Pakistan's Latest Offensive in South Waziristan (Rah-i-Nijat) - News & Discussion

[Vladimir79]

Taliban shoots down transport helicopter

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Three people were killed Saturday when hostile fire caused a Pakistani military transport helicopter to crash, Pakistani officials said.

The incident occurred in northwestern Pakistan, where Pakistani troops have been fighting Taliban militants.

Senior Pakistani military officials say two pilots were injured in the crash, which occurred around sunset and was under investigation, a military spokesman said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an intelligence source and a local political official said the helicopter was brought down by hostile fire.

The aircraft was traveling to the northwestern city of Peshawar from the border district of Bajaur, where at least 25 people were killed in a suspected drone strike on Friday.

A local official told CNN the missile attack killed the nephew and son-in-law of Mawlanna Faqir Mohammed, the Taliban commander in Bajaur. Mohammed, himself, appears to have escaped the assault.



Helicopter crash in Pakistan kills 3 - CNN.com

 

[Vladimir79]

Taliban claim shooting down helicopter killing 30

Islamabad—A senior Taliban leader has claimed that the militants have shot down a military helicopter in Bajaur tribal region.

The military sources say that the helicopter crashed in Bajaur tribal region Saturday night and killed at least four security men.

Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, deputy chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the shooting down of the helicopter.

The Taliban leader speaking at his illegal FM radio station in Bajaur late Saturday night claimed the responsibility for the attack on the helicopter and announced a full scale war on the Pakistani forces.

A local tribesman in Bajaur said on phone that the Taliban leader asked the people to take guns against the Pakistani army or leave the area. He also claimed that 30 security men on board were killed in the helicopter attack.

Locals said that Maulvi Faqir narrowly escaped in a U.S. drone strike on Saturday which killed at least 14 Pakistani Taliban leaders. Officials said that the militants were holding a meeting in a bunker when two U.S. missiles hit the hideout. Faqir said his important men were killed in the U.S. strike at Damadola area, adding that TTP will also render more similar sacrifices in future.

According to local tribesmen, Umar Hayat, nephew and son in law of Maulvi Faqir was among those killed in the attack. Hayat was a prominent Taliban commander in Bajaur, locals said.

Troops have been fighting Taliban militants in Bajaur over the past two years and recently launched major offensive in Mamond area, a stronghold of Taliban militants in Bajaur.—NNI

Top Stories | Pakistan Observer Newspaper online edition

 

[Vladimir79]

Taliban overuns Pak security post

Pakistan troops die in Taliban assault: officials
(AFP) – 1 hour ago

KHAR, Pakistan — Taliban militants armed with rockets and guns stormed a military check post in Pakistan's tribal belt killing four soldiers, security and government officials said Monday.

The attack on Matak post in the Charmang area of Bajaur district near the Afghan border was mounted by about 20 militants overnight, they said.

"First they lobbed several rockets and then approached the post and opened fire with automatic weapons," local administration official Ghulam Saidullah told AFP by telephone.

Four security officials were killed and two wounded in the sudden assault, he added.

Security officials said troops retaliated, killing six Taliban militants and wounding four others.

Militants have recently stepped up activity in Bajaur, one of Pakistan's seven federally administered tribal areas (FATA) along the Afghan border, which is considered a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

Some analysts have warned that the Taliban and their allies could step up attacks on security forces in Bajaur and elsewhere to divert the focus away from South Waziristan, where the military is pressing a major ground offensive.

The military in August 2008 launched a major operation against militants in Bajaur. In February, they claimed the area had been cleared, but militant violence continues to rock Bajaur.

Hundreds of extremists are believed to have fled Afghanistan into Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas to carve out safe havens after the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime in US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

AFP: Pakistan troops die in Taliban assault: officials

 

[Pintu]

AFP: Pakistan says 42 killed in anti-Taliban offensive

Pakistan says 42 killed in anti-Taliban offensive

By Khurram Shahzad (AFP) – 7 hours ago

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan claimed Tuesday to have killed 42 Taliban in some of the heaviest fighting of a major offensive after the second gun attack on a senior army officer in the capital in less than a week.

Warplanes and helicopters waged multiple bombing sorties for an 11th day against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan, pressing its most ambitious battle yet in a tribal area infested with Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.

It has been impossible to obtain independent information from the battle field, which is sealed off to journalists and aid workers, and from which more than 200,000 civilians have fled -- a third of the estimated district population.

Pakistan has won US endorsement for its vow to crush TTP, which has claimed some of the worst bombings in a two-year campaign that has killed more than 2,280 people in the nuclear-armed country on the border with Afghanistan.

Jet fighters and helicopter gunships pounded Ladha and Makin in South Waziristan on Tuesday, where ground troops hope to encircle militant bastions after claiming to have captured strategic mountain tops and villages.

The military, which is so far the only source of casualty figures, said 42 militants and one soldier were killed, bringing to 239 the total number of insurgents and to 31 the number of troops to have died during the operation.

Security forces surround Nawazkot, one of the Taliban's strongholds, and militants were killed in fighting on the approach to Taliban bastion Sararogha to the east and Kanigurram further south, the army said.

Around 30,000 troops are pitted against an estimated 10-12,000 militants in the semi-autonomous and lawless tribal belt but experts say far more soldiers are needed for a successful counter-insurgency campaign.

More than 125,000 people have been registered since fleeing South Waziristan since October 13, UN refugee agency spokeswoman Arianne Rummery told AFP.

"They join the other 80,500 people which were previously registered. So this means the total registered caseload in terms of families is 28,242, which is around 206,000 people," she said.

Families began fleeing South Waziristan in late May when the military embarked on a campaign of air strikes ahead of the anticipated ground assault, but Rummery said the numbers could go down after verification is complete.

"The volatile security situation constrains our movement," she said.

Apparently trying to distract troops from South Waziristan, militants attacked a Pakistani checkpoint much further north in the lawless tribal belt overnight. The raid in Mohmand killed two troops, officials said Tuesday.

In the capital, a Pakistani brigadier travelling in a military vehicle with his elderly mother escaped assassination Tuesday in Islamabad's second shooting targeting a senior officer in less than a week.

No one was hurt but tensions are high following a spike in violence blamed on Islamist extremists which have left nearly 200 people dead this month.

"Brigadier Waqar Ahmed, who was posted at GHQ (general headquarters), was accompanied by his mother and driver and was going to a local hospital when terrorists fired bullets on him," police officer Khurshid Khan told AFP.

"Luckily all of them survived," he said.

The gunman escaped on a motorcycle, in a near copycat of an attack on an army jeep in Islamabad last Thursday that killed a brigadier on leave from a UN peacekeeping mission and his driver.

Increasingly brazen militant attacks have revealed the extremists' reach across the country and embarrassed the powerful military.

Most audacious was an assault this month on the army's GHQ nerve centre in garrison city Rawalpindi where 10 gunmen kept up a nearly 24-hour siege claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) movement.

 

[Pintu]

Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Pakistani troops die in attacks

UPDATED ON:
Monday, October 26, 2009
11:13 Mecca time, 08:13 GMT

Pakistani troops die in attacks

The Pakistani Taliban chief has denied suffering 'any
significant losses' in South Waziristan


Six Pakistani soldiers have been killed in two separate attacks a day after the Taliban chief to strike across the country if the army did not stop a major offensive against fighters along the Afghan border.

Heavily armed fighters attacked security officials in Toraware village, 95km north of South Waziristan, killing two and wounding four others, police said.

Ten Taliban fighters were believed to have been killed in the assault on Monday.

In a separate attack in Bajaur, a tribal region further north, Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint at Matthak village, killing four security officials, police said.

Seven fighters are thought to have died in the clash.

Security checkposts at Khar, the main town in Bajaur, and Siddiqabad, an adjoining village, were also attacked, wounding at least three security personnel.

Taliban defiant

Hakimullah Mehsud, the Pakistan Taliban chief, remained defiant on Sunday in a telephone call to an AP news agency reporter, threatening to turn Pakistan into "another Afghanistan or Iraq'' unless the Pakistani army's assault against the Taliban stopped.

He said the Taliban had not suffered "any significant losses'' in South Waziristan.

The army began its offensive into this tribal region nine days ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, which it says is behind 80 per cent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan.

The US backs the operation as they believe fighters in the northwest region are providing shelter to al-Qaida leaders responsible for attacking Nato troops.

The UN said some 155,000 civilians have fled the area beacuse of the fighting.

 

[Pintu]

DAWN.COM | Provinces | Troops achieve fresh gains in South Waziristan

Troops achieve fresh gains in South Waziristan

By Our Correspondent
Monday, 26 Oct, 2009

Troops are advancing succesfully in areas around Gherlama, Kotkai, Nawazkot and Spinqamer. – Photo by AP.

LADDAH: Twenty-three terrorists were killed as troops advanced deeper into the Taliban-controlled territory in South Waziristan and captured Gherlama, an important position north of Kotkai, the hometown of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Four soldiers lost their lives in fierce gunbattles in areas around Gherlama, Kotkai, Nawazkot and Spinqamer.

Shin Gher, a vital hilltop near Razmak in North Waziristan, was also captured.

Tanks, backed by military jets and helicopter gunships, pounded Taliban positions

According to Inter Services Public Relations, troops secured the important Tarkona Narai hill after a 16-hour gunbattle and made gains on the Jandola-Sararogha axis, securing important ridges.

ISPR said that 15 more terrorists had been killed as troops moved beyond Kotkai. One soldier laid down his life.

Troops have secured Point 1125 north of Shishwam, an important ridge on the Jandola-Sararogha axis, and another point two kilometres north of Kotkai.

‘Terrorists have left the area and are firing sporadic rockets at positions of security forces from distant heights.’

On the western side of the axis, security forces secured forward ridges of Kaskai, three kilometres north-west of Kotkai.

Tarkona Narai, the highest feature on an important junction east of Sherwangi, has also been secured on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis.

The hilltop had four strong points and a series of bunkers.

Four terrorists were killed in the battle for the hilltop and another eight when they tried to flee from the area. One non-commissioned officer and three soldiers lost their lives.

Local officials said that mines had slowed the advance of troops.

They said 15 terrorists and three soldiers had been injured in the offensive.

Security forces, officials said, consolidated their positions in Kotkai and captured a number of other areas over the past few days.

They said helicopter gunships attacked terrorists’ positions in Kaniguram.

Meanwhile, Hakimullah Mehsud urged the government to stop the operation which he said had been lauched to get US aid.

Agencies add:

Artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships were used to bombard terrorist bases in Sam, Badr and Ladha on Sunday in which several Taliban hideouts were destroyed, officials said.

There are reports of foreign fighters, including Uzbeks and Arab Al Qaeda supporters, fighting alongside the Taliban in South Waziristan.

Troops clashed with militants as they advanced in rugged terrain from Kotkai towards Shesham Wam and Badr, military officials said.

Jets and attack helicopters were providing support to the ground forces, they added.

An ISPR press release said three terrorists were killed in a clash which erupted during search of a compound in an area southwest of Sherwangi.

One 12.7mm gun, eight rockets, 18 60mm and eight 82mm mortar bombs were seized. Meanwhile, six terrorists surrendered to soldiers at Pushtanai and Derai in Swat and Malakand.

Troops, ISPR said, apprehended five suspects during a search operation in Sakrano Khwar, near Shalpin, and Mangaltan.

A wanted suicide bomber was arrested from the village of Kuz Durshkhela near Khawazakhela.

Army distributed about 299 tons of rations in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank among the displaced people.

About 50 tons of rations were distributed in Wana.

 

[Flint]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/world/asia/27pstan.html?_r=1&ref=world

The special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, said Friday that the Obama administration would be trying to find out whether the army was simply “dispersing” the militants or “destroying” them, as the United States would like.

From the number of troops in South Waziristan, it was not clear that the army wanted to “finish the task,” said a Western military attaché, who spoke on the condition of anonymity according to diplomatic protocol.

The army would not take over South Waziristan as it had the Swat Valley, where the military is now an occupying force after conducting a campaign in the spring and summer that pushed the Taliban out, the officials said.

With the uncertainty of American plans in Afghanistan, and the strong sentiment in Pakistan that India was “up to no good” in the restive province of Baluchistan and the tribal areas, Mr. Fatemi said, the army would not abandon the militant groups that it has relied on to fight as proxies in Afghanistan and in Kashmir against India.

The goal in South Waziristan, Mr. Fatemi said, was to eliminate the leadership that had become “too big of their boots” with the attacks on Pakistan’s cities. The army would like to find more pliant replacements as leaders, he said.

 

[Rage]

Tribal deals open doors for Pakistan army

Monday, October 19, 2009 12:59 PM
Filed Under: Islamabad, Pakistan
By NBC News' Carol Grisanti in Islamabad and Mushtaq Yusufzai in New York

The negotiations took weeks. The tribal council was called to try to convince Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the 42-year-old militant commander of North Waziristan, not to send his fighters to support the Taliban militants in the south.

Elusive and cunning, Gul Bahadar would be a key government ally in any effort to dislodge Taliban militants from the region. The army needed the consent of this bearded, religious scholar before taking on the Mehsuds, a neighboring, but rival tribe, who are loyal Taliban supporters. Without him, there could be no hope of a military success in routing out the militants.

In early September, 27 elders of the Wazir tribes, along with aides of Gul Bahadar, sat down with government representatives in Miranshah, the administrative capital of North Waziristan to work out a deal. Later, the talks moved to Peshawar in the Northwest Frontier Province.

In the end, the government agreed to most of the tribe’s demands for cooperation; prisoners were exchanged and Gul Bahadar was compensated for losses suffered from U.S. drone attacks and military action in his areas. The tribal council was satisfied, an earlier peace agreement from 2007 was restored, and a feast of roasted goat, rice and sweets was served, according to centuries-old tribal traditions.

"We will not intervene in the Mehsud’s wars," said Maulana Sadiq Noor, deputy to Gul Bahadar, referring to the rival Mehsud tribes of South Waziristan from whom the Taliban militants in Pakistan draw most of their support. "Our people have suffered enough at the hands of the U.S. and the Pakistani governments. We want peace in our lands," he said

Gul Bahadar brought on board his tribal ally, Maulvi Nazir, the commander who holds sway over the border areas of South Waziristan, which encircle the Mehsuds’ strongholds in the center.

"If the government attacks me and my people, then I will reply in the same manner, but I have no interest to intervene between the government and the Mehsuds," Nazir told NBC News.

The Mehsuds were squeezed. The tribes had switched sides. The Wazirs, led by Gul Bahadar and Nazir to the north and west, and the Bhittani tribes to the east, would remain neutral and not prevent the Pakistani Army’s long planned offensive to attack the Taliban militant’s stronghold.

The Wazirs, in contrast to the Mehsuds, have never attacked the state outside of their own lands of Waziristan. Their focus has always been to send fighters across the border to fight the U.S. and NATO in the Afghan jihad.

Go time
After the agreement with the tribes was reached, the Pakistani army was ready to launch the largest operation ever against Islamic militants in the lawless tribal region on the Afghan border.

Pakistani intelligence officials estimate that the army will be up against 10,000 hard-core Taliban militants. The Mehsuds are believed to be sheltering at least 1,500 hardened foreign fighters – a polyglot of Taliban, Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Tajik fighters – equipped with sophisticated weapons.

Before dawn on Saturday, more than 30,000 Pakistani troops, with air cover from Cobra gunship helicopters and F-16 fighter jets, pushed into South Waziristan from three fronts. All the entry and exit points were closed as they attempted to encircle and isolate the militants.

"We will neutralize the epicenter of gravity for terrorism," said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief spokesman for the Pakistan army, referring to the Mehsud tribal stronghold in the center of South Waziristan.

"Eighty percent of all terrorist attacks in Pakistan lead back to South Waziristan," he added. Abbas said the military had waited to launch the operation until they could gain the support of those tribes to come over to the government side.

Key: Local cooperation

"The whole problem in FATA [Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas] could have been solved by involving the local people [from the beginning]," said Ayaz Wazir, a Pakistani political analyst and former ambassador. "Unless they address the root causes, they can kill 10 [militants], but soon there will be another 10 who will be even more ruthless," he said.

Wazir blames former President Pervez Musharraf for the troubles in the tribal areas. Musharraf was the first Pakistani leader to violate the agreement hammered out between the government and the tribes. When Pakistan became an independent state, the army promised to stay out of the Pashtun tribal areas and allow the tribesmen to solve problems according to their centuries-old traditions.

"The government broke their word and the tribes reacted," said Wazir. He emphasized that in 2001 if the tribes had been left alone to solve their problems with al-Qaida, according to their own laws, they would have forced the foreigners back across the Afghan border.

The Pashtuns who inhabit the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan and are divided into tribes have a historical, almost mystical, bond with the lands they believe to be theirs. No foreign power has ever fully conquered the tribes; it is a question of honor for them and they have fought for centuries to defend it.


Little choice

The Pakistan army suffered heavy losses in the past when they tried to clean up South Waziristan. The militants are familiar with the wild and unforgiving terrain of barren plains and high mountains. And the Mehsuds are known to be the fiercest fighters of all the tribes.

But Pakistan’s government has little choice. A series of brazen attacks by the Taliban over the past couple of weeks have left more than 150 people dead. The Taliban had put the government on notice. They would take revenge for the death of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. missile attack in August.

In a round of telephone calls to local reporters on Sunday, a Taliban spokesman said: "We will fight to the last drop of blood."

"The situation in our homeland is very bad, and all because of America and the Pakistan army," said Noor Alam, a 36-year-old Mehsud tribesman. Alam, his wife, mother and five children, had walked for two days to escape the fighting. "They [the Pakistan army] will never win this war," he said.


Tribal deals open doors for Pakistan army - World Blog - msnbc.com

 

[Pintu]

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

‘Taliban good at posturing, poor at resisting’

* Military says level of resistance not what was expected
* Top TTP leadership believed to be on the run, taking shelter in Orakzai, Kurram agencies
* Mehsud journalist says Taliban retreat from Kotkai could be part of strategy

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: The Taliban are putting up no “extraordinary resistance” in South Waziristan, where a military operation was recently launched – with the top leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan believed to be on the move to safer places, officials said on Tuesday.

The inhospitable mountainous terrain and the Mehsuds’ fighting ability were expected to make South Waziristan a tough challenge for the army, which knew it would be up against a daunting task to establish the writ of the state in the area.

“No doubt, there is resistance. But it has not been the way we believed it would be ... it is not of the level [of resistance we were expecting],” military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told Daily Times.

And the fall of Kotkai – the hometown of TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud and trainer of suicide bombers Qari Hussain – on the eighth day of the operation is an apparent testimony to the lower-than-expected level of resistance.

The military is now advancing towards Sararogha, and the battle for this town is likely to determine the level of resistance troops would face if a march on the TTP headquarters – Makeen – begins.

“The top leadership and hardened militants appear to be moving out of areas where fighting is in progress, and we suspect they may have gone to Kurram and Orakzai,” federal government officials and a provincial minister told Daily Times.

From Kurram and Orakzai, the minister and officials said the TTP leadership and their followers could go to Tirah valley – a place likely to provide them shelter better than any other area.

However, the military is using fighter jets to pound areas where officials believe Taliban from Waziristan are hiding – and one such raid was made in Orakzai on Tuesday.

“We suspect fleeing Taliban have gone to Orakzai and Kurram ... the use of air force is part of broader perimeters of Operation Rah-e-Nijat,” said Abbas.

The officials said a banned sectarian militant organisation – which holds greater sway in Hangu district, Orakzai and Kurram – was providing shelter to Taliban who were on the run.

Former FATA security chief Brig (r) Mehmood Shah warned Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani against “ignoring” Orakzai and Kurram, which is being used by the TTP as a “second base,” and called for action there.

“The Taliban leadership will use the second base with a devastating impact on the security of Peshawar and Kohat districts,” he said. “The current level of Taliban resistance in Waziristan is below my expectation. The Taliban are good at posturing, but poor in standing up to the full might of the army.”

Strategy: Sailab Mehsud, a senior tribal journalist and himself a Mehsud tribesman, was not convinced that the Taliban were not putting up resistance. “I think they are resisting, and the retreat from Kotkai may be part of a strategy to draw the military deeper and then attack from all sides,” Sailab told Daily Times.

 

[Vladimir79]

Some refugees say offensive a joke

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Some Pakistanis escaping the military's offensive in South Waziristan say they think the campaign is only a "drama" to please the United States.

Public support for the offensive remains in question because people are afraid of the Taliban, having lived under Taliban control for years, and fearful of retaliation once the fighting ends, The Washington Post reported.

Many who had escaped the fighting and are living in camps were not keen to discuss the Taliban and described the offensive only as a "drama," the Post said.

"The operation is a joke just to please the foreign masters," Saidalam Mehsud, a 59-year-old driver, told the newspaper. "Whenever the dollars are floating into Pakistan, such operations are carried out."

Other refugees said they had seen little evidence of the ground operation, which the Pakistani military says has killed about 200 militants. While confirming shelling and bombing, no refugee said he had seen soldiers in the area, the report said.

Some refugees said they had seen masked and armed militants moving about freely and digging trenches. The military claims the security forces are moving cautiously to avoid civilian casualties.

"They will only rise against the Taliban when they are convinced the government means business," the director of a research center studying Pakistan's tribal areas told the Post. "But they have never been convinced."

Some refugees say offensive a joke - UPI.com

_______________________________-

It is appears this offencive is only a ruse to get more US welfare. Pak Army says they are meeting little resistance --- it is because they aren't engaging the Taliban. :thumbs_thmbdn:

 

[Daredevil]

A half-fought war

By Cyril Almeida

Friday, 30 Oct, 2009 | 02:33 AM PST |


AS things fall apart around us, it is a struggle to make sense of any of it. Hold your head or cover your face or curl up in the foetal position, escape is impossible.

It’s there in the newspapers, on news channels, the streets, homes and offices: the graphic, almost ghoulish, intersection of war and politics in this country. And nobody, not one person screeching on TV or expounding in private, is truly able to explain what is happening.

After months of a quasi-siege of the Baitullah Mehsud network’s lairs in South Waziristan, the army has finally moved in. We were told, in private and sometimes on the record, that there were around 10,000 militants there who needed to be killed or captured. But where have they gone? The ISPR’s figures don’t add up; a dozen killed here, a handful captured there, a few score killed or injured elsewhere.

Strongholds of the militants have fallen and been retaken by the army, but it sure doesn’t seem like there is an army of 10,000 militants waiting to fight to the death. Have the militants done the equivalent of circling the wagons in a small area? Or have they laid elaborate defences to trip up the army and escaped elsewhere?

I can’t help but recall a short, telling exchange at a briefing in Islamabad on the eve of Operation Rah-i-Nijat. The army official was confident that the militants couldn’t flee to Afghanistan because there is a strip of land between the Mehsud strongholds and the Pak-Afghan border where troops were lying in wait to snare the militants. Yes, but could they not escape via North Waziristan, asked one of the country’s better-informed militancy analysts. If there was an answer, I didn’t hear it and the briefing moved on.

A central problem of the military operations undertaken in the last year and a half is now becoming apparent: the TTP militants have fanned out in so many parts of Fata and northwest Pakistan that the army may be trapped in a dangerous game of whack-a-mole.

Swat, Malakand division, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and now South Waziristan — that’s already a long list of areas in which operations have been undertaken. But, from a security point of view, the alarming thing is that after each area the army enters, new threats begin to be pointed out elsewhere.

Even as the operation in South Waziristan continues, fears have been raised about a ‘second base’ of the militants in Kurram and Orakzai agencies. We have seen this before; during Operation Rah-i-Rast in Malakand division, South Waziristan was pointed out as the ‘centre of gravity’ of militancy. Before that, during the operations in Bajaur and Mohmand, other areas were similarly pointed out.

It is too soon to say, but the army must be aware of the possibility of being dragged into a quagmire, a situation in which it is forced to fan out across Fata and NWFP to deny the militants a ‘base’ but unable to do anything about the militants’ preferred tactic of striking at the soft underbelly of the state inside the country’s cities and towns.

Of course, a counter-insurgency was always going to be a drawn-out, messy affair and these are early days yet, but given the sub-optimal nature of the state it’s not clear if a sequential approach to counter-insurgency can win this war. By sequential I don’t just mean a series of military operations in various parts of the country, but the other crucial element of a successful counter-insurgency: counter-terrorism measures, especially in the cities and towns.

At the moment, the intelligence and law-enforcement agencies seem simply overwhelmed by the wave of violence in Pakistan’s cities and they are playing a desperate game of catch-up. The government of the day will always get the blame for these failures, and to an extent that is correct, but the fact is the issue goes deeper than that: the state itself is not geared towards effective, let alone adequate, counter-terrorism measures.

The militants will know that if they can sustain a wave of terrorist violence across the country, pressure will build on the army and the government in the weeks and months ahead for ‘peace talks’ and ‘deals’ that will once again give the militants breathing space in their tribal strongholds. But strengthening the intelligence, surveillance and law-enforcement planks to stop, or at least slow down, the wave of violence is not just a matter of throwing more resources at the problem.

More resources are needed, absolutely, but time and time again knowledgeable analysts point to something else: the lack of will in the army to call a spade a spade and to discard its prioritisation approach, wherein it only regards those groups which are directly, repeatedly and ferociously attacking the state as a threat that needs to be tackled immediately. If evidence for this was needed, it came during that same briefing on the eve of Operation Rah-i-Nijat. The Laskhar-i-Taiba, we were told, was being deliberately conflated with Al Qaeda as part of an Indian plan to get the state here to do something about a problem that bothered the Indians the most.

There was an acceptance that south Punjab did pose some problem and the correct approach of using civilian agencies rather than the army to fight it was admitted, but you can’t help but wonder: how genuinely can we be fighting all elements of the toxic brew of militancy in the country today when the army is still trotting out the Indian propaganda line?

And the obvious corollary: how can we expect to win this war if we aren’t fighting all the pieces in the militancy jigsaw? Have a look at the names and domiciles of the militants blamed for the current wave of violence in the country. At least half, if not a majority, of them are Punjabi, not tribal.

The army can grimly march from one tribal agency to another for years, give its troops the best counter-insurgency training possible, get all the equipment it needs, but it will never win this war until it recognises the enemy for what it is: deadly, complex, hydra-headed and capable of growing elsewhere even as parts of it are hacked off.

[email protected]

 

[Vladimir79]

Pakistan receives a setback in Waziristan war

Sararogha, the next strong point of the Taliban had to be captured to enable the army to move forward. In that lawless region of unforgiving terrain, the Taliban brought down heavy fire on the soldiers and young officers from multiple directions.

CJ: Chitranjan Sawant Wed, Oct 28, 2009 15:38:05 IST

THE GENERALS, colonels and jawans of the Pakistan Army deployed in the South Waziristan area, were on the ascendancy after capturing the ancestral village of the Taliban leader, Hakimullah. The capture was reported in depth, as though the Kotkai village had no strategic importance, it was an emotional setback for the Taliban and an emotional victory for the army.

The Army was under great pressure to move forward from as many as three directions in the area, to exterminate the Taliban. The battle scenario was now or never. Moreover, it is well known that the winter is not far off. Once the winter sets in, the snowfall takes place, it would be impossible for an army comprising of soldiers from the plains of Punjab, to fight in a hostile environment beset by severe climate.

The leading elements of the army moved forward to push the rebels back. However, the Taliban rebels were well dug in and were in no mood to yield ground to the army. Fierce fighting ensued, the like of which young army soldiers had not seen before.

Sararogha, the next strong point of the Taliban had to be captured to enable the army to move forward. In that lawless region of unforgiving terrain, the Taliban brought down heavy fire on the soldiers and young officers from more directions than one.

As many as eleven soldiers were killed by the terrorists on the spot. It had naturally, a demoralising effect on the soldiers-in-arms. In this Operation Rahe Nijat, the troops are supported by helicopter gunships but the Taliban defeated them there. The official casualty figure for the army is only 30 and for the Taliban it is many times more.

However, since there is no transparency in dissemination of information, there is no way to test the veracity of what the army spokesman says. In Pakistan, the truth is always the first casualty. Their Interior Minister,Rahman is dishing out the canard that the Taliban are actively being helped by India. To some myopic gentlemen in Pakistan, it is India and not Taliban that is their enemy.

Pakistan receives a setback in Waziristan war

 

[Flint]

YouTube - On Pakistan's frontline - 30 Oct 09

 

[Pintu]

The Associated Press: At least 7 militants killed in Pakistan fighting

At least 7 militants killed in Pakistan fighting

(AP) – 14 hours ago

ISLAMABAD — Security officials say at least seven militants were killed and several were wounded in clashes with Pakistan security forces in the rugged tribal region of South Waziristan.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media, said the fighting was taking place in the village of Kaniguram, a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistani soldiers attacked Kaniguram during the government's two-week-old offensive in South Waziristan and are still fighting pockets of resistance there.

 

[AkhandBharat]

Pakistan conflict map

Extent of Taliban/Extremists stronghold in Pakistan:

BAJAUR (Taliban stronghold)

Bajaur is one of those tribal areas where the Taliban established themselves early on.

Analysts have long suspected the region to be the hiding place of Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other top al-Qaeda leaders. It is an area where suspected US drones launched their earliest missile strikes.

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is the chief commander of the Taliban in Bajaur and is said to lead a force of nearly 10,000 armed militants. A year-long military operation ended in Bajaur early this year but a peace agreement has broken down and the Taliban are back in control in most areas outside the regional capital, Khar.

Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the militant alliance Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comes from Bajaur. Taliban camps are reported at various places in Bajaur, such as Salarzai and Dasht.

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BANNU (Taliban presence)

Bannu is a so-called "settled" (rather than "tribal") area in North West Frontier Province, which borders troubled Waziristan. The district has witnessed a number of attacks on security forces. Civilians have also been killed.

But locals do not have strong tribal affiliations with the Taliban, and the local Taliban have not been successful in building support for their activies in Bannu.

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BUNER (Taliban stronghold)

Buner is only 100km (65 miles) from the capital, Islamabad. The military launched an operation against the militants in April after the so-called Swat Taliban seized control of Buner.

The district is popular with Pashtuns visiting the tomb of a Sufi saint, but traditional religious freedoms have been eroded. Militants from Swat tried to enter Buner in 2008 but were thwarted by locals. An armed clash between the two sides at Shilabandi left six Taliban dead, and the Taliban retreated to their bases in Swat. Local resistance did not go unpunished, however, as nearly 50 people were later killed by the militants.

After Sharia law was introduced in Swat, the Taliban again decided to target Buner as part of efforts to expand their area of influence. After negotiations with locals, the Taliban were permitted to operate in the district. Since then all barber shops and music stores have closed down.

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D.I. KHAN (Taliban presence)

Traditionally famous for its flowers and sweets, Dera Ismail Khan (or D.I. Khan) has not escaped the increase in Taliban activity seen elsewhere in North West Frontier Province.

Two groups of militants are active in D.I. Khan, one of them involved in sectarian attacks, the other in attacks on security forces. Taliban active in neighbouring Waziristan have claimed responsibility for almost all the attacks on security personnel.

After troops stepped up an anti-Taliban drive in Waziristan in 2008, large numbers of tribal families settled in D.I. Khan. Some government officials fear that militants might also have left Waziristan and settled in D.I. Khan.

Local police say 84 people, many of them security personnel, were killed and more than 100 injured in various violent incidents during 2008.

Most analysts agree there will be no end to violence in D.I. Khan until peace is restored in neighbouring tribal areas and concerted action is taken to stop the sectarian attacks.

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HANGU (Taliban presence)

Hangu, neighbouring Orakzai, is believed to be under the control of Hakimullah Mehsud, the right-hand man of Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Those parts of Hangu that border Orakzai are dominated by the Taliban.

The district also shares borders with two other Taliban strongholds, Kurram and Waziristan. Most analysts argue that if government fails to take steps to check the increasing influence of the Taliban in Hangu, the radical elements now confined to its border areas could soon expand their activities to other areas of district.

Sectarian tension between Shias and Sunnis is yet another fault line, which deepened after a 2006 suicide attack on a Shia procession in Hangu.

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KHYBER (Taliban presence)

Of the tribal areas of the North West Frontier, Khyber agency is the only one where different religious organisations operate. There are three known religious groups - Lashkar-i-Islam (Army of Islam) headed by Mangal Bagh, Ansar-i-Islam (Companions of Islam) headed by Qazi Mehboobul Haq and Amar Bil Maroof (Organisation for Virtues) headed by Niaz Gul.

The Taliban presence in Khyber is fairly recent and most analysts link it to Nato's use of the main road through the Khyber pass to Afghanistan. The Taliban are believed to have moved into the area to attack convoys carrying supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan. There has been a spate of such attacks. The Taliban are now in almost total control of two of the three sub-divisions of Khyber agency, including Jamrod and Bara.

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KOHAT (Taliban presence)

Kohat is only a stone's throw from the semi tribal district of Adamkhel.

The Taliban claim to have carried out attacks targeting security forces in the district. In a recent operation security forces say 35 militants were killed. As in Mardan and other districts in North West Frontier Province, the Taliban in Kohat have mostly confined their activities to opposing music and barber shops.

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KURRAM (Taliban presence)

Kurram agency, like neighbouring North Waziristan, is also divided into three administrative areas or sub-divisions - Upper, Central and Lower Kurram.

The Taliban (who are Sunni Muslims) do not have a significant presence in Upper Kurram as the local population are Shias. Shias are also found in one town in Lower Kurram, Alizai. Otherwise, the Taliban are present almost everywhere else in Kurram where the Sunni population dominates.

Foreign Taliban fighters are believed to have moved into Kurram and adjoining Orakzai agencies since 2008 when missile attacks by suspected US military drones became more frequent in north-west Pakistan.

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LAKKI MARWAT (Taliban presence)

Lakki Marwat is a district near North Waziristan where local tribes are very strong. There have been a number of clashes between militants and security forces in the area.

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LOWER DIR (Taliban stronghold)

There have been reports since late 2007 that the Taliban have found many hideouts in Lower Dir. This was confirmed in April when the army acknowledged that the Taliban had dug themselves in on the mountain tops. The area known as Maidan, which is also the home town of radical cleric Sufi Mohammad who brokered the now-defunct Swat "peace deal", has become a Taliban hotspot in the district.

The army has twice claimed to have pushed the Taliban out of Lower Dir and taken control. But many people fear the militants may use Lower Dir to expand into nearby Upper Dir.

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MALAKAND (Taliban presence)

Malakand is essentially a mountain pass between Mardan and Swat. Historically the district is known for a number of battles between local tribes and British soldiers in the last years of the 19th Century.

Before extremism began surfacing in Swat, the local administration had been facing law and order problems in Malakand. At the time it mostly concerned criminal activities including kidnap for ransom. In January 2009 members of an international charity were taken hostage. But the biggest Taliban attack in Malakand was carried out apparently to avenge a US missile strike at Damadola. Forty paramilitary recruits were killed in the attack on a training centre at Dargai.

Despite the fact that the Taliban have not maintained a dominant presence in Malakand, the district seems susceptible to their influence and analysts argue that if they so choose the Taliban could move into the area in a big way.

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MARDAN (Taliban presence)

Mardan, about 60km (37 miles) north-east of Peshawar, is one of the most densely populated districts of North West Frontier Province and a thriving centre for trade.

In the past year the Taliban have boosted their presence in Mardan and reports of skirmishes with paramilitary security forces have become more frequent. Although there are not many of them in Mardan, the Taliban have proved able to disrupt the day-to-day administration of the district.

Early signs of extremism in Mardan can be traced back to attacks on music shops, and more recently, shops providing cable services for different TV channels have been targeted. In another incident an NGO office was also attacked. Responsibility for most of these attacks was reportedly accepted by a militant who claimed to be the local head of the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan alliance.

Mardan also made headlines in the international media when Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a high profile al-Qaeda suspect was arrested there in 2005.

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MOHMAND (Taliban presence)

The Taliban are widely reported to be present in all three sub-divisions of Mohmand agency. The militants here are under the command of Omar Khalid who belongs to the Safi tribe of Pashtuns. He and about 5,000 militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from the southern and south-eastern parts of Mohmand in order to reduce pressure on Peshawar and elsewhere.

Taliban fighters of Arab and Uzbek origin are also reported to be present in Mohmand.

NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Taliban stronghold)

North Waziristan, home to the Wazir and Dawar tribes, is administratively divided into three sub-divisions called Miranshah, Mir Ali and Razmak. The Wazirs make up 75% of the local population, while the remainder belong to the Dawar tribe.

The Taliban are in control of all three sub-divisions of North Waziristan. They mount regular daily patrols of town centres and hold informal summary courts, adjudicate in disputes and deliver verdicts from offices established in almost every part of the agency.

North Waziristan is controlled by Taliban commander Gul Bahadur, but Baitullah Mehsud is also reported to be in command of at least three Taliban camps. Two of these are located in Miranshah while the third is in Razmak. As in South Waziristan, there is a considerable proportion of Taliban in North Waziristan who are referred to as "Punjabi Taliban".

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ORAKZAI (Taliban stronghold)

Orakzai agency is divided into two administrative districts.

The Taliban do not have a significant presence in Lower Orakzai as most locals belong to an anti-Taliban Shia sect. But, mountainous Upper Orakzai is dominated by Sunnis and has many Taliban and sympathisers.

Most Taliban in Orakzai belong to the Mamuzai, Alikhel, Akhel and Ferozkhel tribes. The local population seems supportive of the Taliban more for sectarian reasons than because of the militants' activities.

The Taliban appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as commander for Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies. He is a cousin of Qari Hussain, the mastermind behind the training of the suicide bombers used by the Taliban.

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PESHAWAR (Taliban presence)

The capital of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Peshawar has become the front line city in the so-called "war on terror" in Pakistan. Bombings and suicide attacks coupled with kidnap for ransom have become commonplace. The city is surrounded by militants on three sides. Mardan and Charsadda to the north, Mohmand and Khyber agencies to the west and Darra Adamkhel to the south have all become battle grounds.

Disrupting Nato plans in Afghanistan has been the key Taliban target in Peshawar - at least 400 vehicles carrying supplies for Nato forces have been destroyed. The Taliban say they will keep on attacking trucks destined for Nato forces until the US stops drone attacks in the region.

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SHANGLA (Taliban stronghold)

Shangla is said to be under the partial control of the Taliban. Recent reports speak of militants taking control of emerald mines here and it is rumoured that an army operation will soon be launched.

The Taliban captured Shangla Top, a strategic point, about 18 months ago and since then have taken control of police stations in the district. Policemen had no option but to run for their lives. Other government buildings in Shangla have since been in and out of Taliban control - and some analysts believe the militants could retake them if they want.

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SOUTH WAZIRISTAN (Taliban stronghold)

South Waziristan is the largest tribal district or agency - two big Pashtun tribes, the Mehsud and the Wazir, dominate. The Wazirs are historically settled on either side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, while the Mehsuds are confined to South Waziristan.

It is widely believed the Pakistani government has lost control of almost all of South Waziristan - for some time the army has been restricted to Zerinoor camp in the agency's main town, Wana.

The army had to evacuate the Mehsud-dominated area of South Waziristan in 2008 when around 300 troops were taken hostage. The army is understood to lack a secure supply line that could guarantee a smoother flow of men and ammunition into this area.

Parts of South Waziristan under the direct influence of top Pakistan Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud are reported to contain as many as seven camps where suicide bombers are trained. These camps or training centres are believed to have been established at Makeen, Shaktoi, Kanigaram, Dela, Kot Kai, Shawwal and Badar.

In addition, another Taliban leader Mullah Nazir is also believed to be running two separate training centres in South Waziristan at Shikai and Baghar. Some of his followers are also known to be based in Balochistan province, which almost borders Wana.

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SWABI (Taliban presence)

Swabi is considered to be the heartland of the secular Pashtun political party, the Awami National Party (ANP). Mainly for this reason, people in Swabi have not welcomed the Taliban. But there have been recent incidents of graffiti in Swabi boasting local support for the Taliban's drive for their version of Sharia law and Islamic "virtues".

Swabi was in the news in the early 1990s when an operative of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency emerged as a key link between the army and the Taliban.

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SWAT (Taliban stronghold)

Known as the Switzerland of Pakistan, the former princely state of Swat had been popular with tourists for decades. It is now under almost total Taliban control.

The militants have targeted the security forces, the police, secular politicians and government-run schools.

By early April 2009, Sharia law had been imposed as part of a deal between the authorities and the local Taliban. However, the militants failed to disarm completely in line with the accord and their fighters spread to neighbouring districts, prompting international concern. An army offensive was launched in Swat in early May. The main city, Mingora, was retaken later that month.

The local Taliban, under their leader Maulana Fuzlullah, extended their control throughout Swat, especially in areas of policing and its judicial system.

Maulana Fazlullah is the son-in-law of radical cleric Sufi Mohammad who led an insurgency in the 1990s. Sufi Mohammad brokered the failed peace deal in Swat.

There are a number of pockets in and around Swat where the Taliban are known to have hidden when in danger or as a tactic when pushed back by the military. Such safe havens could prove useful to them if political pressure mounts against them in Swat. The militants could melt away into the north of the district where they are in even fuller control.

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TANK (Taliban presence)

Baitullah Mehsud's Taliban fighters from South Waziristan first started making incursions into the nearby city of Tank in 2005. Music stores, barbers' shops and police stations were their primary targets. That situation still remains, with a slight difference. Taliban groups composed of Bhittani tribesmen have been confronting Mehsud loyalists in the region. The Bhittani is the native tribe of Tank district and its largest, but is in a minority in the city of Tank, the administrative centre, where the Mehsuds dominate.

It is thought the Bhittani Taliban are supported by the government. Nevertheless, the writ of the government runs thin in Tank, where fully armed members of rival groups roam the streets freely and run offices in different parts of the city. The police initially offered resistance, but have now downgraded their mandate to one of self-preservation. They stay inside heavily-barricaded police stations. The civil administration is almost completely paralysed.

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UPPER DIR (Taliban presence)

Recent reports suggest Upper Dir has started showing some signs of increasing religious radicalisation, but local extremists claim to have no link with the Taliban and do not call themselves Taliban. Instead they are known to be involved in criminal activities, which does not fit with typical Taliban activity.

One notable incident of militancy in Upper Dir in February saw a paramilitary post captured. Militants refused to abandon it despite repeated requests from a local jirga (tribal council). In April five policemen were killed by unknown attackers.

It is thought however the Taliban could gather support from Upper Dir if they wanted. Radical cleric Sufi Mohammad's TNSM organisation has established offices in Upper Dir and some locals sympathise with the movement.

BBC - Pakistan conflict map

 

[Flint]

^This map is terribly outdated. Swat valley and Mardan is now in Pakistan government hands, and Southern Waziristan has also been "cleared" as of today.

Please post updated info. Thanks.

 

[Elmo]

Other refugees said they had seen little evidence of the ground operation, which the Pakistani military says has killed about 200 militants. While confirming shelling and bombing, no refugee said he had seen soldiers in the area, the report said.

Some refugees said they had seen masked and armed militants moving about freely and digging trenches. The military claims the security forces are moving cautiously to avoid civilian casualties.

It is appears this offencive is only a ruse to get more US welfare. Pak Army says they are meeting little resistance --- it is because they aren't engaging the Taliban. :thumbs_thmbdn:

Two points:

1. One would not rely on the version of events afforded by the refugees for various reasons. They will only have information about certain areas, they are not trained in keeping track of military movement plus the military action would not start while civilians are there. What is needed are embedded journalists who are reporting live from the conflict-zones.

2. The Pakistan Army is meeting little resistance not because it is not engaging the Taliban but because the strategical surprise was lost, the operation had been announced months earlier, while the tactical surprise is obviously not there as the PA insists on engaging in this conflict as conventional forces do. The whole three-pronged approach to me is not feasible... cleanse, consolidate, reform one area and then focus on another. Attacking from three sides means your forces are battling, stretching their resources and there is no guarantee of having a hold on any of the three axes.

 

[Elmo]

Daredevil

A half-fought war

By Cyril Almeida
[/B]
Swat, Malakand division, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and now South Waziristan — that’s already a long list of areas in which operations have been undertaken. But, from a security point of view, the alarming thing is that after each area the army enters, new threats begin to be pointed out elsewhere.

Even as the operation in South Waziristan continues, fears have been raised about a ‘second base’ of the militants in Kurram and Orakzai agencies. We have seen this before; during Operation Rah-i-Rast in Malakand division, South Waziristan was pointed out as the ‘centre of gravity’ of militancy. Before that, during the operations in Bajaur and Mohmand, other areas were similarly pointed out.

The army can grimly march from one tribal agency to another for years, give its troops the best counter-insurgency training possible, get all the equipment it needs, but it will never win this war until it recognises the enemy for what it is: deadly, complex, hydra-headed and capable of growing elsewhere even as parts of it are hacked off.

[email protected]

I stopped reading Cyril's columns after that "Good Taliban Bad Taliban" one he wrote. He writes but with little research to back it up.

I am sure he doesn't even know the number of operations that have been undertaken. There is always a tinge of pro-PA stance in his columns, never an open criticism.

And a second base in Kurram??? He has his geo-politics completely wrong.

More info on this in a while.

 

[Elmo]

info. about kurram

On Kurram:

Kurram has not been under the control of the Taliban, though it has witnessed bloody sectarian violence. Upper Kurram (inhabited largely by the Toori tribe) is Shia dominated while the Sunnis reside in lower Kurram. While the Shias here are ethnic Pathans, living in the region for nearly 400 years, the first recorded instance of sectarianism was in 1938. The sectarian violence had deteriorated during the Ziaul Haq era. Currently, both the sects accuse each other of drawing support from outside: Sunnis are alleged to be backed by the TTP Taliban while Shias by Iran.

 

[Elmo]

On Orakzai agency

Orakzai Agency is least affected by militancy. The militants don’t need the agency as such since they can access Afghanistan more easily via Bajaur, North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Kurram agencies. There has been sectarian differences in the region but these have not led to a violent conflict.