Former Afghan warlords rally for amnesty Part 1

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - In one corner of a soccer stadium that has seen both athletic contests and executions stands a poster some 20 feet tall of Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai. Perhaps appropriately, Feda Mohammad Mujahid has turned away from it.

The 25,000 Afghans crowded into this bare concrete oval hoist up different posters of stern-faced mujahideen commanders who first fought the Soviets, and then each other, before joining with America to oust the Taliban in 2001.

To Mr. Mujahid, wrapped in a white scarf against the winter chill, these are the heroes of Afghanistan's "holy wars," not war criminals. So he has come here to rail against Mr. Karzai and the tyranny of Western nations, which have opposed an Afghan bill that would grant the mujahideen amnesty for war crimes committed during the past 25 years.

"This is a mujahideen nation," he says, as nearby loudspeakers crackle with speeches of defiance. "We want the law of Islam, and the government of mujahideen."

Away from the teeming streets around the stadium, the attitudes of average Afghans take on a different air. Many express frustration that former military leaders who killed thousands and destroyed Kabul in a four-year civil war might never be brought to justice. Yet in a country still divided by tribes, tongues, and traditions, Friday's rally sent a clear message ? that even now, Afghanistan's onetime warlords alone have the power to muster the masses.

In this rally, "you saw their continuing ability to mobilize people and to potentially influence politics," says Paul Fishstein, director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, an independent analysis organization here.

Iraq blast kills 58 at holy shrine

U.S. war efforts in Iraq were dealt another devastating blow yesterday as a car bomb near a holy Shiite shrine killed at least 58 Iraqis and, in separate attacks, nine more American soldiers were slain.

The bomb blast in the Shiite holy city of Karbala came near the shrines of Imam Abbas and Imam Hussein - two major Shiite saints - as Iraqis gathered for evening prayer.

As the blood flowed, mourners exploded with rage, hurling stones at cops and storming a local governor's house, furious at the failure to protect them from the unrelenting bombings usually blamed on Sunni insurgents.

The attack was the second in two weeks near the Karbala shrine: On April 14, 47 people were killed and 224 were wounded in a car bombing.

The blast is expected to inflame the already out-of-control conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in war-torn Iraq - and make America's job tougher.

The Americans killed in Iraq included five who died in fighting Friday in Anbar Province, three killed yesterday when a roadside bomb struck their patrol southeast of Baghdad and one killed in a separate roadside bombing south of the capital.

The deaths raised to 99 the members of the U.S. military who have died this month in Iraq, and at least 3,346 have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Meanwhile, the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched a strong attack on President Bush, calling him the "greatest evil" for refusing to withdraw American troops from Iraq. He said he backs the Democrats' plan to start leaving Iraq by Oct. 1.

Philippine military belittle call of Holy War

The Philippine military on Monday belittled the call of a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader for "Holy War" as government forces pressed to arrest him in the south.

At a press briefing, Armed Forces spokesman Bartolome Bacarro said Ustadz Habier Malik, alias Commander Malik would not be joined by his fellow MNLF commanders in the southern province of Sulu as they abhor his killing acts.

"Most of the MNLF commanders in the (Sulu) area have made announcements that they are not supporting Malik," said Bacarro.

The Philippine military believe that Malik is "isolated" and " on his own", Bacarro added.

Malik's group, a detachment of the MNLF, have launched attacks against civilian and military targets in Sulu last Friday and Saturday, according to military reports.

Malik supposedly declared Jihad or "Holy War" against the government last Friday night which was followed by the attacks on the civilians and camps of the military troops who are in a mission to search for the Abu Sayyaf terrorists and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb experts in Sulu.

The hostile actions of Malik have resulted in civilian deaths, including a child during the mortar shelling, the spokesman said.

Bacarro said that Malik is presently "on the run" being pursued by four Marine battalions, or 2,000 soldiers.

The group of Malik, however, has at least 150 men but could be reinforced by the Abu Sayyaf and JI members, military officials said.