Posted on 03/03/2010 3:14:27 AM PST by Clive
DAMADOLA, Pakistan -- Pakistan's army on Tuesday revealed a vast Taliban and al-Qaeda hideout dug into mountains near the Afghan border.
Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan and said by one general to comprise 156 caves developed over five to seven years.
Pakistan seized the complex in its latest offensive against terrorists in its semi-autonomous tribal belt, following U.S. pressure on the country to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked groups who attack Western troops in Afghanistan.
Major-General Tariq Khan told journalists on the visit that the warren of caves in the Damadola area had served as a terrorist headquarters until it was overrun by troops in an offensive launched in January.
"It was the main hub of militancy where al-Qaeda operatives had moved freely," he said.
Journalists saw bedding such as pillows and mattresses that suggested the inhabitants had camped out for significant periods.
"Al-Qaeda was there. They had occupied the ridges. There were 156 caves designed as a defensive complex," Maj.-Gen. Khan said.
It is believed the caves at one point sheltered Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command to Osama bin Laden, and Damadola was the scene of a 2006 U.S. drone strike that unsuccessfully targeted him.
Bobby Wilkes, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Central Asia, said the caves would have housed the terrorists permanently.
"They could winter there," he said. "They're huge complexes that are just dug into the mountains. There's nothing extravagant to them, they're just big open holes that would provide shelter from weather and from anybody attacking.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
Pakistan’s army yesterday revealed a vast Taliban and al-Qaeda hideout dug into
mountains near the Afghan border. One general said there were 156 caves developed
over five to seven years. Pakistan seized the complex in its latest offensive against terrorists in its semi-autonomous tribal belt. Adrees Latif/Reuters
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Maybe these guys should have been working “The Big Dig”.
Naw....they would have overrun their budget!!!
Those are 4-star hotels compared to VC tunnels. No snakes to greet you either.
Those caves would make great crypts for the talibunnies. How ‘bout some bunker busters to foreclose on that real estate and change the zoning from residential to burial?
Yeah just get a GPS fix and wait till they go back in there...let them feel all comfy for a spell then drop appropriate munitions en mass.
And yet for years we were told the Pakis couldn’t find bin Laden and Co. I smell a red herring. Where did the Tallies go? Or are we supposed to believe that emptying these caves eliminated them?
All they’ve done is moved somewhere else. And the Pakis know where. The Taliban won’t be finished until those caves are full to the ceilings with rotting muslime corpses.
A little welder's acetylene gas used in that fashion used to work wonders for evicting jackrabbits and rattlesnakes that had taken up residence overnight in our pipelines-under-construction across the NM desert...
Fascinating bump
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