Maulvi Mawlawi ( ar, مولوي; also spelled Maulvi, Molvi, Moulavi and Mawlvi) is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh. Mawlawi generally ...

Saif-ur Mansur (also Saifullah Rahman Mansour, Saifullah Rehman Mansoor; died ) was a senior

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

commander. Saifullah's father, Nasrullah Mansur, had been one of the leading militia commanders who fought against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

during the

Soviet occupation of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Prior to the American invasion of Afghanistan Saifullah was the deputy commander of the Taliban's garrison at Kargha, on the outskirts of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. He fled to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

following the deposition of the Taliban in late 2001, and was reported to have rallied 1,000 fighters by March 2002. Saifullah was reported by

Pajhwok Afghan News , logo = , image = , image_size = , type = Independent news agency , headquarters = Kabul, Afghanistan , language = English, Dari, Pashto , founded = 2003 , founder = Danish Karokhel , o ...

to have said "The fight against America for the supremacy of Islam and the defense of our country will continue until our last breath". In May 2002 ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine described Saifullah as an emerging hero in the Taliban, after his men destroyed an American helicopter, killing seven American soldiers, in the

Battle of Takur Ghar The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and al-Qaeda insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan. For the U.S. side, the battle proved ...

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...

. Quoting a former Taliban diplomat, the magazine described Saifullah as "a pious and emotional man of limited education and vision, naive and easily misled." In 2005 Pakistani officials offered contradictory comments about whether Saifullah was still alive. Saifullah was killed in combat in January 2008, according to Pajhwok Afghan News, quoting a source in the National Intelligence Department. The Indian press reported that a militant seized in disputed

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

in November 2010 asserted that Saifullah Mansur had been the "masool" or leader in Pakistan's

Sarhad Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

References

External links

Time Magazine

Evening Standard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur, Saif-Ur 2000s deaths Taliban leaders Pashtun people Afghan Muslims Year of birth missing Year of death missing Afghan expatriates in Pakistan