Pakistani troops beat back yet another massed Taliban assault on a military outpost in the lawless tribal agency of Arakzai.
In today’s attack, more than 200 Taliban fighters descended on a Frontier Corps outpost in the Dabori area of Arakzai in an effort to overrun the base but were repelled after three hours of heavy fighting, Daily Times reported. The Pakistani military claimed that 60 Taliban fighters and four Frontier Corps troopers were killed during the battle. Twenty-two Pakistani troops and 70 Taliban fighters were reported to have been injured.
The Taliban have attempted to overrun the Pakistani base in Dabori three times since May 10. On May 18, the military claimed it killed 28 Taliban fighters during a failed assault in the region.
The Taliban were successful in overrunning the Dabori outpost for a short period of time on May 10, when nine Pakistani Frontier Corps troops were killed during the assault. The military claimed that 37 Taliban fighters were killed in the counterstrike.
The Pakistani military has claimed that more than 785 Taliban fighters have been killed in Arakzai since March 21, while in fact, only 23 soldiers, including four today, have been killed, according to Pakistani press reports compiled by The Long War Journal.
US military officials contacted by The Long War Journal are highly skeptical of the Pakistani military’s high casualty claims during the fighting in Arakzai.
“The Pakistani military relies on air and artillery to fight the Taliban and often lumps civilian casualties in with the Taliban,” a military intelligence officer said. “If that number was halved it would still be too large.”
The Pakistani military has targeted the Taliban in Arakzai, Khyber, and South Waziristan over the past several months, and claimed to have defeated the Taliban in Bajaur and Mohmand. The Taliban still control large swaths of territory in these tribal agencies, while al Qaeda and allied groups maintain a safe haven in North Waziristan. The Pakistanis have rebuffed US pressure to target the Taliban and al Qaeda based in North Waziristan.
8 Comments
The PArmy figures are probably somewhat more reliable when they are under direct attack. Less chance of collateral damage?
Actually…
Nobody’s wartime numbers are all that reliable.
“People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election.”
-Otto von Bismarck
That being said, it’s somewhat understood that whomever remains in possession of the battle field will have the most reliable numbers, after all, they are the ones that dispose of the bodies.
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Their tempo certainly seems to have increased, on both sides of the border. It’s happy season…
SLEEP
TIGHT,
R
What is the tactical significance of this frontier post?
I believe it sits on a controlling position along a major road network. Arakzai itself points like a knife at the Indus River.
Johann, that would be strategic rather then tactical as I understand the definitions.
The Talib may have other reasons…
MILEAGE
MAY
VARY,
R
There’s no use arresting the organisers of these attacks. They’ll just let them go again.
More tag and release of Taliban by Pakistan, as referenced in Bill’s Today in Pakistan links:
Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday 19 May ordered release of four terror suspects on bail, including Maulana Khalid, Taliban commander from Swat district, after the prosecution failed to provide evidence against the suspects. Maulana Khalid was once known as right hand of TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad.
The Pakistani security forces either want to release these people or just can’t work inside the law – they don’t present the evidence against these terrorists in theHigh Court.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=240189
A lot of what passes for actionable intelligence in the military will not pass the requirements in a court of law, especially if you need to conceal details to avoid giving away your sources. So the alternatives are catch-and-release, military courts, holding prisoners until the conflict is over and releasing them all and risk restarting the conflict, or stop taking prisoner.
But a lot of people, especially in the press, cannot get their minds around this problem.
LWJ:
”
“The Pakistani military relies on air and artillery to fight the Taliban and often lumps civilian casualties in with the Taliban,” a military intelligence officer said. “If that number was halved it would still be too large.”
Wow that is telling! Does it mean half those casualties are actually civilians?!
T: Yes.
OR
MORE,
R