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India-Pakistan
Security Forces Gun Down 3 Terrorists in an Encounter in North Waziristan: ISPR
2021-02-18
[DailyTimes.pk] During an intelligence based operation (IBO), security forces killed 3 Lions of Islam from the Aleem Khan Khushali group. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) the encounter took place in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s North Wazoo district on Tuesday.

"These Lions of Islam were involved in murder, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, fire raid on security forces and improvised bomb (IED) explosions," ISPR added. "Sanitisation of the area was carried out."

As told by military’s media wing the operation was carried out after the security forces noticed the presence of Lions of Islam in a compound in North Waziristan’s area Mir Ali.

The ISPR said that 42-year-old resident of Chitral Naib Subedar Aminullah and a 24-year-old resident of Landi Kotal Sepoy Sher Zamin embraced martyrdom and four other security personnel received injuries during the operation.

Previously two bad boyz were potted on 18th January during an IBO in Nargosa area of South Waziristan The military’s media wing further added to the previous operation that "During an intense fire, two Lions of Islam Usman Ali and Waheed Lashtai were killed and one was injured and apprehended".

Related from January 6:
Waziristan Militant Leader Aleem Khan Ustad Joins Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

[Defence.pk] On December 15, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), appeared in a video released by Umar Media, the official media arm of TTP (Umar Media, December 15). This video demonstrated a continuation of the series of mergers of Pakistani jihadist groups into TTP, which started in July 2020.

The video contains footage of the bay’ah (oath of allegiance) ceremonies of two jihadist organizations from Waziristan, Pakistan, including Mulawi Aleem Khan Ustad, and Commander Umar Azzam groups. Khan is a powerful jihadist commander who joined TTP with nine commanders and dozens of fighters (Tribal News, November 28).

TTP announced the mergers of both groups into its ranks on November 27 (Umar Media, November 27). The video shows that the merger ceremony apparently took place outside Afghanistan, most probably in Waziristan’s remote areas bordering the country. The footages include video clips of both commanders’ oath-taking, holding Mahsud’s hands and announcing their pledges of allegiance to him.

WHO IS MULAWI ALEEM KHAN USTAD?
Aleem Khan is from the tribal North Waziristan district, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which served as the base of al-Qaeda for more than a decade after 9/11, from 2004 to 2015 (Asia Times, November 5). Khan was deputy to Hafiz Gul Bahadur—the al-Qaeda host and shadow governor of Waziristan (Gandhara, March 16, 2015). The Gul Bahadur group became the largest local group in Waziristan between 2008 and 2014 and even hosted TTP in North Waziristan after the organization lost its strongholds in neighboring South Waziristan.

Gul Bahadur’s decline started after the 2014 military operation in North Waziristan, when the jihadists escaping that military operation sought shelter in Afghanistan. [1] Khan disassociated from Bahadur that same year and since then has operated independently (The News, August 20, 2014).

During this period, serious differences emerged that would divide Khan and Bahadur, resulting in the latter ultimately seeking leadership of the group (The News, August 20, 2014). Bahadur alleged that Khan was in league with the Pakistani government, and in return was receiving protection for his areas and tribesmen from military operations. As a reaction to this accusation, Khan announced that he was now emir of the group, removing Bahadur, who had moved to the Afghanistan side of the border to escape military operations.

A few months later, Aleem Khan somewhat confirmed what Bahadur had accused him of when he surprisingly announced an end to the war against the Pakistani Army, and offered his group’s assistance in returning the internally displaced people (IDPs) of North Waziristan back to their homes. Like thousands of others from North Waziristan, these IDPs had left their homes due to the military operations that took place in 2014. His group had taken responsibility for restoring peace in North Waziristan and threatened military operations against all those aiming to engage in an insurgency against the state (Daily Pakistan, March 16 2015).

Thus, the merger of the Aleem Khan group into TTP is important from two perspectives. First, it is a major blow to the Pakistani Army’s efforts to coopt the anti-state militants in Waziristan for peace and the restoration of government authority in the area (Gandahara, July 24 2018). Second, Khan’s bay’ah to TTP is the first time that a jihadist group from North Waziristan is joining the organization. It is particularly signicant that Khan’s group is a strong splinter of the Gul Bahadur organization.

The TTP and the Gul Bahadur group share a history of rivalry rooted in the tribal politics of the region. The senior leadership of al-Qaeda, particularly its Afghanistan-Pakistan chief, Mustafa Abu Yazid, tried to unify the TTP and Bahadur group, but the latter did not accept it for long [2]. Gul Bahadur’s rejection has roots in the historical tribal feuds between Mehsuds and Wazir tribes of Waziristan. The Wazirs considers themselves superior to Mehsuds [3]. Thus, Gul Bahadur, being the strongest leader of the Wazir tribes, never agreed to merge into TTP, which was led by the Mehsuds.
Related:
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan: 2020-09-16 TTP commander Ehsan Mehsud killed in exchange of fire with security forces
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan: 2020-02-24 Govt making efforts to arrest Ehsanullah Ehsan: Ijaz Shah
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan: 2017-09-06 Taliban commander who attacked Malala Yousafzai killed
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India-Pakistan
Terrorist fire raided FC post in North Wazirstan Distt near Pak-Afg Border
2019-12-02
[TWITTER]

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India-Pakistan
Suspected US drone strike kills seven 'militants' in North Waziristan
2017-04-28
[DAWN] A suspected US dronezap killed several Talibs in North Wazoo close to the Afghanistan border, one bad boy commander and intelligence sources said on Thursday, in a rare strike on Pak soil.

If confirmed, the air strike, which happened on Wednesday, would only be the second drone attack inside the nation since US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
 took office in January.

Abdullah Wazirstani, front man for the North Waziristan Taliban
...Arabic for students...
, a group linked to the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistain, said the strike killed three civilian 'labourers' and seven gunnies from the TTP.

Malik Waheedullah, a local tribal leader, told Rooters he saw two missiles strike a mountain home which caught fire. "I drove away as fast as I could," he said.

Rooters quoted one Pak intelligence official and government source who said they believed the strike to be a dronezap.

US officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

North Waziristan was a Taliban stronghold until 2014, when the Army launched a major offensive against the group and pushed many of its fighters across the border into Afghanistan.

Sources from the TTP identified one of the dead gunnies as Abdur Rahman, a senior commander of the group.
Link


India-Pakistan
Nato tanker arsonists 'hated America for invading Iraq'
2015-07-04
[DAWN] If the investigation into the attacks on NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
 fuel tankers is to be believed, the Iraq war of 2003 was the motivation for the attacks on NATO convoys in Pakistain.

Indeed, those convicted for torching oil tankers carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, seem to be educated, well-to-do and have said that the second US-led invasion of Iraq provoked them to carry out a 'jihad' against America.

On June 30, an Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi convicted Ali Imran, Aizazur Rehman and Shujauddin and awarded them the death sentence on eight counts. They have also been sentences to life in prison and fined heavily for burning NATO oil tankers on April 24, 2010.

According to the investigation, Ali Imran -- the principal accused -- was motivated by the US attack on Iraq to wage 'jihad' against the aggressing country.

A resident of the Doctor's Housing Society located near the Islamabad suburb of Koral, Ali Imran is believed to have joined the Jamaat Talba Islam (JTI) in the year 2000. His attorney, Malik Rafique, told Dawn that, at the time, Imran was a student at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). Imran's father, Dr Hafizur Rehman, was a former district president of the Al-Khidmat Foundation -- a non-profit charity organization linked to the Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
 (JI).

Advocate Aizazur Rehman, the second convict, was a law graduate and an active member of the district bar association in Jhelum and also taught at a local college, his lawyer told Dawn.

Shujauddin, the third convict, hails from tehsil Dina in Jhelum and was Rehman's cousin. The investigation also makes him out to be an active member of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
 (JuD).

The investigation revealed that Ali Imran met certain jihadi sympathisers in Islamabad, including Yaqoob alias Idrees, who took him to Wana in South Wazirstan for training. There, he is also believed to have met another Islamabad-native, Aslam alias Ibrahim.

After completing the training, Imran came back to Islamabad and kept in contact with Aslam. In their meetings, they discussed plans to disrupt the NATO supply line by setting fire to the fuel tankers.

Advocate Rehman's story is not very dissimilar; the investigation supposedly unearthed links he had with holy warrior organizations and claimed that Rehman met Imran in the summer of 2010 in Islamabad and together, they planned attacks the NATO fuel tankers.

Shujauddin is also said to have acquired training at a holy warrior camp in Wana. Investigators believe that he was the one responsible for setting fire to around 70 NATO tankers near Jeddah Town, Fateh Jang and Pindi Gheb.

Mr Rafique, who represents the three men, however, maintained that police had fabricated a false story to implicate his clients, who were well-educated individuals and not involved with militancy in any form.

However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone...
 Imran Qaiser, the public prosecutor in the case, told Dawn that the suspects were fully complicit in the attack on the NATO tankers. He said that the prosecution and investigation team had been warned and threatened by the suspects' sympathisers.

"This is a high-profile case and, therefore, the prosecution did its job and assisted the court as well as it could, even in the face of apparent danger," he said.

Mr Qaiser said that none of these men had attended a religious seminary, adding that all three were from relatively well-off backgrounds and had engaged an expert criminal lawyer to defend them.

This is not the only recent case of terrorism in the capital which has seen the involvement of middle-class and well-educated individuals. The alleged attackers and their controllers in the murder of Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali -- the prosecutor for the Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
 murder case -- also came from similar backgrounds. Three men, Abdullah Umar, Hammad Adil and Adnan Adil are currently staning trial in the matter.

The recently-apprehended Saud Aziz, who confessed to his role in the Safoora Goth carnage in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, as well as the murder of Sabeen Mahmud, also attended IBA, the country's top business school, and came from a similarly well-to-do background.
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India-Pakistan
Zarb-i-Azb operation: 23 militants killed in fresh strikes
2014-06-20
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: At least 23 more suspected snuffies were killed in the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb operation launched by the Pakistain Army in North Wazoo tribal region, according to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public relations (ISPR) on its website.

At least 15 suspected snuffies were killed in Zartatangi mountain heights, east of Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
 are in North Waziristan tribal region late on Wednesday when one of the main suspected communication centers of snuffies was targeted by Cobra gunship helicopters of the Pakistain Army.

Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber...
 eight Uzbek snuffies who were planting improvised bombs (IEDs) on Miranshah-Mirali road were also killed near Miranshah by military snipers.

Security forces were also cordoning off residential areas sheltering suspected snuffies in North Wazirstan tribal region.

The military also claimed that several attempts by snuffies to flee from the cordoned off areas were foiled.

The ISPR statement further said that the evacuation of civil population from Miranshah and Ghulam Khan areas of the region had begun today, adding that check points had been established at various places where internally displaced persons IDPs were being provided all administrative support incl food items and medicine by security forces.

Moreover, an IDP camp was established at Bannu while the number of registration points at Saidgai post were increased to 20, including 10 for men and women, for speedy and organised evacuation.

The army launched its long-awaited major operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' in the tribal region a week after an attack on the airport in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, deploying troops, tanks and jets to the area in the crackdown on the Taliban and other bully boys.
Link


India-Pakistan
Surprise: Pakistan Says Fewer Civilians Died by Drones
2013-11-04
It's a NYT article, hence not quoted.

But this is what Walter Russell Mead sed:
Pakistan's Ministry of Defense has provided its first official figures for casualties from drone strikes, and they are surprisingly low. In the 318 drone strikes the US has conducted since 2008, when the program really hit its stride, 2,227 people have been killed, and only 3 percent, or 67 people, were civilians. Many human rights organizations' figures are much higher, as were the Pakistani government's previous figures. UN rapporteur Ben Emmerson, who has investigated the drone program in Pakistan, has said that the Pakistan Foreign Office gave him a figure of 400 civilians.

There is no reason to believe that these figures are any more credible than other data out there, and that is largely Pakistan's fault. It does not allow anyone to enter North Waziristan, the region where the Haqqani network and other militants are based, and where drones have primarily operated. It has not allowed independent investigators or journalists to do their jobs, and has been mum about its involvement there. Pakistani leaders whip up anti-Americanism whenever it's convenient, but a Washington Post report earlier this month highlighted Pakistan's role in facilitating the drone program, even suggesting targets in some cases. That is this the first time that the government has released casualty figures, despite the drone program running for years now.

One thing is certain: the drone program will continue as the US sees fit. Only a few hours after this story broke, there was another drone strike in North Wazirstan's district capital Miram Shah, killing 3.
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India-Pakistan
Today's Pakabooms
2013-07-01
[Pak Daily Times] A kaboom outside an imambargah in Quetta killed around 28 people, while 17 people were killed in a kaboom on a security force convoy in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
. Bombings in Wazirsitan killed eight more.

A jacket wallah on Sunday tried to blow up a holy manbargah in Quetta, killing 28 people and wounding more than 65 others at a checkpoint, officials said. The attack happened in congested Hazara Town, where a massive bombing killed 90 Hazaras in February this year. "The suicide bomber wanted to target a holy manbargah, but he went kaboom! himself before getting there. Nineteen people have been killed and 51 others are injured," said police official Fayaz Sumbal.

Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
 Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said the bomber went kaboom! at a checkpoint set up by local neighbourhood volunteers around 50 yards away from the imambargah. "The suicide bomber was intercepted at a security checkpoint manned by Hazara Town civilian boys. They stopped him at the barrier 50 yards away from the imambargah and he went kaboom! there," he said. "The evening prayers had just ended in the mosque and most of the victims are Shias. Among them six are women and one is a child," Durrani told AFP. He confirmed the corpse count had reached 28. Hazara Town in particular has been a flashpoint for attacks on Shias and the Hazaras. Locals have set up checkpoints controlling access to the neighbourhood, accusing regular security forces of being unable to stop the attacks.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shattered spaceship, Fffflirgoll the Arcturan slithered stealthily toward the control room, where the humans had barricaded themselves...
 a boom-mobile aimed at a security force convoy killed 17 people and maimed 46 others on Sunday in Badaber, on the outskirts of Peshawar, an official said. The attack happened not far from the semi-autonomous tribal belt where Taliban and al Qaeda-linked groups have bases, as British Prime Minister David Cameron
... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
 visited Islamabad. "Now 17 people have died," said Jamil Shah, front man for the government-run Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, adding that 46 were maimed. At least three children were among the dead, and two children and a woman were among those hurt, he added.

Police said most of the victims were civilians because the bomb targeting the Frontier Corps (FC) convoy went kaboom! in a bustling market area. "The boom-mobile was parked in a market packed with the general public. When the FC convoy comprising of three vehicles passed by, the bomb went kaboom! and hit a vehicle in the convoy," police official Shafiullah Khan told AFP. "But many non-combatants were killed and maimed in the attack because there was a big rush in the market at the time," he added.

Javed Khan, a local administration official, told news hounds that one policeman was also among the dead in Badaber, a flashpoint for violence south of Peshawar. "This is a very sad incident. There have been targeted operations in that area in the last few days and we have tossed in the slammer
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
 many gunnies from that area," Khan said. Shops and cars were damaged in the attack, an AFP news hound said. Pieces of human flesh, broken glass, lost shoes and vegetables from nearby carts were flung across the scene, and the seats of damaged cars were stained with blood.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone from the paramilitary Frontier Corps had been killed. "So far, we have reports that two Frontier Corps soldiers have been injured. We don't know about any other losses," a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Gunfire was also heard after the blast. A Bomb Disposal Squad official said 40-50 kilogrammes of explosive was used in the attack. It was not clear whether the bomb exploded remotely or carried by a suicide bomber. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened...
 in the northwestern tribal district of South Wazoo, a roadside kaboom killed four people in the main town of Wana, officials said. In the North Waziristan tribal region, another roadside kaboom targeting a security force convoy killed four security officials and maimed 12 in the main town of Mir Ali, military and civilian administration sources told AFP. Speaking in Islamabad, Prime Minister Cameron said the battle against terrorism needed "a tough and uncompromising security response" as well as investment in education and tackling poverty. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
 condemned the attack. "Pakistain has suffered the most in terms of human and financial losses. We are, therefore, resolved to tackle the menace of extremism and terrorism with renewed vigour and close cooperation with our friends," he said after his talks with Cameron.
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India-Pakistan
Act Of War: Background On The Attempted Murder Of Maulvi Nazir
2012-12-09
Bomb attack on Maulvi Nazir may not set off an all-out battle between his men and the TTP, but will spur tribal rivalries in South Wazoo

Key Taliban capo Maulvi Nazir survived a deadly suicide kaboom on November 29, when he and his associates were visiting Rustam Bazaar in Wana, the administrative headquarters of South Waziristan. At least seven gunnies were killed and a dozen others were maimed in the attack.

Nazir suffered minor injuries on his face and legs, his front man Amir Nawaz told local news hounds. No group has grabbed credit for the attack so far, and security analysts say Nazir has a long list of enemies. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are the main suspects. Maulvi Nazir has also been targeted by US drones on several occasions, but survived each time. The most recent such attack was in June 2012.

Nazir belongs to the Kakakhel tribe, which is a sub-clan of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe. His family lives on both sides of the Durand Line. During the Soviet Afghan war, he was affiliated with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil...
's Hizb-e-Islami and later joined the Taliban. He became the head of the Wana Taliban in late 2006 after challenging local commanders Haji Sharif and Haji Omar. Nazir's group is allied with bad turban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur who US officials believe is sheltering the Haqqani network in the neighboring North Waziristan Agency.

Bahadur was made the deputy chief of TTP when it was formed under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud in 2007. TTP is an umbrella organization of various bad turban groups operating in FATA. After disagreements over attacks on Pak security forces and because of tribal rivalries, he joined hands with Maulvi Nazir and formed his own anti-TTP bloc. The two leaders fall in the military establishment's 'good Taliban' category because they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistain.

There are two main tribes in South Waziristan - the Ahmedzai Wazirs and the Mehsuds. The Ahmedzai Wazirs live in Wana subdivision, while the Sarawakai and Ladha subdivisions are dominated by the Mehsuds. With the help of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribes, gunnies led by Nazir threw out Uzbek gunnies of the IMU from Wana and other Wazir-dominated areas of South Waziristan in a spring 2007 uprising against Uzbek brutality.

The Uzbek gunnies had arrived in the area after their bases in Afghanistan were closed down in late 2001. Many of them relocated to North Waziristan and Mehsud-dominated areas of South Waziristan after their eviction from Wana. The IMU lost around 250 gunnies in the festivities with Nazir's group. Pak security forces helped Nazir's men secure the bases vacated by the Uzbeks.

"It seems that the attack (on Nazir) was criminal masterminded by the IMU-linked Uzbek bad turbans," a local tribal leader said. He said the frustrated Uzbeks had also killed Maulana Noor Muhammad, a prominent elder of the Ahmedzai tribe and former parliamentarian, along with 30 other people in a suicide attack in a mosque in Wana in August 2010.

Two days after the November 29 attack, loudspeakers in Karikot, Shakai, Azam Warsak, Spin and Toi Khulla towns of Wana announced Nazir's ultimatum to the Mehsud rustics to vacate the areas by December 5. Locals found guilty of sheltering the Mehsuds would be fined up to Rs 1.5 million and their houses will be demolished, said the warning.

The announcement indicates Maulvi Nazir holds the TTP responsible for the attack, security analysts say. "The TTP is largely dominated by Mehsud rustics from South Waziristan, and Nazir made no distinction between the internally displaced Mehsud rustics and the bad turbans," said a local journalist based in Wana. A large number of Mehsud families have moved to other areas after the warning, he said. Hours after the attack, gunnies loyal to Nazir bumped off two TTP gunnies in Wana, local sources said.

The Mehsud population had to leave their homes when a military operation codenamed Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Salvation) started in October 2009. The operation has not ended yet. The Mehsuds were sheltered in IDP camps or began living in rented houses in Wana, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan
... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ...
 and Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
Nazir has been at loggerheads with the TTP leadership over a September 2009 incident in which he alleges 11 of his men were killed by TTP gunnies in Mehsud territory in Salay Rogha, South Waziristan. They were on their way to Wana. Mehsud Taliban fighters have also been warned by the Nazir group not to use their soil for attacks against security forces.

Pir Zubair Shah, a former New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
 news hound from South Waziristan, believes the attack on Nazir was likely planned by local Wazir commanders Haji Omar and Maulvi Abbas, who had sided with the Uzbek gunnies and were thus evicted from Wana in 2007. "Although some of these Waziri gunnies had made peace deals with Nazir and were allowed to come back, it seems the tension still exists," he said.

Security analysts and tribal elders think the Ahmedzai jirga's decision to ask the Mehsuds to leave Wana could trigger a bloody clash between the Mehsud and Wazir tribes. "I don't think this attack will result in an all-out war between the Nazir-led group and the TTP. The clash between the two will be actually a clash between the Mehsud and Wazir tribes," Shah said. He said the eviction notice was an effort by the government to sideline the TTP which draws its strength from the Mehsuds.

Similar efforts are also being made in North Waziristan where the local Utmanzai tribal elders and Bahadur-led gunnies decided in a November 22 jirga to form a militia (lashkar) against "criminals and terrorists".

"Kidnappers, beturbanned goons and those involved in attacks on security forces should leave the North Waziristan Agency immediately," the jirga announced.

Creating divisions between Al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and the TTP has long been part of the American strategy in the region, and Pakistain's goal has been to weaken the TTP, said Arif Ansar, a security analyst associated with PoliTact, a Washington-based think tank. "Far from media attention, one can sense that the US and Pakistain have agreed on some kind of a quid pro quo in this regard," he said.
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India-Pakistan
Two key al Qaeda commanders killed in N Waziristan drone strike
2012-09-26
[Dawn] Two key al Qaeda linked operatives, including an operational commander have been killed in Monday's US drone strike in North Wazirsitan Agency, official sources said.

The al Qaeda linked forces of Evil killed in the drone strike have been identified as Abu Kasha Al-Iraqi and Saleh Al-Turki, an intelligence source told Dawn.Com.

Abu Kasha Al-Iraqi, hailing from Iraq, had arrived in North Wazoo Agency in 2001 and had since been one of the key operational commanders of the al Qaeda in North Waziristan tribal region, intelligence officials said.

Taliban sources also confirmed that Abu Kasha and Saleh al-Turki's funerals were held in Mosaki area of North Waziristan late Monday night.

Local people had reported that six people were killed and two others inured in the US drone attack in North Waziristan's Mir Ali tehsil on Monday. Security officials, however, had told AFP the attack had killed five bad turbans.

The drone fired two missiles on a suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban compound in Degyan area of Dattakhel along the Pak-Afghan border. Abu Kasha and Saleh Al-Turkey were said to be among the forces of Evil killed.
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Afghanistan
Pakistan is the Mother of Terrorism, Afghanistan the Victim: Afghan Analyst
2012-06-07
By George, I think he's got it!
[Tolo News] Pakistain is the mother of terrorism while Afghanistan is the victim, an Afghan political expert and former Minister of Interior General Hadi Khaled said Wednesday.

"Pakistain's government is now trying to change the ideology of its people by trying different political ways," Khaled told TOLOnews.

"Pakistain is the mother of terrorism and Afghanistan has been the continuous victim."

Khaled's comments come in the wake of strong reaction to US drone strikes in tribal regions of Pakistain, with the country's foreign ministry summoning US embassy officials to express their anger over the continuing strikes against snuffies in tribal regions bordering with Afghanistan.

While recent drone strikes have apparently hit their targets, including most recently an Al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi, considered the network's Number 2, the strikes are seen as a threat to Pakistain's illusory sovereignty and have also been known to kill civilians.

"We have confirmation of [Al-Libi's] death," White House front man Jay Carney told news hounds in a news briefing at the White House on Wednesday declining to provide further details about the exact location of the incident.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact...
 Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security front man Lutfullah Mashal has called the death of Al-Libi a major blow to Taliban, going so far as to say that his death could put an end to an ideological war.

"The death of Al-Libi is very important and effective for the grinding of the peace processor. He was responsible for an ideological war; we hope it ends by his death." Mashal said Wednesday.

Al-Libi was considered to be the general manager of Al Qaeda network and was responsible for day-to-day monitoring of the network's activities all over the world.

US officials believe that Al-Libi was newly appointed as deputy of the Aimen Al-Zawaheri, the successor of the late Osama bin Laden
... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing...
 after he was killed a year ago.

Al-Libi was one of the three inmates who escaped the heavily guarded US-run Bagram prison in 2005, he survived a US drone strike in 2009 but finally he was killed last week with 14 other fellow members in a US drone strike in northern Wazirstan of Pakistain's tribal region.
Link


Afghanistan
Dupe URL: 59 Taliban killed in offensive by Afghan commandos near Pak border
2012-04-15
 Afghan forces backed by air support from Nato aircraft have launched a broad sweep of the country's northeast borders killing 59 Taliban insurgents in a major offensive in a province that serves as a militant supply route from Pakistan.

The Afghan forces are for the past three days combing mountainous region in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province, which touches Pakistan, in a spring onslaught on Taliban bases.

"14 armed insurgents were killed, 34 wounded and 18 others arrested by Afghan forces during the last 24 hours," the interior ministry said in an statement.

Kamdesh is a strategic base for the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan and serves as a spring board for militants crossing from Pakistan's turbulent Wazirstan province, a spokesman of the Nuristan province said.

Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said that 32 other militants had been killed in recent days.

According to the sources, about 400 Afghan policemen are assisting Afghan commandos in the sweep across the province, considered to be a den of Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir and Haqqani network.The interior ministry said that Afghan forces were in the restive province to stay. "This time we are not going to just conduct a big operation and leave."

They said that the Afghan forces had gained control of the main road through Kamdesh for the first time in years.

The ministry said that after the combing operations, security personnel would set-up more check-posts to control infiltration of militants.

The commandos and the policemen descended into the area by helicopters, a defence ministry statement said.

The ministry said the new operation was another example of successful transition of combat operations from the US-led forces to the Afghan Army. "We expect to see more such types of Afghan-led operations in spring and summer."

The defence ministry said that on April 12, 8 Taliban militants were killed and 19 others apprehended, while on April 11, 5 insurgents were killed and 18 arrested.

They said the Afghan Police had captured Taliban's deputy shadow governor of southern Helmand province 'Janan' who is famous under the name of Syed Ghulam.
Link


Afghanistan
59 Taliban killed in offensive by Afghan commandos near Pak border
2012-04-15
 Afghan forces backed by air support from NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
 aircraft have launched a broad sweep of the country's northeast borders killing 59 Taliban cut-throats in a major offensive in a province that serves as a Death Eater supply route from Pakistain.

The Afghan forces are for the past three days combing mountainous region in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province, which touches Pakistain, in a spring onslaught on Taliban bases.

"14 armed cut-throats were killed, 34 maimed and 18 others set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock by Afghan forces during the last 24 hours," the interior ministry said in an statement.

Kamdesh is a strategic base for the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan and serves as a spring board for faceless myrmidons crossing from Pakistain's turbulent Wazirstan province, a front man of the Nuristan province said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) front man said that 32 other faceless myrmidons had been killed in recent days.

According to the sources, about 400 Afghan coppers are assisting Afghan commandos in the sweep across the province, considered to be a den of Taliban capo Maulvi Nazir and Haqqani network.The interior ministry said that Afghan forces were in the restive province to stay. "This time we are not going to just conduct a big operation and leave."

They said that the Afghan forces had gained control of the main road through Kamdesh for the first time in years.

The ministry said that after the combing operations, security personnel would set-up more check-posts to control infiltration of Death Eaters.

The commandos and the coppers descended into the area by helicopters, a defence ministry statement said.

The ministry said the new operation was another example of successful transition of combat operations from the US-led forces to the Afghan Army. "We expect to see more such types of Afghan-led operations in spring and summer."

The defence ministry said that on April 12, 8 Talibs were killed and 19 others apprehended, while on April 11, 5 cut-throats were killed and 18 set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock.

They said the Afghan Police had captured Taliban's deputy shadow governor of southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
 province 'Janan' who is famous under the name of Syed Ghulam.
Link



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