Posted on 09/03/2008 5:05:33 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The US military, with the possible cooperation of the Afghan military, may have conducted a special operations air assault across the border into Taliban-controlled South Waziristan on Wednesday, according to unconfirmed reports from Pakistan.
The initial report from a Geo TV correspondent indicated the casualties were taken after US helicopters launched missiles at three homes in the Barmal area of Angorada late at night.
The report later changed when the correspondent claimed the helicopters landed and troops dismounted, who then began searching homes. One witness told The Associated Press that "American and Afghan soldiers starting firing" on one family outside of their home. Soldiers then entered the home and others, and killed 15 people, including women and children. The raid was reported to have occurred in the village of Musa Nikow.
The Pakistani military confirmed an attack occurred in the region, AP reported but did not provide details. Two anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials said the attack occurred and claimed 19 were killed. The US military in Afghanistan said its forces were not involved, and the US embassy in Pakistan did not comment.
A rare raid
The US military command in Afghanistan can plausibly deny its forces were involved in such a raid, as the operation have been carried out by Special Forces teams. Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to take down al Qaeda and the Taliban's command structure, does not report to the conventional command in Afghanistan.
A raid of this nature - the insertion of US special operations team inside Pakistani territory - is rare. This would be only the second reported raid of this nature since 2006. Nearly every other attack was conducted by unmanned US Predator aircraft or missile strikes from Afghanistan.
US special operation teams raided an al Qaeda camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan in March 2006. The camp was run by the Black Guard, the al Qaeda elite praetorian guard for Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and other senior al Qaeda leaders.
The air assault resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard. In addition to being the camp commander, Asad was a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander and associate of Shamil Basayev, the Chechen al Qaeda leader killed by Russian security forces in July 2006.
The insertion of US soldiers inside Pakistan is a risky venture. If this raid indeed occurred US intelligence must have believed that a senior-most al Qaeda or Taliban leader or leaders were present.
Increased activity
If confirmed the assault in South Waziristan would be the fourth cross-border attack since Aug. 20 and the 10th confirmed attack this year. Only 10 such strikes were recorded in 2006 and 2007 combined.
By NAHAL TOOSI,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, September 5ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -
Parliament condemned an American-led attack in Pakistani territory on Thurday after the government summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest the unusually bold raid in a troubled border region.
The same area was hit by a deadly missile strike Thursday, and a man who lives nearby said he later saw Taliban militants surround the site.
The criticism grew two days before Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be chosen as president in a vote by legislators. A spokesman said Zardari condemned Wednesday's pre-dawn assault in the South Waziristan tribal region. It killed at least 15 people, officials say, and was the first known foreign ground assault in Pakistan against a Taliban haven.
Yup I have my strings out to mine two....
The plot thickens:
Report: US airstrike kills four in North Waziristan
By Bill Roggio
September 4, 2008 12:57 PM
The US has conducted another airstrike inside Pakistani territory, according to reports from Pakistan. This is the fourth US cross-strike inside Pakistan in five days.
Four people were reported killed in an attack on a home in village of Char Khel in North Waziristan, anonymous intelligence officials told AFP. The owner of home is known to "host foreigners," a local told the news agency.
It is unclear if any senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders were killed in the attack.
The village of Char Khel lies about four miles from the Afghan border. The village is in territory run by the powerful Haqqani family.
The Haqqani family is closely allied with the Taliban and al Qaeda. The Haqqanis run a parallel government in North Waziristan and conduct military and suicide operations in eastern Afghanistan. Siraj Haqqani, the son of Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, has close ties to Osama bin Laden and is one of the most wanted terrorists in Afghanistan.
The US military targeted the Haqqani network several times this year. On March 12, the US military fired guided missiles from Afghanistan into a compound run by Siraj Haqqani, the wanted Taliban leader behind numerous attacks in Afghanistan. The attack is believed to have killed three senior Haqqani network commanders and "many" Chechen fighters.
Cross-border strikes increase during 2008
There have been 11 confirmed cross-border attacks by the US in Pakistan this year. Five safe houses have been hit in South Waziristan, four have been hit in South Waziristan, and two have been targeted in Bajaur this year. Only 10 such cross-border strikes were recorded in 2006 and 2007 combined.
Today's attack is the fifth cross-border strike since Aug. 20 and the fourth since Aug. 31. Two Canadians of Arab origin were killed in a strike in strike in South Waziristan last weekend.
US forces launched a controversial helicopter strike in South Waziristan in a village just one mile from the Afghan border just two days ago. A senior US military intelligence official and a US military officer, both who wished to remain anonymous, told The Long War Journal the strike involved a "handful" of US helicopters and special operations teams. The official and officer would not comment on the target of the raid.
The Pakistani government has condemned the attack as a violation of "territorial integrity." Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi described the attack as an "unforgivable incident," claiming only women and children were killed in the assault.
The US government and military have not commented on the attack.
Background on this year's attacks
Three senior al Qaeda operatives have been confirmed killed during this year's cross-border strikes in Pakistan.
Abu Khabab al Masri, al Qaeda's bomb expert and weapons of mass destruction chief, was killed South Waziristan on July 28. Abu Sulayman Jazairi, al Qaeda's external operations chief, was killed in Bajaur on May 14. Abu Laith al Libi, a senior commander in Afghanistan and the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, was killed in North Waziristan on Jan. 28.
While the strikes have disrupted al Qaeda's senior leadership, they have done little to disrupt the growth of al Qaeda and the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terrorist groups have established 157 training camps and more than 400 support locations in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal.
The Taliban has organized some of its fighters into military formations. Al Qaeda has reformed the notorious 055 Brigade, the Arab legion of al Qaeda fighters that was destroyed during the initial US assault in Afghanistan in late 2001. Additional al Qaeda brigades have been formed, intelligence officials informed The Long War Journal.
Foreign al Qaeda fighters have flocked to the Pakistani border regions. On July 23, Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani and his cabinet were told that more than 8,000 foreign fighters were operating in the tribal areas.
Yep. T/F Green, T/F Blue and T/F Black at work, making a house call.
Reeeeal interesting that they didn't just nail the place with a Mark 84 JDAM. Somebody inside was meant to be kept alive, either for questioning or so he can keep supplying us with actionable intel.
>>Pakistani military, ..., is staying in the barracks
For now, but for how long. I thought the coalition would last a little longer, but I guess the Nawaz Sharif, the Saudi poodle, obeyed his masters.
Wonder how deep the prevalent Salifism of the Deoband variety runs in the Pak Army.
The chaos helps the jihadis, not the US nor the civilians.
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