Pakistani troops and the Taliban exchanged fire in the main town in North Waziristan today, just one day after three soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in the Taliban-controlled tribal area.
Taliban fighters were seen “firing on Pakistan army checkposts with automatic weapons and rocket launchers,” according a report from AFP. The Taliban attacked an electricity transformer and shut down power in the town.
Pakistani troops responded with artillery and helicopter gunships. Soldiers also blew up a “private hospital, where Taliban and other militant fighters were being treated.” No casualties have been reported on either side.
It is unclear if the military was fighting the Haqqani Network, a Taliban subgroup which dominates the Miramshah area; the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, whose fighters are known to shelter in the region; foreign terrorists such as al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, whose fighters are also based in the area; or some combination of the above.
Today’s clash occurs just one day after Taliban fighters killed three Pakistani troops and wounded 15 more in an IED attack that targeted a military convoy near the main market in Miramshah. The convoy of Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary Frontier Corps was on its way to Datta Khel, another terrorist haven in North Waziristan, when then it was hit.
The fighting in Miramshah is not thought to be the opening of a long-awaited Pakistani offensive in North Waziristan, a US intelligence official who follows the area closely told The Long War Journal.
“The Pakistani military action in Miramshah is purely retaliatory,” the intelligence official said. “I see no indication that the military plans on taking the groups there head on, now or in the immediate future.”
Although the Pakistani military claims it has 40,000 troops in North Waziristan and said it is carrying out targeted raids against terror groups, there is no indication that the Pakistani military has killed or captured any terrorist leaders or fighters. Press reports earlier this year claimed the military would launch an offensive in North Waziristan soon, but military officials denied the reports, and said that any operation would only target the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist organizations in North Waziristan, and demands by the US and other Western nations that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on either the Haqqani Network, or forces led by Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the other major Taliban group based there. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered “good Taliban” by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Yet Bahadar, the Haqqanis, and other Taliban groups openly carry out attacks in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military recently launched a limited offensive against the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in a central area of the Kurram tribal agency. But the operation was telegraphed in advance and the Taliban slipped away.
“Most of the militants had already fled their hideouts ahead of the operation,” a report from PTI stated. The Pakistani military claimed six Taliban fighters were killed in Kurram today.
7 Comments
What a web of lies and deception! The Pakistanis are so snared in their own two-faced foreign policy that their own soldiers don’t know who the enemy really is. The only end result for Pakistan can be their own destruction at the hands of their terrorist “allies”, unless something turns around very fast and soon. But I’m not holding my breath to see if it happens.
Vienna,06-07-2011
It is not realistic to expect a vertically divided ideological
armed forces of Pakistan to initiate offensive that is not
backed by the rival faction of the divided armed services.
Just as the armed services are divided the Pakistani
population also divided within is unable to accept that it
was cruel to Frontier Gandhi Ghaffar Khan sent him to
jail in order to send his loyal Pashtun tribes as proxy
invaders of Kashmir in 1947/48 to create a core claim
which remains today.
It cares for more proximity to be able to manage.On
the other hand it chose to cut its nose in East Pakistan
an undisputed territory as if without any sense of pain.
I do see Pakistan appears to bend to U.S.pressure and
pretends to co-operate afresh. But a determined drive
to throw out the “guests” it considers assets,appears
to be not possible.It is a delicate situation for the armed
forces to accept civilian supremacy of any kind even
though President Obama has stood his ground not to
ignore demonstratively whatever weak Pakistani
civilian government. Wait and watch there would
be rather painful surprises.
Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring, TTTMM -Kulamarva Balakrishna, [email protected]
Funny how quickly the Pakistanis respond when THEY are attacked by the “bad” Taliban from Afghanistan. As long as it was the “good” Taliban penetrating Afghanistan from their safe havens in Pakistan, the Pakistanis were content to grow their beards and to sip tea. Going by past performances, the Pakistani army will soon turn tail.
Oh *WOW* Bill.
This is unprecedented. Why don’t they just finish the job??? They already fought back and even destroyed a private hospital. Why don’t they just start the operation already? Enough is enough, this is getting absolutely ridiculous.
this is anything but “unprecedented.” Pakistani forces have clashed with the Taliban in N Waziristan in the past. I strongly suggest looking at the history of this, and then you won’t get so excited over this.
Maybe I’m reaching with this but has anyone considered the possibility of infighting among the taliban or al’qaeda and one faction got the military to do their dirty work for them? As I said I may be reaching with that but considering that with any organization there’s going to be people that disagree or several people wanting more power and probably won’t be above using dirty means to eliminate competition.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/09/taliban-deny-hand-in-attack-on-convoy.html
The militants are denying that real Taliban had a part to play in this attack.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\07\08\story_8-7-2011_pg7_26
The “Al Qaeda Hospital” in Miranshah, which was reportedly very popular with Arab extremists, has also been demolished. It had foxholes and coves in it that were specifically built so you could shoot out of them. Elders reported the hospital to the army and it is very good news that the elders did that.
A few weeks ago, elders and clerics in NWA denounced suicide bombing, which is also a good step:
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?240602
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=99877