Afghanistan Al-Qaeda Low On Funds

CAIRO — Al-Qaida's top commander in Afghanistan urged Turkish Muslims in a new audio message to send money to militants fighting coalition troops in the country, saying they are low on funds.

Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed said many militants in Afghanistan are unable to fight because they lack the necessary equipment.

"And we, here in Afghanistan, are needy of money," al-Yazeed said in the message released Wednesday. "And the reason for the weakness of the operations here is the inadequacy of equipment."

The authenticity of the audio message could not be verified, but it appeared on Web sites often used by al-Qaida.

Experts believe Islamic militants in Afghanistan receive most of their funding from wealthy donors and charities in the oil-rich Gulf and from the illegal drug trade inside the country.

The U.S. has tried to crack down on those funding sources by urging Gulf governments to better police the flows of money and by engaging in counter-narcotic operations inside Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama plans to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan this year in an effort to reverse the momentum of al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

Comments

[notAMoron]

12:45 AM on 06/15/2009

More victims of the recession.

[ajax2]

01:41 PM on 06/14/2009

Ollie North, CIA are you listening? Let's get those fundraisers going Ollie.

[henrypapillon]

03:50 AM on 06/14/2009

Maybe they'll have to sell the poppy farms to a realtor.

[MadCroation]

05:15 PM on 06/13/2009

Bush was giving them billions of dollars to keep them fighting so the gop could stay in power through lies and fear!

[confidance government]

05:09 PM on 06/13/2009

So does this just mean that all the donations have been going to the Taliban instead?

[smchp]

04:51 PM on 06/13/2009

Reich-wing necons finding some angle to take credit in 4..3...2..1

[MED1025]

03:45 PM on 06/13/2009

I guess that's one good thing about a global recession. No one can afford their heroin. Poor dears.

[underoath]

03:28 AM on 06/14/2009

Exactly

[offred]

12:02 PM on 06/13/2009

Just a fundraising ploy, like pledge drives for local public media. The Bushes' best buddies, the Saudis are still bankrolling Al Queda and assorted other religious fundamentalist terrorists.

[TJCole]

01:21 PM on 06/13/2009

Without a doubt..!

[den1953]

11:44 AM on 06/13/2009

I suppose poor GW won't be getting any donations for his library?

[den1953]

11:43 AM on 06/13/2009

Damm i thought the poppy crop was going to be a bumper crop this year i guess the labor force is down?

[KCFreedom]

12:38 AM on 06/13/2009

Well, their main fundraiser, Osama, is d-e a-d.

[ibwilliamsi]

11:12 PM on 06/12/2009

Do we really believe that they are low on funds because this man says so? Is he as good as his word? How is he different than a Wall Street Bank CEO?

[kimleehan]

11:03 PM on 06/12/2009

I bet Osama Bin Laden is looking over his shoulder watching out for bounty hunters.

[MountainPenelope]

10:46 PM on 06/12/2009

Gee, poor things. Maybe GWB's friends - the House of Saud - will send them a few billion!

[ModernTimes1]

10:19 AM on 06/13/2009

the money comes mostly from private donors in the Middle East---very same people who claim to be moderate in polls.

[wtheman]

09:26 PM on 06/12/2009

I just saw Dick Cheney at Western Union. He's taking care of it.