly conscripted by the Taliban military.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

In 2005, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that Mehsud had been killed by ISI forces, only to later retract the statement.[8]

Mehsud was one of the first three former Guantanamo captives the Bush Presidency reported had returned to the battlefield. As of July 2007, spokesmen reported that over thirty captives had returned to the battlefield, or associated with terrorists, after their release. As of July 2007, the spokesmen had named seven of those individuals.

Main article: List of released Guantanamo prisoners who allegedly returned to battle

Promise to never surrender

[edit]

Sikh Spectrum reported that during a telephone interview in 2004, Abdullah Mehsud promised to never surrender.[9]

Death

[edit]

On 24 July 2007, Mehsud was at a house with other militants in Zhob, Balochistan. A team of Pakistani law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on the house where he was staying. Abdullah Mehsud was shot by soldiers. He was holding a grenade in hand intended to kill the soldiers but he fell down due to injuries and blown by grenade During the raid, several other militants were killed, Abdul Rahman Mehsud and Muhammad Azam, were captured along with a local Pakistani Taliban leader.[citation needed]

Relationship with Baitullah Mehsud

[edit]

Abdullah Mehsud had no relationship with Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal leader of the Mehsud tribe]].[10] Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.[11][12][13] Islam Online reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.[14]

Defense Intelligence Agency claims he "returned to terrorism"

[edit]

The Defense Intelligence Agency asserted Abdullah Mahsud had "returned to terrorism".[15] The DIA reported:

Abdullah Mahsud blew himself up to avoid capture by Pakistani forces in July 2007. According to a Pakistani government official, Mahsud directed a suicide attack in April 2007 that killed 31 people. After being transferred to Afghanistan in March 2004, Mahsud sought several media interviews and became well known for his attacks in Pakistan. In October 2004, he kidnapped two Chinese engineers and claimed responsibility for an Islamabad hotel bombing.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Wanted – Abdullah Mahsud" (PDF). October 2006. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Mehsud behind attack: Sherpao". Dawn. 30 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  3. ^ Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid - The Long War Journal
  4. ^ South Asia Tribune, Pakistan Army pays more than half million dollars to al-Qaeda in bizarre deal Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 10 February 2005
  5. ^ Pakistani Officers: Gitmo Detainees Abuse Guards
  6. ^ Pakistani Taliban. July 2007. Long War Journal.
  7. ^ a b "JTF -GTMO Information on Detainees" (PDF). Department of Defense. 4 March 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2009.
  8. ^ Salman Masood (25 July 2007). "Taliban Leader Is Said to Evade Capture by Blowing Himself Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  9. ^ Mohammad Shehzad (February 2004). "I Will Never Surrender: Abdullah Mehsud". No. 19. Sikh Spectrum. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  10. ^ "Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan". Dawn. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008. During Mehsud's time on the run, his brother BaitUllah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan's tribal regions.
  11. ^ "Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government". The News. 29 July 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2008. BaitUllah Mehsud, who abandoned his more well-known colleague Abdullah Mehsud to cut a peace deal with the government some months ago in return for amnesty, has warned of "terrible attacks" against the government if he and his men...
  12. ^ Bill Roggio (24 July 2007). "Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid". Long War Journal. Retrieved 3 March 2008. Abdullah Mehsud, born Noor Alam, was a member of the Mehsud clan in South Waziristan, and was a clansman of BaitUllah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency.
  13. ^ Saleem Shahid (25 July 2007). "Cornered militant blows himself up". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 3 March 2008. Security was beefed up in Zhob and on Balochistan's border with Waziristan after the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, the most important Taliban commander in the country after BaitUllah Mehsud.
  14. ^ Aamir Latif (29 January 2008). "Pakistan's Most Wanted". Islam Online. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  15. ^ "Fact Sheet: Former GTMO Detainee Terrorism Trends" (PDF). Defense Intelligence Agency. 13 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
[edit]
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