Al Qaeda Appoints Leader For China Operations

Some putz named Abdul Haq Turkestani has been named leader of al Qaeda inside of China according to an al Qaeda spokesman. I'm not sure that is one of the coveted roles in al Qaeda or not, seeing that the Chinese military doesn't really give a shit about rules of engagement in the muslim provinces of China, but here's some of the details from MEMRI:

Al-Qaeda has appointed a leader in China – Abdul Haq Turkestani, 42 and a resident of the Uyghur region of Xinjiang province in China.
On November 17, 2008, Mohammad Uyghuri told Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden issued a directive appointing Abdul Haq Turkestani as the organization's leader in China.
Uyghuri, who was speaking from his base in the tribal areas of Pakistan, identified himself as a member of a Chinese Muslim group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Uyghuri added that some 300 Chinese Muslims were currently living in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that these Chinese Muslims have training camps in the tribal areas, from which they are sent to China to join the armed resistance.

You'll notice that all these guys making these announcements aren't anywhere NEAR China....hahaha. I'm not saying that al Qaeda won't make some noise in China but let's get real here, the Chinese communists don't give a rat's ass about killing 50 islamic civilians in a village that is harboring an al Qaeda terrorist. They don't care what the world says, what Reuters says, what the U.N. says - they simply hunt down terrorists and whoever gets in the way is collateral damage, tough shit.

New Al-Qaeda Leader Appointed For China

Al-Qaeda has appointed a leader in China – Abdul Haq Turkestani, 42 and a resident of the Uyghur region of Xinjiang province in China.
On November 17, 2008, Mohammad Uyghuri told Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden issued a directive appointing Abdul Haq Turkestani as the organization's leader in China.
Uyghuri, who was speaking from his base in the tribal areas of Pakistan, identified himself as a member of a Chinese Muslim group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Uyghuri added that some 300 Chinese Muslims were currently living in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that these Chinese Muslims have training camps in the tribal areas, from which they are sent to China to join the armed resistance.
A man named Abu Suleiman, who claims to be a member of Al-Qaeda' media team in the region, also confirmed Abdul Haq Turkestani's appointment.
He told PAN that the Islamic militant group in China is called Hizb-e-Islami Turkestan (The Islamic Party of Turkestan) and is funded by Al-Qaeda.
Chinese Muslims in the tribal areas are also publishing a magazine called Al-Turkestan ul Islamia ("The Islamic Turkestan").
Some 250 Chinese nationals who fought against the Chinese government lived in Afghanistan during the Taliban's rule, and had training camps under the command of Osama bin Laden in northern Kanduz province and in the Daronta area of eastern Nangrahar province.
Until 2001, these Chinese Muslims were led by Hassan Makhdoom; they fled to South Waziristan after the collapse of the Taliban regime.
Hassan Makhdoom was killed during a Pakistani forces operation in Wana in 2004.