Mullah Haibatullah, the Taliban leader, needs Jawad's suicide bombers more than ever.
Author: Khaled Mohammadi.
Tajmir Jawad, the Taliban’s deputy intelligence chief and the man who has trained the Taliban’s suicide squads and the Red Unit for years has been tasked with suppressing the Islamic State’s (ISIS) Khorasan branch. Sources told Ettilaat-e-Ruz that he and the suicide bombers at his disposal are also partly responsible for the security of the Taliban leader and his close associates.
These sources added that while Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has his special security unit (composed of proven forces), Mullah Tajmir Jawad also plays a central role in ensuring his safety. His central role in the Taliban leader's power structure shows that, rather than relying on his political capital and spiritual status, the Taliban leader views suicide bombers loyal to Tajmir as the first line of defense for his power.
Following the assassination of Khalilurrahman Haqqani, the Taliban's Minister of Refugees and Repatriates, a senior member of the Haqqani network, and Sirajuddin Haqqani's uncle, Tajmir Jawad stepped up security for those close to the Taliban leader. Khalil Haqqani was killed in an ISIS suicide attack at the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates.
The event sent alarm bells ringing in important Taliban strongholds. Many observers have also speculated that ISIS may have killed Khalil Haqqani as a result of an internal conspiracy. In March 2023, ISIS killed Dawood Mozammel, the then-Taliban governor of Balkh, in his office. Mozammel was also one of the figures close to Mullah Haibatullah and he led the Taliban operation against ISIS in the eastern provinces, especially Nangarhar, during the Republican era and was involved in massacres of ISIS forces.
After the killing of Khalilurrahman Haqqani, Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor of Kandahar, Haji Yusuf Wafa, the group's governor of Balkh, Khalid Hanafi, the public relations minister, Nida Mohammad Nadeem, the higher education minister and dozens of other officials close to the Taliban leader have tightened security. Ittilaate-e-Ruz sources said that Tajmir Jawad is also cooperating to protect these officials.
When Tajmir Jawad's suicide forces take on the role of protecting senior officials, they are called "fidai," a nickname that means these suicide bombers do whatever it takes to protect them, even sacrificing their own lives.
WHO IS TAJMIR JAWAD?
During the republic, Mullah Tajmir Jawad was the Taliban's shadow governor in Paktia and a senior member of the Haqqani network. With the collapse of the government, Tajmir Jawad strengthened his relationship with the Taliban leader and became his trusted confidant in the group's intelligence structure.
Tajmir Jawad, like Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, has not released any photos or videos of himself, and despite his growing notoriety in security circles, he still lives in the shadows. Tajmir Jawad rarely appears in public, and fewer than five audiotapes about him have been released during the new Taliban rule.
Before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Tajmir Jawad gave rigorous military training to suicide bombers at Camp Al-Hamza in Pakistan's tribal areas and on the border with Afghanistan, then sent them into Afghanistan to carry out terrorist attacks.
Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada relies on Tajmir Jawad more than on Abdulhak Wasiq, the group's intelligence chief. Tajmir has yet to meet with any Western officials. Some Taliban forces released a photo of Tajmir Jawad during a supposed hajj ceremony. The picture was taken from behind.
"FATIH ZWAK" AGAINST ISIS
Tajmir Jawad is the founder of the Taliban's Al-Hamza Suicide Battalion and Red Unit, and the leader of the Fatih Zwak (The forces of the victors) Battalion. He has extensive experience training Taliban suicide and special forces. The group's leader is now counting on him to counter the ISIS threat to him and officials close to him.
Taliban sources report daily that the Fatih Zwak unit is leading and conducting most of the operations against ISIS, and that Tajmir Jawad has wide influence in the unit.
The Taliban's Fatih Zwak Battalion, which consists of the Red Unit and the group's suicide forces, was created about a year before the fall of Afghanistan, and Mullah Tajmir Jawad was given leadership of the battalion. After the escape of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former Afghan president, Fatih Zwak's forces reached Kabul and took control of key areas.
A video released by Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, about ten months before Kabul fell, showed the forces conducting military training in a mountainous area (likely in Pakistan's tribal areas), simulating Afghan commando exercises. The videos also showed the Taliban using car bombs, yellow barrel mines, suicide vests, and suicide forces.
Mullah Tajmir Jawad, in the few audio files he has released, boasts of having destroyed the intelligence of the previous US- and Western-backed government through armed and suicide attacks. Most of the bloody and deadly attacks, including the attack on the Serena Hotel and a 400-bed military hospital, were carried out under the leadership of Tajmir Jawad.
Under the previous government of Afghanistan, the Taliban Red Unit was made up of trained Taliban forces, and most of this force had fought in important wars and was small in number. The Red Unit was responsible for providing military advice, mobilizing troops on the battlefield, and boosting the morale of the Taliban forces. Even when the previous government of Afghanistan managed to kill and arrest the troops of this unit, they especially emphasized its losses in their statements.
Tajmir Jawad has great confidence in the suicide forces under his command, which is why he uses these forces in the war against ISIS and to ensure the safety of high-ranking officials of this group. The suicide forces are ideologically trained and obey the leadership without question. Tajmir Jawad is the most respected for these forces and his orders are carried out without question.
IN DEFENSE OF THE EMIRATE
Three years and four months into the Taliban's rule, Tajmir Jawad, with his vast financial resources and equipment, has made major investments in upgrading the terrorist forces and integrating them into the group's intelligence structure. Tajmir Jawad, who does not want his photos and videos to be published, has released only a few of his audio recordings, all of which praised the suicide forces and called them to protect and strengthen the Taliban emirate.
In March this year, Tajmir Jawad placed several suicide forces in the house of Mullah Omar, the group's founder and first leader, and ordered them to obey the orders of Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, and to be ready to carry out explosive attacks and suicide bombings at any time and anywhere. He emphasized that they must protect the "Islamic Emirate of the Taliban." He called Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada a “bright star” in the sky of religious sciences and Islamic politics and told the suicide forces that the “Islamic Emirate of the Taliban” would achieve its goals under his leadership.
As the long-time leader of the suicide bombers and a Haqqani Network cadre, Tajmir Jawad’s strong emphasis on Mullah Haibatullah has brought him one step closer to the Taliban leader. Since the Taliban’s return to power, the group has repeatedly ignored the threat posed by the Islamic State (ISIS)' Khorasan branch. One of the reasons why ISIS-loyal forces were able to reach key officials, including Khalil Haqqani and Dawood Mozammel, was because they ignored the ISIS threat. But now the Taliban, and especially Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s leader, have tightened security measures and see ISIS as a serious threat to themselves and the “emirate of the group.”
