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India-Pakistan

25 militants killed in S Waziristan

2008-01-03

At least 25 militants have been killed in two days of fighting between security forces and the Taliban in South Waziristan, officials said on Wednesday. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said the Frontier Corps (FC) had ceased fire on the request of a local jirga. Arshad said four FC personnel, who were kidnapped in the Luddha area on Tuesday, had not been recovered so far, adding that 30 to 35 suspects had been taken into custody in this connection. A curfew has been imposed in Parachinar as clashes between Sunni and Shia groups, NNI reported. An army Cobra gunship helicopter crash-landed near Thal, Parachinar, due to a technical malfunction on Wednesday, an ISPR statement said. The pilot and co-pilot were safe.

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India-Pakistan

12 soldiers die in Kohat suicide attack

2007-12-18

Twelve soldiers of an Army football team were killed and another five sustained injuries when a suicide bomber attacked them near the House of Signals of Pakistan Army in Kohat Cantonment on Monday. Initially, police sources said 10 soldiers died in the suicide bombing while six others sustained injuries. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad, who is Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), immediately confirmed the death of nine soldiers in the attack. He said four troops were wounded. Later the ISPR put the death toll at 12 late in the evening. Sources in Kohat told The News that the soldiers were attacked while returning to their barracks after playing a soccer match in the nearby playground. The suicide bomber, wrapped in a woollen chaddar, struck when the soldiers reached the Army Public School and College ten minutes past noon. The site of attack is a maximum-security area close to the Army’s House of Signals, which has its centre in Kohat. The second battalion of the Signals is based in this area. Official and local sources in Kohat identified some of the slain soldiers as Mohammad Nawaz, Rashid Khan, Irfan Khan, Rafiq, Shahid, Adnan, Mushtaq and Ghulam Mohammad. Other soldiers killed in the attack couldn’t be identified immediately. The sources named two injured soldiers as Amjad Khan and Shaukat while the remaining three remained unidentified till filing of this report. The injured soldiers were admitted to the Combined Military Hospital, Kohat. It was learnt the military authorities made immediate arrangements to send the bodies, mostly mutilated, of the slain soldiers to their hometowns for burial. The entire cantonment was cordoned off by deploying more troops to check the movement of suspicious people. Police officials avoided comment on the incident as it concerned the Army. A number of efforts to reach them proved futile. Subsequently, police officials requesting anonymity said 10 soldiers were confirmed killed in the explosion initially. Sources told this scribe that around six kg of explosive was used in the blast, which was supported by bolts and ball bearings to cause more casualties. It was also suspected that the explosive was Russian-made. The age of the bomber was stated to be around 20. The blast is second of its kind in Kohat during the past five months. On July 19, at least 16 persons — including 11 soldiers, a prayer leader and two minors — were killed and same number injured in suicide blast inside a mosque near Pathan Lines, Kohat Garrison during Ish’a prayers. The same day, seven other security personnel were killed in another suicide blast outside the Police Training Centre in adjoining Hangu district. It merits a mention here that seven persons were killed and several injured in a similar attack on ASC Centre in Nowshera on Sunday. The Peshawar airbase was also attacked with four rockets a few days back while a woman was killed when the explosives she was carrying exploded near an Army check-post in Peshawar Cantonment last week. Another suicide attack, targeting law enforcers, took place in Swat a few days back in which several persons were killed and injured. A late evening press release of the ISPR said in Rawalpindi that 12 security forces personnel embraced Shahadat and two others were injured in the Kohat suicide attack. At approximately 1210 hrs, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Signals Training Centre Sports Ground. Nine security forces personnel embraced Shahadat on the spot while five were injured including three critically. Later the three critically injured also succumbed to their injuries. The suicide bomber was also killed in the incident. Online adds: Terming the Kohat bomb blast a highly gruesome, President Musharraf on Monday expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives of security forces. “We will not let terrorists disturb the stability and integrity of the country at any cost, President Musharraf said in a statement when he received news of the incident in Vehari. The government is taking down to earth steps to expose the culprits of humanity (terrorists), he said. He said that blood of security forces would not go waste. He directed the concerned authorities to take good care of the injured and provide them with optimum medical facilities. He said that the mastermind involved in the blast would not be spared as such culprits are not humans. He further said that such elements were trying to create lawlessness for their own motives adding strict action would be taken against such culprits. While expressing condolence with the bereaved families, the president prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and give courage to the family members to bear the irremediable losses.

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India-Pakistan

Twin suicide blasts kill at least 20 in Pakistan

2007-11-24

RAWALPINDI - Two suicide car bombings killed at least 20 people Saturday in near simultaneous attacks on Pakistani security forces in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, security sources said. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said both attacks were car bombs, one targeting a bus carrying security forces personnel and the other a checkpost outside army headquarters. He said at least 15 people were confirmed dead in the bus attack and three security officers were critically wounded at the checkpost. However, security sources told AFP that the toll was higher, with at least 19 dead on the bus so far and one at the checkpoint. Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, is where military ruler President Pervez Musharraf has his army offices. “There were two suspected suicide attacks and there are casualties,” Arshad told AFP earlier. “One was at a checkpost near (army) general headquarters in Rawalpindi and the other was on a bus of security forces.” Witnesses said a burned-out bus could be seen parked just inside the gates of a military spy agency, with dozens of ambulances stationed around. Police and security forces were not allowing anyone near.

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India-Pakistan

25 militants killed as army recaptures Kabal police station

2007-11-22

MINGORA: Security forces attacked mountaintop positions of pro-Taliban militants and recaptured Kabal police station in Swat, killing around 25 militants on Wednesday, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AP. Earlier, three security personnel and six civilians were killed in Kabal tehsil as the local population continued to move to Mingora, Saidu Sharif and Faizabad in the face of a possible full-fledged operation by the army against militants. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Daily Times that three security personnel were killed and five were wounded in a rocket attack at a Frontier Constabulary camp in Kabal Golf Grounds on Wednesday morning. Locals said four civilians were killed when a mortar hit the house of Sardarul Mulk in Kabal tehsil. The slain included Mulk’s brother, wife and two daughters. Mulk himself sustained injuries in the incident and was hospitalised. An artillery shell landed in the house of Haji Toray in Kabal, killing his two granddaughters, said local reporter Shahzad. He added that Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Ghani and two constables had been injured as armed militants attacked the Kabal Police Station on Wednesday. In retaliation, security forces from the FC camp in Kanjoo and Saidu Sharif airport targeted the attackers’ positions with artillery and mortar fire, said the reporter. ‘Civilians targeted’: Residents of Kala Kalay, where mortar fire killed four civilians, alleged that troops were targeting the civilian population. They said 15 mortar and artillery shells had landed in populated areas since early morning. Another five people were injured as a mortar struck a passenger van headed to Mingora from the Totano Banda area of Swat, witnesses said. The injured were rushed to the Saidu Sharif hospital where one of them was in serious condition. Meanwhile, hundreds of families have arrived in Mingora, Saidu Sharif and Faizabad to escape from the precarious situation elsewhere in Swat district. Residents of the three areas have offered shelter to hundreds of homeless people in their homes, shops and offices, said Shahzad. Residents in Kabal said gunship helicopters also pounded suspected militant hideouts early on Wednesday, AFP reported. Troops “have cleared a hub of resistance of militants from a prominent height” overlooking a road leading to Alpuri, Shangla’s main town, an army statement said. Suicide bomber killed: Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said troops had also shot at a suspected suicide bomber who refused to stop his car on the approach to the valley’s Saidu Sharif airport, AP reported. “During the firing the car blew up as it contained explosives,” Arshad said. Curfew: The Swat district administration announced a 10-hour curfew in Kabal late on Wednesday, a Daily Times staff report adds. The curfew will remain in place from 8pm on Wednesday until 6am today (Thursday), Swat District Coordination Officer (DCO) Arshad Majeed told Daily Times. Although the local administration did not mention the reason behind the curfew, residents believe it had been imposed owing to the troops’ movement.

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India-Pakistan

20 dead as thousands flee Swat fighting

2007-11-21

Thousands of people have fled Swat as security forces stepped up an offensive against pro-Taliban militants, killing 20 on Tuesday, including two commanders. Witnesses said residents of Swat were leaving the area in large numbers after security forces broadcast warnings by loudspeaker. In Alpuri, headquarters of Shangla district, residents said almost all shops and government and private offices remained closed. “We have no option but to leave our home,” said Ali Ravi, who lost three members of his family on Sunday night when a mortar hit his residence in Tottvandi village, reported Reuters. “In certain areas the local population was advised to leave their homes to avoid collateral damage,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema confirmed to reporters. Meanwhile, soldiers, backed by gunship helicopters, targeted local Taliban positions in the Yakh Tangai and Wahabkhel Kodkai areas of Shangla district. Local officials said six bodies, and as many injured, had been brought to Swat’s Matta Hospital. Two of the dead were identified as Mohammad Amin and Mohammad Yousaf, commanders of rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Daily Times that 20 to 30 Taliban were killed in Monday night’s operation, while another 15 were killed as troops continued targeting their positions. Arshad claimed that schools had been reopened in Swat district and several residents had started returning to their homes. Separately, residents said three locals had been killed in fighting in the Wahabkhel Kodkai area, although the army did not confirm any civilian casualties. Also on Tuesday, officials said helicopter gunships targeted Taliban hideouts in Manglor Kas and Kanjoo areas of the district, resulting in the deaths of several miscreants. Amjad Iqbal, a spokesman for the Swat Media Cell, said 20 Taliban were killed and over 40 wounded as security forces attacked two schools where the militants had taken refuge in Kot Charbagh. Taliban deny: However, Maulana Fazlullah’s spokesman Sirajuddin refuted such claims as baseless. He said none of the rebel cleric’s men was killed or injured in Kot Charbagh. The self-proclaimed spokesman, however, admitted that six militants had been killed and an equivalent number injured in military action in Shangla. Proscribed organisation: Speaking to Daily Times over the telephone, Swat journalist Shahzad said a majority of those killed in the fresh military swoop were members of a proscribed organisation. Although the journalist did not mention the name of the banned outfit, another source said they belonged to Maulana Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Muhammad. Military officials and the Taliban were not available for comment. Meanwhile, APP reported that security forces had intercepted wireless communication between some militant groups in Shangla on Monday night, which had revealed that the militants have suffered heavy losses in the ongoing operation and are now in a state of despair. The militants were also heard saying that the civil population has turned against them and the security forces are carrying out effective operations.

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India-Pakistan

Army battling to quell Parachinar clashes

2007-11-20

Eight people were killed and 18 more wounded on the fourth day of fierce clashes in Kurram Agency on Monday, as security forces battled to contain sectarian violence that has killed more than 100 people in three days. The latest casualties have taken the number of those killed in Parachinar and Sadda to 94, while the total injured have reached 168, unofficial sources revealed. However, a security official told AFP that, “The latest death toll has climbed to 107”. The eight civilians, all Sunni, were killed when several mortars landed in Sadda Bazaar. Residents said the shells were fired from the Ibrahimzai area, a stronghold of the area’s Shia community. Several of the mortars hit populated areas in the sabzi mandi near Akbar Khan Market and the United Bank Limited building in Sadda Bazaar. Also on Monday, two people were killed and three injured when a house was hit, witnesses said, AFP reported. Four others died and six were wounded when army helicopters fired at armed groups in Parachinar. The local tribesmen of Dara Adamkhel killed an attacker who allegedly opened fire in a mosque, injuring six persons on the spot, APP quoted official sources as saying. Important locations: Meanwhile, the military continued using helicopters against those flouting the government orders regarding ceasefire. The choppers targeted buildings and trenches where armed men had taken positions. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told BBC that the army had taken control of several important locations in Parachinar, including a mosque and an imambargah, Online reported. Officials of the local administration could not be reached for comments. Earlier, security officials had said that 11 soldiers had died in the crossfire. “Security forces have been targeted by both sides,” the military said in a statement. Meanwhile, sources said efforts were underway to organise an Orakzai tribe jirga to put an end to the clashes and bring calm to the area. They said the political administration was in contact with leaders of both the Shia and Sunni communities and a jirga would be organised in a day to restore normalcy to the region. AFP quoted a local administration official as saying that a 16-member tribal peace delegation has arrived in Parachinar under orders from the NWFP governor to mediate between the groups and try to restore calm.

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India-Pakistan

Heavy militant casualties in Swat

2007-11-19

Around 120 rebels have been killed in the last few days as artillery and gunship helicopters continued pounding the bases of militants loyal to rebel Swat cleric Maulana Fazlullah, the military said. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP on Sunday that militant casualties were heavy, adding that five soldiers have been killed in the clashes. Meanwhile, security officials said five militants were killed and 13 wounded in shelling of a rebel position in the Alipuri area. Troops have also picked up five suspected militants who are being interrogated, they added. Shelling also killed four civilians, while injuring dozens more and destroying several houses. Meanwhile, a peace jirga began talks on resolving the Swat crisis peacefully.

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India-Pakistan

TNSM take over Shangla town

2007-11-14

Around 500 local Taliban took over control of Shangla district headquarter Alpuri moments after sunset on Tuesday, occupying the DPO, DCO and police lines offices without facing any resistance from the government, eyewitness and a local nazim told Daily Times. The eyewitnesses said the armed militants urged locals to stay calm and extend all possible support to them. Alpuri union council Nazim Sabir told Daily Times that the armed militants, led by Maulana Muhammad Alam, a close associate of rebel Swat cleric Maulana Fazlullah, captured the district. “All government functionaries, including the DPO and DCO, left the area the moment they heard of the fall of Shangla Top police station, located at the border between Swat and Shangla,” Sabir said. Taliban commander Maulana Muhammad Alam was quoted as saying that no one would be harmed nor would any private or state property be damaged. “We only struggle for the enforcement of Shariah,” he told Alpuri residents. Curfew imposed: Meanwhile, the government imposed a curfew in Swat, the army said. “The curfew has been imposed to check the movement of the militants,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP, adding that it would be in force from midnight Tuesday to 5am on Wednesday. Witnesses said the curfew announcement was made over mosque loudspeakers. Four militants killed: Separately, four militants were killed and over 50 wounded as army helicopters continued pounding their positions in various areas of Swat late on Monday night and early on Tuesday, the military said on Tuesday. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad confirmed that four militants were killed and four or five of their bunkers and an ammunition dump were destroyed as gunship helicopters targeted their hideouts in the Sambat area. Another militant checkpost in Kabal tehsil was also destroyed, the army spokesman added. An estimated 35 militants were injured in the airstrike, he said. Five suspects detained: Another 15 to 20 rebels were injured when they tried to attack and capture the Saidu Sharif airport late on Monday night, said Gen Waheed, adding that five suspects, including four locals and one Afghan, were detained by paramilitary personnel in Chakdara on Tuesday. He said telephone directories had been confiscated from the suspects. “Some weapons were also recovered from their possession,” he said. He said ground troops would be used against the militants when required. Answering a question on when the military operation would end, Gen Waheed said, “It will take time to eliminate the militants.” One civilian killed: The spokesman said the government was not aware of any civilian deaths during the operation, however locals said one civilian was killed and seven were injured in the airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday. There were no reports of any retaliatory fire by the rebels.

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India-Pakistan

50 more killed as jets bomb militant hideouts

2007-10-10

Another 50 people were killed as fighter jets bombed militant hideouts in North Waziristan on Tuesday, taking the total death toll from three days of fighting to around 250. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said fighter jets bombed militant targets in Ipi, Khedherkhel and Khushali Torikhel villages in Mir Ali tehsil in the afternoon. Security sources said 50 people were killed in the bombing, though there was no official confirmation. AFP, citing security sources, reported that 50 militants were killed and a similar number injured. Before the air strike, the army said around 150 militants and 47 soldiers had been killed in three days of clashes during ‘Operation al-Mizan (Justice)’ in North Waziristan, and that the army had turned down request for a ceasefire. “During (the) last three days of clashes with security forces as many as 150 militants have been killed while 50 were wounded. Forty-five security personnel have also embraced Shahadat while 20 others were injured during these clashes which started on Saturday in North Waziristan Agency,” a military statement said. The military said two soldiers were killed in a blast in Mamoon Panga, Burmand, in North Waziristan at 1:50pm on Tuesday. An attack on Gharlamai check-post west of Miranshah in Dattakhel tehsil resulted in the death of two army soldiers and serious injuries to four others. Ceasefire request rejected: “Security forces have also turned down the ceasefire request of militants as their demand cannot be met,” the military said, adding that security forces would “continue punitive action till complete peace is restored in restive North Waziristan”. There was no official word on civilian casualties, but local residents around Mir Ali said “several dozens” were killed in the crossfire between soldiers and militants. Civilians flee homes to escape fighting: Meanwhile, thousands of civilians were reported to be fleeing their homes in Mir Ali and nearby villages. “I am leaving for a safer place as living here is like inviting death,” Muhammad Anwar, a resident of Khasokhel village, told Daily Times. Several families fled Harmuz village, leaving male members behind to guard their houses. “I am alone at home. Most families are taking women and children to safer places and leaving one or two male members at home to protect the house,” said Salam Dawar, a resident of Harmuz. He said wounded civilians were finding it hard to get to hospital for treatment. Gen Arshad said all wounded civilians were allowed to proceed to hospitals and that families wanting to move to safe places would be helped. Local residents also said food and medicine supplies were running low. Late in the evening, a rocket attack on the military headquarters in Miranshah prompted artillery fire in the direction of Mir Ali, where announcements through mosque loudspeakers asked residents of Harmuz and Musaki villages to evacuate, residents said.

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India-Pakistan

Militants backtrack on deal to free troops

2007-09-11

Militants backtracked on a deal to free more than 260 abducted soldiers on Monday after an army raid on their hideout near the Afghan border left three rebels dead, a tribal elder said, AP reported. Local authorities and tribal elders believed that the soldiers – who were kidnapped on August 30 in South Waziristan – would be freed on Monday following talks with the militants. However, the militants changed their minds after the army raided their hideout in the region, triggering a shootout that left three insurgents dead, said Masood Ahmed, a local tribal elder. “We could not secure the release of soldiers because of that clash,” he said. Ahmed would not say whether the militants had linked the release of soldiers with any demand. Six of the abducted troops were released last week in what an official said was a “goodwill” gesture to the jirga that was trying to negotiate their release. Staff Report adds: Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad earlier rejected reports that militants led by Baitullah Mehsud had released more than 200 soldiers held captive in South Waziristan. “I don’t know how TV channels and wire service carried the reports of the release of the kidnapped soldiers when nothing really happened,” Gen Arshad told Daily Times over the telephone from Rawalpindi. Security sources here said that the army was building up its presence in areas close to the Mehsud areas and there were reports that military operations could be launched there. Separately, militants opened fire from their car at a checkpost in the Nawaz Kot area of South Waziristan, and the ensuing gunbattle left five insurgents dead, including militant commander Qari Ehsanullah, said Gen Arshad.

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India-Pakistan

Govt frees 100 tribesmen, opens Wana-Tank highway

2007-09-04

The government on Monday freed more than a 100 arrested tribesmen and opened the main highway to meet some of the demands made by the Taliban for the release of around 200 kidnapped soldiers in South Waziristan, but the soldiers have not yet been freed, officials said. ... to meet some of the demands made by the Taliban for the release of around 200 kidnapped soldiers in South Waziristan, but the soldiers have not yet been freed, officials said In Mohmand Agency, a government deadline for the release of 10 paramilitary soldiers held hostage by the militants passed without any significant response from the captors and a tribal jirga was still negotiating their safe return, Mohmand Agency Chief Administrator Dr Kazim Niaz told a news briefing in Ghalanai. “We have no details whether the jirga has persuaded the Taliban militants to release the soldiers or not,” a senior government official in Wana told Daily Times asking not to be named. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said there was no progress yet, but hoped that the Mehsud jirga would help secure the safe return of the soldiers who went missing on August 30. Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for their kidnapping. A source told Daily Times that Baitullah had warned that he would behead five soldiers every day if his demands were not met. A source told Daily Times that Baitullah had warned that he would behead five soldiers every day if his demands were not met. The official in Wana said the release of the arrested tribesmen and opening of the highway had stopped Baitullah from carrying out the executions for the time being. Dr Kazim Niaz told journalists in Ghalanai that the government would take action if the tribal jirga failed to secure the release of the 10 paramilitary soldiers. Tribal sources said the Mohmand grand jirga experienced an internal rift with accusations against the Saafi tribe of “non-cooperation”. Online adds: Mehsud has put forward four conditions for the release of the abducted security officials, Senator Saleh Shah told a TV channel. He said the condition are the release of 15 to 18 Mehsud people arrested by the security officials; ban on any military convoy movement on the Jandola-Wana road until an atmosphere of confidence is restored; the withdrawal of the army from Mehsud tribe area and the release of 300 men, women and children arrested by the army; and that there will be no future disturbance of Mahsud tribe areas. Shah said the political administration and security officials had agreed that the arrested people of the Mehsud tribe would be released. The rest of the conditions will be considered after discussions with high officials, he said.

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India-Pakistan

Mehsud Talibs claim abduction of soldiers, demand withdrawal of troops

2007-09-03

Local Taliban militants said on Sunday they had abducted scores of soldiers, demanding the withdrawal of troops from tribal areas in exchange for their release. The military has insisted that some 150 soldiers were stranded after straying into Ladha in South Waziristan in stormy weather on Thursday. “Our colleagues have captured them and put them in jails,” Zulfiqar Mehsud, a spokesman for the militants, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. He said the fighters had “surrounded the soldiers and forced them to surrender” their weapons. Sounds like they were crack troops, by gum! Weren't quite surrounded 'Saoodi style', were they ... “We took them into custody because the soldiers were preparing to launch an operation in South Waziristan,” he said, claiming responsibility for the kidnapping Saturday of 10 additional soldiers from the Frontier Corps. He said negotiations for their release could start once the government agreed to “honour” a peace accord it concluded with tribal militants in February 2005, under which Islamabad agreed to withdraw troops from the area. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad reiterated that the soldiers had not been kidnapped, but were “trapped” amid a dispute between the militants and local tribesmen. “We have not received any demand from them,” he told AFP. He said a jirga was holding talks with local tribesmen to secure safe passage for the soldiers. Gen Arshad told Daily Times that the soldiers were not missing or held hostage but were “staying” with the Mehsud tribe. An intelligence official in the region told AP that militants abducted 205 troops - 135 army soldiers, 70 paramilitary troops - and seized 20 military vehicles. Militants on Sunday distributed pamphlets in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, warning local tribes not to side with government forces “killing innocent men, women and children” in the region. “Like in Afghanistan, we have established suicide squads for attacks on troops and their allies in Pakistan,” a group calling itself the Mujahideen of Waziristan said in the statement. Staff Report adds: Mohmand Agency political authorities on Sunday formed two jirgas for the safe recovery of the 10 FC personnel kidnapped on Saturday. A 120-member Mohmand jirga met Mohmand Political Agent Dr Kazim Niaz late on Sunday. The political agent gave the jirga a 12:00pm Monday deadline for the FC men’s release. Militants also distributed pamphlets in Bara Bazaar in Khyber Agency saying the “Taliban have finally reached Bara”, and warning that “if anyone tries to hinder our movement and activities, we will launch a holy war against them”. Meanwhile, one man was killed and 14 injured when a bomb went off in a pharmacy at Mirza Alma Market in Wana Bazaar on Sunday, destroying Aurangzeb Medical Store and damaging several other shops. Eight of the wounded are said to be in serious condition. The bomb was apparently an attempt to kill pro-government tribal leader Mita Khan, who was seriously hurt in the blast, an intelligence official told AP. Militants occupied two Khasadar check-posts in the Qandharo and Halimzai areas of Mohmand Agency and snatched weapons from officials manning the post. An FC man was killed and another injured during an exchange of fire between rival groups near the Nahaqi check-post.

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