There seems to be no shortage of young recruits willing to take up arms and join the Taliban in Afghanistan. At an imposing jail on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar, birthplace of the ousted Islamic militia, prison officials say there are 50 to 60 “political inmates,” a term usually used to describe Taliban guerrillas. Reuters met a small number late on Wednesday, all young men, or teenagers who, whether for faith, money or out of pure ignorance recently joined the “jihad,” or holy war, declared by the Taliban against U.S.-led foreign troops, aid workers and their “helpers.” All said they came from neighboring Pakistan. They were selected by an Afghan intelligence official so it was unclear how representative they were of the prisoners; Kabul pins the blame for rising Taliban violence largely on Pakistan. “I am a Talib,” said Rahmatullah, an 18-year-old from the central Afghan province of Uruzgan. “I was studying in a madrassah in Chaman and was told by the Taliban to join them and join the jihad,” he added, referring to a Muslim religious school. Full Story
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