Posted on 05/07/2009 1:31:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The Swat offensive intensified on Thursday with the army bringing in gunship helicopters and jet fighters to target militant hideouts in the district's Khwazakhela tehsil. Meanwhile, the corps commanders were holding a meeting in the GHQ to review the operations against the Taliban.
Taliban have besieged the Matta police station, and police and militants continue to exchange fire, DawnNews reported.
Tens of thousands of Swat's residents have started streaming out of the valley after authorities relaxed the curfew till 06:00 p.m. The curfew in Khawazakhela however remains in tact.
Swat's top administrator, Khushal Khan, said people were not being advised to leave but authorities were helping those who wanted to go.
‘There are troops convoys coming and once that is over, public transport will be able come into the town. In the meantime, we are extending whatever help possible to people leaving,’ he said.
In the adjoining Buner district, security forces continued their offensive against militants in Sultanwas and Pir Baba where the militants were offering stiff resistance.
Meanwhile, in the Lower Dir district's Maidan area, intense clashes between militants and security forces continued as 15 troops went missing.
A militant commander in Maidan, Mifthahuddin, talking to DawnNews, claimed that they had killed at least 12 security personnel in Gumbar and their bodies were lying in the bazaar.
Security officials and independent sources are yet to confirm the deaths of the security personnel but have confirmed that a fierce gun battle had erupted between militants and security forces in Gumbar and casualties were feared. However, a son of cleric Sufi Mohammad, who brokered the Swat peace deal, was killed when an artillery shell hit his house in the district, a spokesman for the cleric said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, 47 militants, 15 security personnel and 36 non-combatants were killed and several others wounded in fierce clashes and explosions in the Swat valley and other areas of the Malakand region.
Sources said security forces killed 30 militants near emerald mines and 15 others in Takhtaband area, in the outskirts of Mingora. The ground forces entered from Fizaghat side and recaptured the mines after helicopter gunships and artillery shelled the area.
Thirty-five civilians were reportedly killed either in crossfire between troops and militants and artillery fire or for violating curfew in different areas of Swat when a fresh military offensive was launched. Military sources admitted civilian deaths but did not confirm the number of casualties.
Three security personnel were killed and four others were injured in a roadside blast near Barikot. Three personnel were killed and three injured when militants attacked an FC camp in Kanju.
Sources said the militants still had control over Mingora town on Wednesday. They were patrolling streets and took positions on rooftops. They also occupied local people’s homes and laid mines in Mingora.
A number of bank branches were looted in Mingora and then set on fire.
Helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant positions in emerald mines, Mingora Bazaar, Takhtaband and Engaro Dheri, in the outskirts of Mingora. The hideouts in Koza Banda and Bar Banda were also targeted in Kabal tehsil.
The sources on Wednesday said fighting was also going on in Manglawar, Charbagh, Khwazakhela and Bahrain.
Sources said nine soldiers, two militants and one civilian were killed in roadside explosions and exchange of fire in different areas of Malakand on Tuesday.
Six soldiers were killed and three others wounded when a remote-controlled bomb went off near Thana Bypass road, near Chakdara, when the military convoy was on its way to Swat district.
Then militants opened fire on the convoy, triggering an exchange of fire. Two militants were killed and a woman Mahar Pari, wife of Sher Afzal of Bugar Cham, was injured when a stray bullet hit her.
The deceased soldiers included Tawqir, Tahir, Rashid, Nisar, Aimal Qasim and conductor Bilal while the injured were identified as Shaukat, Yousaf, Nisar and Shakoor.
The bodies and the injured were shifted to Chakdara Fort housed by Chitral Scouts. Later the bodies were flown by helicopters and the injured soldiers were admitted to a hospital.
Another three soldiers were killed when three improvised explosive devices exploded one after another along the GT Road, near FG Public School in Batkhela at 08:00 a.m. when the military convoy was passing through the area. Security personnel fired back and the gunbattle lasted an hour.
The convoy was again attacked by three miscreants from the hills near Amandara, the headquarters of Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi, at 12 noon.
Later helicopter gunships shelled the surrounding areas, including Gharibabad and Bar Batkhela, killing one civilian and injuring another.
Want to bet the Pakistanis get their collective asses kicked and beg the Taliban for a truce....then they’ll surrender.
B-52’s
ArcLight
now....
Pakistan needs to go after the source of its troubles: Saudi Arabia.
“Later helicopter gunships shelled the surrounding areas”
I always wondered why you sometimes see helicopters flying around with howitzers slung underneath them.
happygrl wrote: “Pakistan needs to go after the source of its troubles: Saudi Arabia.”
..... Bingo.
There is always the possibility that this whole fiasco is a concoction by the Army and the Establishment of Pakistan to extort more money from the US.
However, even if it is, and once the money starts flowing, the Talibs return to their lairs assured that they will be re-equipped by the Army with American dollars, in addition to Generals getting Benzes and their wives shopping sprees in Paris, with some set aside for US education and real estate.
As has always happened before.
But, the wild card being not only the enlisted ranks of the Army, but also a Talib emboldened by their success to go for the gold and seize Islamabad. Among the many factions of the Talib, even the ProArmy ones may well be tempted by the prospect of the Khalifa of Islamabad.
WHY on Earth would Pakistan do that?
They depend heavily on the largess of the Saudis, who not only have bankrolled the “islamic(sunni)” Bomb, but have financed tens of thousands of madarsahs in Pakistan, and enjoy the scenic beauty of the country, spreading goodwill and dollars all around.
Since the US has treated the Saudis with kid gloves since 911, why would Pakistan offend their theological brothers and providers of oil at brotherly prices.
Yeah, silly me, apparently they don't care that it has destroyed their country.
I guess that India has some magic moo joo to buy oil, unlike Pakistan, which also allows them them to establish schools for their children, independent of a Saudi Sugar Daddy. Apparently there is something that differentiates the South Asians in Pakistan with the South Asians in India.
Oh yeah, THEOLOGY.
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