Tirah valley operation intensifies, 23 soldiers killed

[gokussj9]

Tirah valley operation intensifies, 23 soldiers killed | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

KHYBER AGENCY: A decisive operation has been launched against militants in the Tirrah valley of Bara by Special Services Groups (SSG) forces along with regular troops, during which at least 23 troops have been killed along with local lashkar men.

Scores of militants have also been killed in the offensive during the last three days.

Official sources confirmed to Dawn.com that several soldiers, including SSG commandos, have been killed in the battle for Tirah valley on Saturday, while over 30 militants have also been confirmed dead along with scores of others injured.

Sources said that SSG commandos along with regular army troops and Frontier Corps are battling to root out the last pockets of resistance in the Tirah valley especially on the border of Orakzai Agency.

The landlocked area is reported to be a bastion of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other foreign militants.

The offensive has entered a crucial phase, after softening of targets by gunships and jet fighters.

Ground troops along with local volunteers have been mobilised to clear the area.

Security experts had already hinted at a decisive strike in the Tirah valley as the TTP and Lashkar-i-Islam had started consolidating their positions in the valley.

The two groups pose a serious threat to the settled areas especially Peshawar.

The FC media cell had confirmed on Friday that four soldiers were killed and over 14 militants had died in the clashes which have been continuing since then.

Sources have confirmed to Dawn.com that one dead body of an SSG commando and six injured SSG soldiers along with eight other solders were shifted to the CMH Peshawar on Saturday.

Artillery and mortar shelling has also intensified as troops have started an advance march and door-to-door offensive to clear pockets of resistance.

The former secretary of security for FATA region and an expert on tribal affairs, Brigadier Mehmood Shah speaking to Dawn.com said that Tirah would become a headache for the Pakistan administration if it is not cleared of militants.

He said that militants from Khyber Agency's Bara area and the Dara Admakhel TTP have also shifted their operational base to Tirah valley as they consider it to be a safer place to regroup.

He added that if Tirah valley is left unattended, it would become even more dangerous than South Waziristan Agency.

 

[Singh]

Tirah Valley.

 

[dhananjay1]

Pakistan army has no control over the whole Khyber region.

 

[Singh]

I believe it is the second or third time that Pakistan Army has entered this region since Independence.

Kurram Valley has many Shia tribesmen who have been slaughtered, and I believe the road linking Kurram to rest of Pakistan has been blocked for many years.
Khyber is Afridi area.
Orakzai is Orakzai area.

Waziristan has been a virtually independent Emirate.

 

[Singh]

Pakistan army has no control over the whole Khyber region.

Pakistan has allies in Kurram Agency, but not for long, they will be slaughtered, silenced soon.

 

[arnabmit]

23 soldiers including elite commandos killed vs 30 militants killed, that too after softening up by gunships, jets, artillery and mortars. :shocked:

Speaks volumes of their quality of training and strategy!

 

[Singh]

I don't know if this attack negates the Muree Agreement of 2011 ?

 

[Blackwater]

Tirah Valley.

why all areas called agency???

 

[pmaitra]

why all areas called agency???

The British Indian Empire was divided into:

1. Presidencies (directly administered): Basically, an Imperial Plenipotentiary, or Official, presided over the direct governance of these regions.
2. Princely States (loyal vassals to the Emperor/Empress): There were many small kingdoms, and kings and princes, whom the British kept in good humour, as long as they were loyal to the Empire.
3. Agencies (difficult to rule lawless regions, best left alone, as long as they do not impede the British Army movements): The Empire had its agents who actually negotiated some kind of loose control over these lawless territories with the local tribesmen to enable the free movement of the British or British Indian Army, and hence the term agency.

It all follows from that.

 

[Blackwater]

The British Indian Empire was divided into:

1. Presidencies (directly administered)
2. Princely States (loyal vassals to the Emperor/Empress)
3. Agencies (difficult to rule lawless regions, best left alone, as long as they do not impede the British Army movements)

It all follows from that.

in this way goras should made whole pakistan a agency in 1947

 

[pmaitra]

in this way goras should made whole pakistan a agency in 1947

I have added some more details in my original post. In a way, what you are saying is correct. The entire Pakistan is acting as an agent, either of the Saudis or the US, so the whole of Pakistan is an agency, not a nation.