Al Qaeda, Taliban look for new ally?

Washington Times:

Pakistani Taliban and allied members of al Qaeda, under new pressure from a U.S. and Pakistani offensive, may join forces with a militant Sunni Muslim group called Jundallah, which has staged attacks on Iran and strained Iranian-Pakistani relations, military specialists say.

Ashraf Ali, a Peshawar-based specialist on the Taliban, told The Washington Times that given Jundallah's historical connections with al Qaeda and the Taliban, Taliban militants led by Baitullah Mehsud and his al Qaeda allies might seek refuge in Pakistan's Baluchistan province or join the ranks of Jundallah.

Pakistan and the United States are mounting an offensive against Mehsud in the tribal regions north of Baluchistan along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

"This would give a totally new dimension to the dynamics of Taliban/al Qaeda militancy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region and may shift some of the problem to the Pakistan-Iran border region," Mr. Ali said. "This is very much possible, as apparently there seems to be no [Pakistani] troops deployment on the south of the conflict zone towards Baluchistan."

Pakistan's Baluchistan province is situated next to Mehsud's tribal territory in South Waziristan, the renewed theater of Pakistan's anti-Taliban offensive.

Last week, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a hotel in Baluchistan's Kalat district, killing four people and wounding 11. The attack appeared aimed at disrupting supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan, since drivers of NATO supply vehicles were eating at the hotel.

Analysts said the incident is a sign of rising Taliban/al Qaeda militancy in Baluchistan, as well as a possible indication of growing contacts between Waziristan-based militant groups and Jundallah.

Malik Siraj Akbar, an analyst based in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, told The Washington Times that Abdul Malik Rigi, the leader of Jundullah, studied at madrassas in Karachi, where Taliban leaders also got their schooling.

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I am not that familiar with this group but it appears to be motivated by a push for Sunni rights in Shia Iran. That is a cause that is sure to hit some friction, but their disgruntlement is something the Taliban religious bigots can exploit. I am not sure how big the group is, but it is in the Quetta area where most of the Taliban leadership hide.