Rebuttal: TTP reject reports of ‘Taliban camps’ in Syria

Commanders say their focus remains in Pakistan.

PESHAWAR:

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders on Tuesday rejected suggestions they were sending fighters to Syria, saying some have gone there independently but the movement’s focus remained in Pakistan.

They said some militants, mainly Arabs and Central Asians, had gone to fight the forces of President Bashar al Assad, but a senior Taliban leader dismissed reports of them setting up camps in Syria.

The tribal areas along the Afghan border have long been a magnet for militants from across the Muslim world eager to fight US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan.

But since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, foreign jihadis have flocked to Syria, where disparate rebel groups are seeking his downfall.

Some media reports in recent days have claimed scores or even hundreds of Pakistani Taliban jihadists are among them and that they have set up jihadi camps in Syria. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2013.