Nek Mohammed [front] addresses a jirga (tribal meeting) in Wana
Background here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1137369/posts
Allahu Fubar!
Beautiful.
Surprise! al Jazeera writes about it:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3E237C3E-BBE8-4831-B04F-1A00355FE95D.htm
Pakistani forces have killed a renegade tribal leader allied with suspected al-Qaida fighters in an overnight mortar assault on a mud-brick fortress near the Afghan border.
Nek Muhammad, a former Taliban fighter who led fierce resistance to the Pakistan army's effort to flush out foreign fighters from the rugged tribal belt, died along with four others late on Thursday at the home of another tribal chief.
"We were tracking him down and he was killed last night by our hand," said Major General Shaukat Sultan. He was killed in the attack in Pir Bagh, near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
Muhammad's men are responsible for several deadly ambushes against the army and led a group of heavily armed holdouts during a March standoff that left more than 120 people dead.
He later agreed to cooperate with authorities, but reneged on promises to turn over foreign fighters, prompting the latest round of hostilities.
Possible hideout
The area is considered a possible hideout for al-Qaida leader Usama bin Laden, though there is no hard intelligence on his whereabouts.
Muhammad's death marks a major victory for the Pakistani army, which has been embarrassed by its forces' heavy losses in fighting with the armed men.
Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its "war on terror", has launched several operations in South Waziristan in the past year to flush out suspected al-Qaida fighters.
Hundreds of foreign fighters, including Arabs, Central Asians and Afghans, are still believed to be hiding there.
A major assault in South Waziristan ending early this week left at least 72 people dead, including 17 soldiers.
There must be a school somewhere that all these clowns go to. Nek Mohammad, Zaeef, even Baghdad Bob all had the same sneer as they lied through their teeth, as if to say, "Yeah, I'm lying, but you can't prove it."
Hope that missile hit old Nek right in the chops. Serves him right for agreeing to register the militants, and then denying his own quoted statements.
There may yet be some reaction, though. Another jihadi (PPP) bit the bullet in Karachi today, and his cronies walked out of the legislature to set up mass protests over it.
Mushie's sitting on a powder keg which in turn is sitting on thin ice. If things start to melt down over there, I hope some...qualified individuals...are still watching the nukes.
I also hope Pervez has his succession ducks lined up in neat and bulletproof rows. With over a million men under arms, plus every other person also armed but not officially, and the situation in Karachi and Kashmir and the Frontier region, this all could get real ugly, real fast.
HEY!
Remember this?
To: AdmSmith
Time for them to lob some missiles on Nek.
40 posted on 06/10/2004 2:43:11 PM PDT by nuconvert
You think they were lurking here?
Nek Mohammed [front] addresses a jirga (tribal meeting) in Wana
"...Missile kills Pakistan tribal head..."
- - -
Alternative titles:
The head is dead.
Nek gets necked.
Pak gets popped.
Profile of Nek Mohammed:
http://www.dawn.com/2004/06/18/latest.htm
Pakistani Security Forces Kill Alleged Al-Qaida FacilitatorSecurity forces in Pakistan have killed a rebel tribal leader in an operation against al-Qaida-linked terror suspects in a remote mountainous region. Pakistani officials say that nearly 70 suspected terrorists have been killed in the area in less than two weeks.
Officials and witnesses say Nek Mohammad was killed, along with four associates, in a late night rocket attack near the Afghan border.
The military described the 27-year-old Mr. Mohammad as "an al-Qaida facilitator." He had been staying at a friend's house in a village in the South Waziristan tribal region.
"We had the information about presence of Nek Mohammad and his associates in this particular area, which was targeted last night, and it is believed that he is amongst those five killed," explained Major-General Shaukat Sultan, chief spokesman for the Pakistan army.
Mr. Mohammad was allegedly sheltering and protecting dozens of suspected foreign al-Qaida militants in the area. The Pakistani military has lately intensified efforts to flush out the foreign forces and their local supporters hiding in the mountains along the border.
And more
Wanted Tribal Leader Killed in Pakistan
Friday June 18, 2004 3:16 PM
By AHSANULLAH WAZIR
Associated Press Writer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4218833,00.html
WANA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani forces killed a renegade tribal leader allied with suspected al-Qaida militants in a helicopter assault on a mud-brick fortress near the Afghan border, the army spokesman said Friday.
Nek Mohammed was tracked down by tracing an intercepted satellite phone call, a senior security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Six others were killed with Mohammed in the missile strike late Thursday.
Mohammed, a former Taliban fighter, led fierce resistance to the army's offensive to flush out foreign militants from the rugged tribal belt near the Afghan border where al-Qaida is believed to be active.
``We were tracking him down and he was killed last night by our hand,'' Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told The Associated Press in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
The helicopter fired a missile at Mohammed's hideout near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
The British Broadcasting Corp. has conducted at least two phone interviews with Mohammed in the past week, though it was not clear whether either of those calls was used to track him down.
In one of the interviews, Mohammed acknowledged foreigners were living in the tribal areas, but denied that they were terrorists.
``Those foreigners who are living here are not terrorists - rather they are mujahedeen (holy warriors) who took part in the Afghan jihad,'' he said, a reference to the U.S.-backed war in the 1980s to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.
Sultan would not confirm whether Mohammed was traced through a satellite phone call.
It was not clear if the United States was involved in the effort to track Mohammed. Pakistan is thought to lack the sophisticated satellite technology necessary for such phone intercepts and acknowledges that it sometimes receives ``technical help'' from the Americans.
Mohammed's death was a major victory for the Pakistani army, which has been embarrassed by heavy losses in fighting with the militants, who are thought to enjoy protection from some tribes along the border.
The United States military, pursuing al-Qaida on the Afghan side of the border, has been pressing hard for Islamabad to step up military activity in Waziristan. The area is considered a possible hideout for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, though there is no hard intelligence on his whereabouts.
``We are confident that this killing of Nek Mohammed will help the ongoing operation in South Waziristan, and counter the threat of terrorism in other parts of the country,'' Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat told lawmakers on Friday.
About 70 foreign militants have been killed in South Waziristan since June 9, when the army launched the latest offensive against them, he said, adding that the operation will continue until the last terror suspect is killed. Seventeen soldiers have also died.
Mohammed's men are responsible for several deadly ambushes against the army and led a group of heavily armed holdouts during a March standoff that left more than 120 people dead.
He later agreed to cooperate with authorities, but reneged on promises to turn over foreign fighters, prompting the latest round of hostilities.
Mohammed apparently was staying in the home of another tribal leader, Sher Zaman, when the army helicopters attacked late Thursday. Residents said two of Zaman's grown-up sons, his grandson and an associate of Mohammed also were killed.
The security official said two of those killed in the attack in the town of Pir Bagh were foreigners, but their identities were not known. They did not appear to be senior al-Qaida leaders.
Sultan said Pakistani forces were the ones who killed Mohammed. He said local reports that an unmanned U.S. aircraft may have fired the missile were ``absurd.''
Mohammed's body was taken to his village of Kaloosha, about six miles west of Wana, where thousands of people attended his funeral on Friday.
In the March assault, Pakistani troops were surprised on the first day, suffering heavy casualties and allowing hundreds of suspects to flee.
Government officials had said they believed a high-ranking al-Qaida operative - possibly bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahri - was surrounded in the March attack, but no senior leaders were found. An Uzbek militant, Tahir Yuldash, reportedly was wounded in the assault, but he got away.
Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, has launched several operations in South Waziristan in the past year to flush out suspected al-Qaida militants. Hundreds of foreign fighters - including Arabs, Central Asians and Afghans, are still believed to be hiding there.
----
Associated Press reporter Munir Ahmad contributed to this report from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
Musharif is doing a great job. The thing is, he and the Al Saud family are probably going to kill off a third of their population in order to get things back under control. The Jihadis have been spreading for poison for way too long. While Clinton diddled in the oval office, these guys were recruiting undisturbed and growing stronger by the day.
Death happens when they stick their Nek out.
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Another one bites the dust.
I wish that I had the music link to that great song!
I thought Gen. Shaukat was Klingon.
Oh. I thought it only killed his head...like from the nek up.
So what number am I for this pun...373..?.....
Osama's List. (Part I of II)
Breathing dusty air through purple lips and a matted grey beard, this is your chance to be Osama, live Osama, see the world through his eyes, get all the way inside his head.
Post the top five considerations that you, Osama Bin Laden, look for in a hideout, in order of priority, one being highest prioroty, five being still important, but so much as the others.
Without committing to a list, I'll prime the pump with a few ideas, in no particular order.
1. Proximity to the border, which is close together with "multiple exits", since before 9/11 it was highly unlikely that both the Pak and the Afghan government would come after him at the same time.
2. Proximity to a major city or town, though removed to the rural areas outside. Running a global organization via messengers is tough enough, but the longer the turn-around time is, measured in days walking, the slower AQ reacts to a dynamic enemy, the west.
3. Caves are nice, but only a minor consideration when you buy both gelignite and backhoes by the shipload.
4. Water is a must. Sheep and people need it every day and it is very very heavy to haul in quantity.
That ought to get the ball rolling, what else does Osama need? While you all are thinking and writing, I intend to search out the names of AQ's old training camps and hideouts from during the Afghan war, starting with Global Security's Afghan Militia facilities database, and look at them statistically, how far, average, from the border, how far to water, cities, what elevations he might have preferred in the past, (important because certain strata are more likely to house natural caves, that sort of thing), general tactical and strategic layout, whatever intel I can squeeze out of the data at hand.
Take your best shot at a list, and if you get a good idea after posting, feel free to add and change priorities. Just a list of priorities for now, ok? No sense putting the cart before the horse.
Have fun in hell, Nek.