The SeaFuryhadwideexportsuccess, operatingwiththe militaryservicesofAustralia, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Burma and evenCuba.
Controversy over taxes has sharpened in recent months: Earlier this year, Afghanistan detained several Western employees of Netherlands-based Supreme Group, a top supplier to the U.S. military, amid negotiations over the company's tax bill.
Martin van Vliet, a researcher at the African Studies Center in Leiden, theNetherlands, said that while Timbuktu was no longer a city of vital economic or military importance, it stood out as an important prize for the rebels due to its symbolic significance.