Counter-Terrorism: Terrorists Terrorizing Terrorists

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March 17, 2010:  Islamic radicals frequently do not get along with each other. This has long been a problem in Pakistan, where violence between these groups has been a problem for over half a century. The appearance of al Qaeda, fleeing from Afghanistan in late 2001, eventually caused some very bloody battles between these largely foreign Islamic radicals, and the local Taliban. Nearly a thousand died in these fights, which still continue on a low level.

India, which has been fighting Islamic radicals (from Pakistan) in Kashmir for two decades, has noticed this. In that time, they have recorded 820 battles between Islamic radicals in Kashmir. These led to the deaths of 577 Islamic radicals and 173 civilians. The fights were triggered by a range of disputes. These include territorial control, women, real estate and simply who should be in charge. Sometimes the battles were between Islamic radicals from Pakistan and groups composed of locals. As Indian security forces have beaten down most of the Islamic radicals in Kashmir, there are still occasional outbreaks of violence between Islamic radicals who hate each other more than their common enemy (non-Moslems).