Perpetrators of Suicide Attacks Speak of Their Recruitment and Training

As the Afghan government attempts to reduce suicide attacks and violent operations in the country, one intelligence agency has opened a window into the mindset of Islamist extremists. According to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on January 23, the 'Afghan Intelligence Agency' has allowed media to interview several individuals who were supposed to be suicide attackers to learn about their motivations and recruitment methods. All the accused in this case are individuals whose plans were thwarted before execution due to intelligence agencies discovering their plots. 'Bilal,' a 13-year-old boy whose suicide attack plan in downtown Kabul was discovered before execution, has been arrested and imprisoned. In an interview with the Afghanistan section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Bilal stated that his uncle sent him to a religious school in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he encountered extremist beliefs and subsequently underwent six weeks of training for a suicide operation in Kabul. Bilal said, 'The cleric teacher told us that everyone in Kabul is considered 'infidels.' He told me that I would go to heaven afterward and that I should be very happy that I wouldn't end up in hell.' He added, 'I am very happy that I was arrested because I didn't want to die.' Bilal also mentioned that suicide attackers are always sent in pairs so that if one hesitates, the other can carry out the attack. Bilal noted that he was sent with another individual for one attack, but there is no information on the fate of the second person. 'Mir Ahmad,' an 18-year-old from Logar province in Afghanistan, was sent to the 'Mohammadiya' religious school in the tribal areas of Pakistan near the Afghan border. Mir Ahmad said, 'We were told that the ruling government in Kabul is not Islamic. We were told that this government is a puppet of America and that we must jihad against this government.' He added, 'Their propaganda was effective and motivated me to rise up in defense of Islam, which is how I became a suicide attacker. They showed us videos about war and told stories about the Prophet of Islam and his conquests and how he defeated the infidels.' According to Mir Ahmad, the network known as 'Haqqani,' which is close to the Taliban in Afghanistan, is responsible for recruitment. 'Idris,' who is from Kandahar province, went to an extremist religious school in Kandahar two years ago shortly after his father was killed in an airstrike likely carried out by American forces. He said, 'I was very depressed and angry. I kept thinking about my father and decided to become a suicide attacker. We were told that these foreigners burned our holy book and made a film about our Prophet.'