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India-Pakistan

Troops capture Fazlullah's base

2007-12-07

Seize weapons, computers and liquor bottles from Imam Dheri madrassa complex Security forces captured Imam Dheri, headquarters of pro-Taliban militant leader Maulana Fazlullah, and the Khwazkhela area in Swat, officials said on Thursday. The army also blew up the houses of Fazlullah and his spokesman Maulana Sirajuddin, besides seizing several weapons, computers and some bottles of liquor from the site, army officials said. The liquor was believed to be seized at militants’ checkposts from people. Right. It wasn't in the mullah's liquor cabinet. Nope. Earlier, Troops backed by tanks and gunship helicopters advanced towards Imam Dheri and seized control of a madrassa run by Fazlullah, and an adjacent mosque without any resistance. troops backed by tanks and gunship helicopters advanced towards Imam Dheri and seized control of a madrassa run by Fazlullah, and an adjacent mosque without any resistance. De-mining experts have started combing the area for landmines and booby traps. In Khwazkhela, the troops have taken control of a police station from the militants and handed it over to the local police. The local administration in Swat announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew from 4pm to 8pm on Thursday. The army took local reporters to Imam Dheri in the afternoon. Major General Nasir Janjua, commander of the Swat operation, told the reporters that the troops had operated very carefully in Imam Dheri to avoid any structural damage to the mosque-madrassa complex. An unknown number of militants fled the towns before they were overrun. About 400 troops and police moved in, and found the complex abandoned, AP reported. The troops also dismantled a prison set up by militants inside a girls’ primary school in Matta and freed dozens of people, an intelligence official told AFP. There are reports that Fazlullah’s deputy, Maulana Shah Dauran, had been killed in a gunbattle late on Wednesday, provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal said.

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India-Pakistan

Troops seize Fazlullah's base

2007-11-29

Troops on Wednesday seized Maulana Fazlullah’s base in Swat, where nearly two weeks of clashes have killed around 250 militants, officials said. “Security forces entered the town of Imam Dheri, the main base of Maulana Fazlullah,” provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal told AFP. The whereabouts of Fazlullah, however, remain unknown. “He has gone underground,” the official said. Security sources in the area said the cleric’s close aides have also fled, including his spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin. They quoted residents as saying they [Fazlullah’s men] were seen heading for the mountains. Iqbal said security forces were in “complete control” of a large stretch of Kabal district after shelling suspected insurgent locations with artillery and mortar fire. Locals destroy militant bunkers: As the militants fled, people in a number of towns destroyed the fortified bunkers they left behind, Iqbal said, adding that authorities would on Thursday extend a break in the curfew to allow residents time to demolish the remaining positions. He said foreign militants were fighting alongside the Fazlullah loyalists. “The security forces recovered six bodies from Najia Top, they included two foreigners,” he said, referring to the highest peak in Kabal district. Security forces took the bodies of 50 dead militants into custody during the operation. Iqbal told BBC that some militants’ dead bodies had, however, been handed over to their families.

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India-Pakistan

Militants vacate trenches in several areas of Swat

2007-11-28

Militants in several parts of the restive Swat district vacated their trenches on hilltops and disappeared on Tuesday, Daily Times has learnt. Rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah’s loyalists had established trenches in the Dherai, Kooza Bandai, Bara Bandai, Nangolai, Charbagh, Khwazakhela and Pir Kalay areas of Swat. However, they vacated the areas on Tuesday morning and their current whereabouts are unknown, residents said. "We dunno. They jes' lit out like their salwar kameez wuz on fire!" Locals believe the Taliban have fled the area under intense pressure from the military, which had been using artillery and gunship helicopters to target their positions in several areas of Swat and Shangla districts for the last few days. Meanwhile, Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal told journalists that a local resident had killed Taliban commander Khan Khitab, as people of the area were tired of the Taliban. Iqbal claimed 50 militants had been killed in the ongoing military operation over the past three days. His claim could not be confirmed from an independent source, while purported Taliban spokesman Sirajuddin was also unavailable for comment. One of the 50 deaders, perhaps? That'd be pleasant. Local residents and state television, meanwhile, reported that Fazlullah’s pirate radio station had shut down. Meanwhile, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Dawn television that troops had taken control of Najia Top, a stronghold of Fazlullah. He estimated the insurgents’ strength in the area at about 1,000, reported AFP. Local residents and state television, meanwhile, reported that Fazlullah’s pirate radio station had shut down. Also on Tuesday, the Swat administration announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew to let the local residents fulfill basic necessities of daily life.

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India-Pakistan

40 militants, four soldiers dead in Swat clashes

2007-11-27

Security forces used artillery and gunship helicopters on pro-Taliban militants in the troubled Swat valley, killing 40 militants, including two commanders, and losing four soldiers, said military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad. He said another five soldiers had been injured in the operation. Arshad told Daily Times that the hilltops had been cleared, while security forces were now advancing towards areas where the militants had taken refuge. Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal said two local commanders were among those killed, reported AFP. Commander Khitab Khan was one of the commanders killed, Daily Times learnt. Iqbal said security forces had targeted the hideouts of militants loyal to rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah throughout Sunday night. Meanwhile, a statement issued here said security forces destroyed eight vehicles and killed several militants during an operation. The militants’ convoy was destroyed on Bara Bandai-Shakardara Road. Separately, two security personnel were injured in a mortar attack on Kabal Golf Course. Bet that complicated the 11th hole... Curfew relaxation: Also on Monday, the local administration announced a four-hour relaxation in curfew from 8am till 12pm. The curfew had been in place since Saturday.

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India-Pakistan

Mighty Pak army starts ground offensive in Swat

2007-11-26

Security forces backed by gunship helicopters and artillery have begun a ground offensive against pro-Taliban militants, killing at least 35 of them and losing two soldiers, the military said on Sunday. It was the first time ground troops had been used in the Swat region, said army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad. He said the troops had gained control of mountaintops overlooking three militant-held villages near Mingora in an operation that was launched late on Saturday, reported AP. The troops controlled all entry and exit points to these villages, he added. He said 15 soldiers were also wounded. “The strongholds of militants are being hit. Troops have demolished their bunkers and destroyed a checkpost,” Arshad said. Meanwhile, Swat Media Centre spokesman Amjad Iqbal told reporters that three policemen had been injured in fighting in the Balogram, Rahimabad and Barikot areas. Online reported that two of the policemen had sustained minor injuries when militants in Balogram and Rahimabad shot at a mobile police car. In another incident, a Suzuki van parked along the roadside exploded on Saturday night, injuring one soldier. He said security forces had ensured that mosques, madrassas and the civil population were not affected by Saturday night’s operation. An arms depot discovered in Kooza Bandai Government School had been destroyed, he added. Curfew extended: Also on Sunday, the local administration announced a 24-hour extension to the curfew that has been in place since Saturday afternoon, enforcing it till 2pm on Monday. Earlier, a 24-hour curfew had been imposed from 2pm on Saturday till 2pm on Sunday. Local residents said artillery had been targeting militant positions in Dherai, Kooza Bandai and Najia Top, while gunship helicopters pounded rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah’s headquarters in Imam Dherai and its surroundings, Daily Times staffers Daud Khattak and Saleem Athar reported. Several Taliban have been killed and injured in the previous 24 hours of fighting but the exact number of casualties could not be confirmed from any independent sources. People of the restive areas continued fleeing their houses to escape to the relative safety of Mingora, Faizabad and Saidu Sharif. Telephone connections have been switched off and people in areas where the fighting is going on are facing food shortages. Local residents said the troops had stopped the delivery of any food items, medicine and other basic necessities of life to Taliban-held areas, resulting in residents facing serious food, healthcare and transportation problems. Fazlullah visit: Meanwhile, Taliban sources said Maulana Fazlullah had visited militant positions in Najia Top, Kooza Bandai and Dherai and issued fresh instructions to his men. Briefing journalists a day earlier, NWFP caretaker Information Minister Imtiaz Hussain Gillani said the provincial government was planning to convene a grand jirga to discuss the trouble in Swat and suggest methods to defuse the tension there. He said the caretaker cabinet had decided to establish camps for the people of Swat displaced by the fighting between security forces and Taliban militants. FM radio: Authorities have also set up their own FM radio station to counter the militant propaganda spread by Fazlullah’s pirate radio station.

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India-Pakistan

Jirga manages ceasefire in Kurram Agency

2007-11-25

A 16-member peace jirga has managed a ceasefire in the Sadda, Parachinar and Arauli areas of Kurram Agency, where sectarian clashes have raged over the past week, and returned to Hangu on Saturday for peace negotiations, locals and eyewitnesses told Daily Times. Jirga member Syed Alhussaini told Daily Times that both parties would nominate eight people for peace discussions and would review the situation arising from the clashes to find a durable solution. Denial: Political authorities, meanwhile, denied reports of nearly 50 deaths in renewed sectarian fighting overnight in Parachinar. “There was some fighting late on Friday and several militants were killed, but we do not have exact details of casualties,” AFP quoted government spokesman Amjad Iqbal as saying.T he staff report goes on to add that security forces had begun patrolling the main highway between Chappari, Sadda and Parachinar. Political Agent Zaheerul Islam told reporters that Governor Lt Gen (r) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai visited Parachinar on Thursday and talked to jirgas and urged them to intensify efforts for peace. Meanwhile, on orders from the governor, 50 tonnes of relief goods, including food, for the locally displaced people are being airlifted to Parachinar.

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India-Pakistan

Troops amassing for Dir operation

2007-11-24

Fresh reinforcements have reached Swat amid increasing fears of an operation against suspected militants in Dir district bordering Afghanistan’s Kunar province where Al Qaeda and the Taliban were giving a stiff resistance to the American and coalition forces, officials and eyewitnesses said on Friday. Authorities disconnected cell-phone services during the army movement to prevent the militants from using the service to plot attacks on the arriving soldiers. “The mobile-phone service was restored at 4:00pm,” said Jehanzeb, a shopkeeper. “The soldiers are positioning themselves in Timergara, the Lower Dir’s headquarters, and, as we know, this district is underlined for hosting militants, even foreigners,” said official sources in Peshawar wishing not to be named. Military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad played down the significance of increased troops’ activity in Lower Dir. “We are there since long,” he told Daily Times. He, however, stopped short of saying that any operation in that district was also imminent. Army helicopters were patrolling the area to foil any attack on the security forces, said residents who were stuck at their homes due to a curfew. Food supply: Authorities imposed a food blockade and a 12-hour curfew in Swat, AFP quoted officials as saying on Friday. Intelligence officials said food supplies to the areas where militants are holed up had been stopped. “Ten trucks loaded with food supplies were ordered last night to stop in Mingora,” an intelligence official said. The residents told Daily Times that there was food shortage in Kabal, Matta, Kuzza Banda and adjoining areas. Government spokesman Amjad Iqbal said the curfew had been imposed because of the “operational needs” of the security forces. Civilian killed: Akbar Khan, a civilian, was killed in Kabal tehsil as the security forces mistook him as a “potential threat”, the residents said. A government official regretted the loss of an “innocent civilian”. The military, however, said, “Police sources have confirmed that two suspected individuals heading towards Kabal police station were signalled to stop. They did not stop and therefore were fired upon.“Resultantly, one individual was killed and the other, who was believed to be wearing a suicide belt, fled the scene.” Gen Waheed said the media was “misreporting” about civilian casualties. He also denied that the government was doing little to help the displaced people. “The army is setting up a camp for such people in Risalpur,” he said. He gave no timeline as to when the Swat operation would be wound up. He said ground forces would be used if needed. APP quoted an ISPR official as saying on Friday that the security forces arrested four miscreants in the Fazagat area of Swat when they were trying to flee the area disguised as women.

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