Al-Qaeda Uses Jaish al-Mahdi to Gain Control over Helmand Province

A movement called Jaish al-Mahdi (The Army of the Mahdi) has emerged in Afghanistan. The leader of Afghanistan’s Jaish al-Mahdi is Abu Haris, an Arab commander who fought during the anti-Soviet jihad in eastern Afghanistan (Weesa, September 19). Afghanistan’s newly established Jaish al-Mahdi is a combination of Arab and Afghan fighters. In a statement, the movement noted that at its outset Jaish al-Mahdi enjoyed the support of 250 Arab and Afghan fighters, although it is still ambiguous as to which jihadi party these fighters were involved in during the Afghan wars. Today, the group has been attempting to recruit Afghan youth to help undertake operations and participate in what Abu Haris calls the “jihad in Afghanistan” (Pajhwak Afghan News, August 16).

The army’s self-proclaimed leader, Abu Haris, is an Arab fighter who was on the side of the resistance against the Soviets in Paktia province. He is allegedly Syrian, and for many years has been active in different parts of Afghanistan (Pajhwak Afghan News, August 16). A high-ranking Taliban official, who declined to be named, said that those gathered under the leadership of Abu Haris are all close friends (Pajhwak Afghan News, August 16). Some al-Qaeda personnel speaking to Pajhwak Afghan News acknowledged the formation of Jaish al-Mahdi and denied any differences between the group and al-Qaeda, claiming that they cooperated with each other fully.

The desolate and largely lawless region of Helmand province, the former main base of al-Qaeda in the Afghan-Pakistani border’s Paktia province, and the Pakistani territory of Waziristan are the areas that the Jaish al-Mahdi leader claimed as the fields of jihad against NATO-led forces and the Afghan government (Weesa, September 19). Of the areas that Jaish al-Mahdi has announced as their battlefields, Helmand province is the only place where Arab personnel of al-Qaeda have not held sway. Therefore, Jaish al-Mahdi’s Arab fighters’ activities in Helmand would indicate an attempt to insert Arab insurgents into an area that has not traditionally been one of their strongholds. Nevertheless, since the surge of violence in 2004, al-Qaeda elements have been active under Mustafa Abu al-Yazid throughout the country, and in Kunar province some Arab fighters are operating under the supervision of Abu Ikhlas al-Misri.

It is also unique that the group, which is believed to be Sunni, chose the name “Jaish al-Mahdi,” as the “Mahdi” is more prominent in Shiism. However, it is unlikely that this would be a Shiite group operating in concert with al-Qaeda and in that region of Afghanistan. Additionally, the idea of the Mahdi does fit into Sunni religious thought.