Mohammad Ashan Taliban Member Turns Himself In for Reward
A Taliban insurgent has turned himself in to U.S. forces after he found a wanted poster with his face on and demanded the reward.
Mohammad Ashan was wanted by U.S. authorities in connection with plotting to carry out two IED attacks against local afghan security personnel.
The mid-level Taliban commander, who is from the Paktika province, apparently walked up to a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster which had his own face on it, demanding the $100 reward offered for his arrest or capture.
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Afghan police were skeptical at first and brought the situation to the attention of nearby U.S. forces.
"We asked him, 'Is this you?' Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, 'Yes, yes, that's me! Can I get my award now,'" according to SPC Matthew Baker.
A biometric scan confirmed that the man taken into custody was in fact the insurgent they had been looking for.
"This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the 'Home Alone" burglars," one U.S. official told The Washington Post.
Wanted posters are routinely posted in certain areas by NATO forces, but rarely have such a direct cause on the capture of a sought after insurgent.
In the Paktika province civilians are usually very afraid to give service members any information that might lead to the arrest of these insurgents because of the backlash they may face.
Also insurgents generally avoid any areas where they are being sought.
"Clearly, the man is an imbecile," a U.S. official told The Washington Post.
This new development has led officials to believe that the circumstance surrounding the nature of Ashan's capture might give coalition forces a new idea about the current state of the insurgency, such as its lack of resources and channels of communication.
