As a child studying in a madrasa in Afghanistan, Mohammad Khalid Tahir dreamed of waging jihad.
By the time he was a teenager, he had joined the Taliban and celebrated when they seized power from the U.S.-backed government two years ago.
So this spring, he did — but across the border in Pakistan.
“Our only expectation is to be martyred,” Mr. Tahir says in a video of him en route to Pakistan that was viewed by The New York Times.
As a generation of fighters raised in war now finds itself stuck in a country at peace, hundredsof young Taliban soldiers have crossed illegally into Pakistan to battle alongside an insurgent group, according to Taliban members, local leaders and security analysts.
Persons:
Mohammad Khalid Tahir, ” Mr, Tahir, hundredsof
Organizations:
“, The New York Times
Locations:
Afghanistan, U.S, Pakistan