Missile kills Pakistan tribal head

CNN ^ | Friday, June 18 | Syed Mohsin Naqvi

[AdmSmith]

ISLAMABAD (CNN) -- A tribal leader accused of harboring Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan's western border region was killed Thursday night in a targeted missile strike, according to Pakistan intelligence sources. The Associated Press quoted an army spokesman Friday as identifying the tribal leader as Nek Mohammed, a former Taliban fighter.

He was killed late Thursday at the home of another tribal chief, the spokesman said.

"We were tracking him down and he was killed last night by our hand," Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told The Associated Press.

[Dog]

Bottom line though, an attempt was made to locate Omar through his sat phone, meaning that we now have a record of all calls made from that unit,

I hope this isn't a stupid question.....will we know who Omar tried to call from his phone?

[Coop]

I'm sure the answer will be "yes" for some numbers and "no" for others. Depends on what's in ye olde database.

[jeffers]

I believe so. We obtained the records from Bin Laden's sat phone, and they showed at the very least the country designations of his outgoing calls. Interestingly enough, he most frequently called London, with Iran holding second place.

[nuconvert]

I didn't know about about London and Iran. I'm not surprised at all.

[happygrl]

Thanks for your additional information and analysis.

probably explains the use of irregular Pak troops for this operation in its entirety.

Independent chain of command to Musharref ?

[AdmSmith]

A new twist on the phone call:
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=60908

Taliban denies Afghan intelligence telephoned Mulla Omar
Islamabad, July 10 (DPA) The ousted Taliban regime has denied claims that Afghan intelligence officials spoke with their supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar by satellite telephone, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said today.

The Afghan officials claimed they contacted Omar by phone seized from his "deputy military chief" Mulla Sakhidad Mujahid who was captured on Tuesday from the southern Kandahar province.

"Mulla Omar never talks to his aides by telephone, instead, he sends messages and directives to Taliban through letters and audio-tapes," a purported Taliban spokesman Mufti Latifullah Hakimi told AIP late last night.

Hakimi said that Mujahid who was transferred to Kabul yesterday for questioning was once a Taliban commander but did not hold any current responsibilities.

"He has been sick and living in Tirin Kot area of the Uruzgan province since the fall of the Taliban regime," Hakimi was quoted as saying by the AIP.

Meanwhile, in a letter distributed in the southern border town of Spin Boldak after yesterday prayers, Mulla Omar predicted US forces would retreat from Iraq and Afghanistan in humiliation, a news report said today.

"Supreme power rests with God Almighty... Wars are fought not with weapons but with determination," he was quoted as saying.

He accused the United States of launching a "propaganda campaign" to overcome international resistance to its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Taliban leader is second on the United States' most wanted list after al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Nearly 20,000 mainly US troops are hunting down al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives after the radical Islamic regime was overthrown by the US-led coalition forces in the winter of 2001.

[Dog]

Mullah Omar's butt belongs to the US.....we will track his sorry *ss down and do the world a favor and rid it of this throw back to the middle ages.

End Rant.

[nuconvert]

WoW. Hakimi denies phone call.

Khamenei denies developing nuclear weapons.
Rafsanjani denies human rights abuses.
I'm stunned.

[AdmSmith]

My condolences:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-7-2004_pg1_4

Cop who caught Khalid Sheikh shot dead

* Rawalpindi inspector was on terrorists’ hit list: police

By Shahzad Malik

ISLAMABAD: A Punjab Police Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector, Raja Saqlain, and his nephew were shot dead by unidentified terrorists near Aamir Market in Rawalpindi on Saturday, police said.

Inspector Saqlain, SHO of Westridge Police Station in Rawalpindi, and Altaf were coming out of their house in Afshaan Colony, Rawalpindi, when two terrorists riding a motorcycle opened fire on them. They died in District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi.

The shooters fled. Mr Saqlain, who had arrested important members of terrorist organisations, has nabbed including Al Qaeda operational chief Khalid Sheikh Muhammad in 2003. According to eyewitnesses, four unidentified men roamed about in the area for about three hours before the shooting. Two were on motorcycles and the others were on foot, said the eyewitnesses.

City police placed barricades in several places in an attempt to catch the killers but to no avail.

Police sources said Mr Saqlain was on the hit lists of various terrorist organisations and had received several threatening calls. More than 10 police officials were usually deployed with him for security.

He had busted several terrorist outfits and investigated several cases involving terrorist and sectarian violence. Police officers said the SHO had clamped down on culprits involved in the murder of five Iranian cadets in Rawalpindi in 1997. The accused in that case were active members of the defunct religious organisation Sipah-e-Sahaba.

They said Mr Saqlain had also apprehended several terrorists involved in the diplomatic enclave church bombings in which six people, including three US diplomats, died. He also clamped down on those involved in the bombing of a hospital in Taxila and a missionary school in Murree. All the accused have been convicted and sentenced to death. Mr Saqlain brought acclaim to the Rawalpindi Police because of his performance, said Syed Murvat Ali Shah, district police officer of Rawalpindi, while talking to Daily Times. Police have registered the case against the unidentified terrorists and are investigating. The SHO’s funeral was held at Police Lines before his body was sent to his ancestral village for burial.

A number of important people including District Nazim Tariq Kiyani and senior police officials attended the funeral.

[AdmSmith]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-7-2004_pg1_1

Economic sanctions reimposed: Wanted tribesmen again refuse to surrender

* Security forces fire artillery into Wana mountains

* Tribal elders seek 10 more days as deadline expires

* Sultan says govt will take the action to logical end

WANA: Two tribesmen wanted for allegedly sheltering Al Qaeda suspects in South Waziristan have refused to surrender to government forces, a tribal elder said on Saturday.

Over a dozen elders met with the tribesmen on Friday at an undisclosed location near Wana, AP reported.

The tribesmen, Maulvi Abbas Khan and Muhammad Javed, denied harbouring terrorists and would not give themselves up, said Waris Khan Wazir, an elder at the meeting.

Ghafar Ali adds: Security forces fired artillery into the mountains in the extreme northwest of Wana on Saturday from a base in the Pathni area.

Witnesses told Daily Times on the phone from Wana that they heard artillery shots fired from the Army Colony and saw 20 to 25 fireballs hitting the mountains in the Jaali area. "We suspect that Jaali was targeted but there is no confirmation as the movement of people is restricted in the area after sunset," a witness said. No casualties were reported.

Sources said Maulvi Abbas assured the jirga led by Member of the National Assembly Maulana Abdul Malik on Saturday that he would not act in violation of the Shakai agreement. The meeting took place at an undisclosed location.

Eighty elders -anxious to avoid more military action- met the top local administrator in Wana to inform him of the outcome of the talks with the two tribesmen and ask what they should do next, according to AP.

Sources said the authorities told the jirga that a final decision would be made after they discussed the situation with the North West Frontier Province governor.

Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan declined to say what the authorities’ response would be, but said negotiations or force could be used to make the fugitives surrender and make suspected terrorists flee the area.

"We have the two options. We are determined to take this to its logical end," Maj Gen Sultan said. Local authorities have already demolished the homes of the two fugitives as punishment, and to put additional pressure on residents to cooperate with the government, it has stepped up economic restrictions, re-imposing a ban on the export of fruit and vegetables that had been lifted 10 days earlier. The tribal elders asked the political administration for 10 more days to resolve the surrender issue after the expiry of the deadline, a news channel reported on Saturday. Maulvi Abbas and Javed have demanded the government first meet the conditions of the Shakai agreement if it wants them to surrender, the report said. The movement of the military has intensified in Wana with the arrival of more reinforcements. Political Agent Asmatullah Gandapur came down hard on the tribal elders and said they did nothing to help convince the two wanted men to surrender, Online reported. The jirga rejected the accusation and said that they had done a lot in this regard. "We set up peace committees, demolished the houses of wanted tribesmen and expelled foreign militants," they said. Mr Gandapur told the tribal elders that a meeting would be held again today (Sunday).

[jeffers]

I agree, the Taliban would never use drones to buy sat phones and then speak in code to avoid NSA interference. Letters and audio tapes are much more effective when fighting a highly mobile enemy while on the run in rugged terrain.

In the grand traditions of Information Minister Zaeef and Baghdad Bob...

"The Americans are not within Baghdad, they are not even within one hundred miles of Baghdad, they are not even anywhere."

[jeffers]

No joy on Jaali, Pathni or any reasonable variant.

If the guns were firing at extreme range, I wouldn't want to be anywhere in the area. "Twentyfive fireballs" equals "fire for effect".

[AdmSmith]

Here are more terrible details of the murder of Inspector Raja Saqlain and his driver. It was carefully planned and rehearsed:

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en69410&F_catID=&f_type=source

RAWALPINDI: A police inspector, known for having detected several sectarian attacks, was gunned down along with his driver, by armed men riding a motorcycle in broad daylight in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Inspector Raja Saqlain, Station House Officer at the Westridge Police Station, Rawalpindi, was proceeding by his private car (IDG-5509) from his Afshan Colony residence to his office when he was sprayed with bullets.

Both Saqlain and his driver, Head Constable Raja Altaf, died on the spot. Altaf's skull was detached from his body due to several bullets that hit it.

Saqlain had been the recipient of two key awards, including the Quaid-e-Azam Police Award, for his outstanding performance in tracking down terrorists involved in sectarian activities.

Tariq Kiyani, District Nazim, DPO, Syed Moravet Ali Shah, ASP Cantt Syed Khurram Shah along with a heavy contingent of police reached the scene soon after the incident and passed on instructions for the arrest of the unidentified assailants. Temporary checkpoints were set up at various places and every outgoing vehicle was thoroughly checked.

According to details collected from various eyewitnesses, the motorcyclists opened fire at Saqlain when his car had slowed down due to a bumpy portion of the road in front of Al-Malik General Store in a local market, having nearly a dozen shops, just a furlong away from his home.

At this the driver sped up the car and tried to flee. However, a few yards away, in front of New Qamar Dry Cleaning, an associate of the armed men, disguised as a vendor of onions and potatoes placed on a pushcart, brought his wooden piece in the middle of the road to stop the vehicle and slipped away.

This provided an opportunity to the terrorists to finish their job with precision. SHO Saqlain and driver Altaf were killed on the spot. The motorcyclists disappeared from the scene.

Immediately after the incident, Pakistan army's trained dogs were brought there, but they failed to find any clue of the assailants. Police sealed the whole city to catch the culprits, but with no result.

Saqlain, who was also working with the terrorists detection squad, was credited with tracking down bloody cases involving killings of several Shiites at Shah Najaf, Taxila and Al-Hussain mosque, and terrorist attacks on churches in Murree and Islamabad. The inspector was receiving threats from sectarian terrorists for some time past.

As many as 18 shots were fired at Raja Saqlain sitting at the front seat of the car, out of which at least 13 bullets penetrated different parts of his body. Similarly, 11 bullets hit Head Constable Raja Altaf.

APP adds: The slain SHO and the Head Constable were laid to rest at their ancestral graveyards.

Raja Basharat, Punjab Law Minister, District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiyani, DIG Rawalpindi region, Iftikhar Ahmed, SSP Syed Moravet Shah and other police officials attended the Namaz-i-Janaza at the Police Lines in the afternoon.

[AdmSmith]

According to this article it was not 25 shells but 100:

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en69418&F_catID=&f_type=source

WANA: Suspected terrorists and armed forces exchanged fire as deadline for surrender of the wanted tribesmen expired on Saturday and tribal elders sought more time to handover the alleged abettors of foreigners hiding in South Waziristan Agency.

Reports reaching from Shakai say that militants attacked a security post of the forces in Mantoi area at around 5 pm. Army personnel retaliated the fire. Locals told reporters that the army also targeted militants' positions with heavy weapons from Zari Noor and Tiarza army camps. Around 100 shells were reportedly fired. The exchange of fire continued till filing of this report. Loss to life or property could not be ascertained as authorities have sealed off the area and journalists are not allowed to visit the troubled spots.

snip...

[AdmSmith]

This will speed up the fishing:

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en69452&F_catID=sd&f_type=source

US gives 2 more copters for border areas

ISLAMABAD – The United States Saturday provided two more helicopters to Pakistan for the surveillance of Pak-Afghan border as well as the acceleration of counter-terrorism efforts, official sources told The Nation.

"The US authorities today (Saturday) handed over two Bell 412 helicopters to Pakistan Army which would be used by the security forces for surveillance and counter-terrorism. The provision of these helicopters is a part of the US ongoing military assistance to Islamabad to make the war on terror more effective," the sources said.

The Bush administration had also provided some helicopters to Islamabad last month to increase the surveillance of Afghan border as Pakistan army was engaged in an offensive to root out suspected foreign terrorists from the troubled tribal region of South Waziristan.

The sources said provision of latest military equipment would be continued to Islamabad in the coming months as the US authorities were of the strong desire to increase the pace of anti-terror efforts which, they believed, would help bring normalcy to Afghanistan where suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban have increased their attacks against the allied forces in recent days.

Some reports appearing in the US media also suggested that the Bush administration had been increasingly pressurizing Pakistan to go for the "high value target" by the end of this current month. However, Islamabad has rejected these reports as baseless.

Nonetheless, the sources insisted that in coming days the allied states in war on terror, Washington, Islamabad and Kabul would speed up their efforts to do away with the remnants of al-Qaeda and Taliban on both sides of Pak-Afghan border as the Bush administration, with a declining popularity graph, strongly yearns for the "big catch", be it Osama, Zawahiri or Mulla Omar.

According to sources, the US Centcom chief General John Abizaid who recently visited Pakistan discussed with top Pakistani military authorities various aspects of war against terrorism in detail.

Pakistan's military officials also told the top US official about its requirements in terms of defence such as surveillance system to man the porous Afghan border and restrict the activities of the terrorists, they added.

[nuconvert]

"It was carefully planned "

Certainly was

[jeffers]

I'm hoping that the reason behind the loan or gift of these two helicopters is that they are fitted with sensors the Pakistani's don't have or are in short supply of.

Access to the various ridgelines and valleys necessary to finish the operation underway is probably best accomplished via helo to avoid being channelized along exposed subsidiary ridgelines and along valley floors.

If the Paks don't have the lift capacity and have to go in on the ground, their ability to accomplish their objectives would be negatively affected.

Regarding the assassination of the police officer who captured KSM, the Paks look stupid. They lost a valuable asset, with great experience in hunting the bad guys, and worse, this sends a clear message to other law enforcement officers that not only is it dangerous to take on Al Qaeda, but that they cannot depend on effective support from the Pak government.

Other reports note that this officer usually had a strong security contingent, where were they? The use of motorcycles and roadblocks are well documented AQ techniques, why was the officer's driver apparantly caught unaware and unable to deal with the ambush? We're talking about some sort of vegetable cart that one man dragged into the street, not something that should reasonably stop a heavy, possibly even armored police vehicle, unless the driver failed to accurately read the situation and deliberately stopped.

Regarding the use of artillery directed at Mantoi, it is unclear exactly where it was fired from, as I can't locate that town, but Mantoi is northwest of Torwam near the headwaters of one of the major blue features in the Shakai Valley. It would be near the maximum range of older artillery pieces based at Wana or Tiarza, but well within the range of larger and newer pieces, in terms of shell placement and accuracy.

Mantoi, along with several other villages of note or of possible note have been updated on the Shawal shaded relief map, located at:

http://host1.in-motion.net/~jefft/tech/Mapping/afghanistan/index.html

Finally, if the "chatter" coming out of the US government is in any way indicative of the chatter we're getting from AQ, we could be looking at a long cold winter. The maximum threat has always been multiple nuclear detonations, simultaneous in multiple cities. I have no information that that is a possible scenario in this case, but Tom Daschle was rather grave in his public assessment of the briefing he received in the last day or so. Not a good sign.

[Dog]

Jeffers I am looking at this map..HERE there is an area that caught my eye southwest of Wuzhgai and north of Mandata....that mountain range with the snow caps....are those lakes in in the valleys. The mountain range straddles the border....and looks like an area I would chose to hide in...if I were on the run.

[Cap Huff]

I think you have your directions twisted. Notice the directional arrow way on the left. That makes Mandata NW or so from Wuzhgai.

[jeffers]

It does look like snow, but actually those are clouds which were present in the overhead imagery before it was draped over the elevation model. As I understand it, we are strong in the Khost area, and maintain a presence up near the border along the Khost-Miram Shah road as well. Hard to say how strong or dominant, but many of the US border "incursions" reported by Pakistan have occurred in this area.

The area you refer to is the eastern arm of the Shawal area in Afghanistan, a rugged "no man's land" where AQ is rumored to hide. There are several other such areas, the Pakistani Shawal District, the border areas north and northeast of Khost near Parachinar and Jaji, even the mountains north east of Garduz and northwest of Khost. As I understand it, the Parachinar area has been reported to be quiet lately, with most of the attention being focused south west of Miram Shah and northwest of Wana.

The overlays originated as 30 meter per pixel imagery but have been degraded through rendering and compression. Lakes are expected to appear if larger than 100 meters in diameter, though just barely. You can figure that every watershed will have a drainage channel, either dry, intermittant, or fulltime, and these are often blocked by talus flow to form alpine lakes. Although Pakistan is known for its dry areas and has significant water shortages, the Shawal District is known for its thick forests, indicating adequate rainfall to maintain full time drainage systems.