General

Taxi driver by day, Taliban by night

The secret world of part-time jihadis

For some Taliban commanders, the jihad is only a part-time gig. Dhani-Ghorri, for instance, battles NATO forces in northern Afghanistan for three months of the year, and then lives in east London for the rest, ferrying people around town in his taxi. “I work as a minicab driver,” says the mid-level Taliban commander. “I make good money there [in the UK], you know. But these people are my friends and my family and it’s my duty to come to fight the jihad with them.” He said there are many people like him in London, who collect money for the jihad all year, and then fight overseas when they can. The news confirms a long-held suspicion among intelligence officials that some U.K. Muslims spend part of the year in Afghanistan and Pakistan training with extremist groups.

The Guardian

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