London, June 19 (IANS): European fighters are joining the Taliban in Afghanistan to avenge the death of former Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, a media report said on Sunday.
According to 'The Sun', an hour-long video shows paleskinned groups of non-Afghan fighters defiantly raising their weapons at a secret base in Helmand province. It boasts of "Muslim youth from different races and languages background" who have had Jihadi training.
The video was the first to be released by the so-called Cultural Commission of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since the death of Osama, the report said.
It is thought the militants include British radicals, supporting reports of increasing English-language communication on the Taliban network.
The video accuses British troops of war crimes and pledges revenge. It is thought to represent a division between those who want to continue fighting, and tribal leaders in talks with NATO, according to the report.
There are fears the recruits could be sent back to their own countries on terror campaigns.
The report said the film shows 10 masked trainees on a pick-up truck. Their bare arms reveal pale skins and they all wear watches. They brandish AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Commenting on the images Saturday night, Colonel Richard Kemp, former head of British forces in �Afghanistan, said: "The soldiers are all pale skinned, suggesting perhaps that they have not been in-country for long."
"Most Afghan Taliban don't wear watches. They can't afford them. It is certainly credible that there are European, perhaps even British, fighters among Taliban ranks," Sun quoted Kemp as saying.
British MP Patrick Mercer said new Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had always pledged to recruit more Europeans. "It seems to be happening. This is extremely serious," the report said, quoting Mercer.
