Posted on 06/17/2004 11:16:30 PM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Geez, I'd rather have Dubya's job than Mushy's. Ugh, what a bunch of headaches (with fatal consequences)!
Sardar Ataullah Mengal: "In case of military operations, the Baloch people will fight a decisive battle this time... till the last drop of their blood."
Uhhh...Sardar, don't look know, but I think that is precisely what Mushi was suggesting!
--Boot Hill
know = now
SOMEONE CATCH OSAMA!!!!!!
I would love to.....hey Boot get me some maps....we are going duck huntin'...:-)
'Bout time. So...what's the smiley face for?
--Boot Hill
Obi ban Lanobi has to leave Balochistan soon:
http://www.dawn.com/2005/01/30/welcome.htm
Tribesmen bomb electricity towers in Baluchistan:
QUETTA, Jan 30: Tribesmen seeking regional autonomy set off bombs in Baluchistan on yesterday and today, destroying electricity towers but causing no casualties, officials said. Two bombs went off early today in the suburbs of Quetta but only shattered window panes in nearby buildings, police said. Yesterday three power towers were blown up in Nasirabad district suspending electricity supply to parts of the province, said Jibrail Khan, a power utility spokesman. But he said authorities had restored electricity to most of area by using an alternate distribution system while a special team had been called from Lahore to repair the damage.
The top local official of the district, Sayed Jamali, told Reuters that three towers were razed to the ground and a fourth partially damaged by the explosions. "The bombs were detonated at the base of the towers," he said by telephone from the town of Dera Murad Jamali. A person identifying himself as a member of the Baluch Liberation Army made a telephone call to the Quetta Press Club later to claim responsibility for all the bombings. (Reuters) (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Wow Obi Wan has a brother.
When he leaves he will be spotted and when he is spotted he is dotted.
Douglas will also talk about the hunt for ObL and Iran:
http://www.dawn.com/2005/01/31/welcome.htm
Pakistan, US to open security talks this week:
ISLAMABAD. Jan 31: Senior US defense officials will arrive in Islamabad this week for talks on military relations with Pakistan, foreign ministry said. US Under-Secretary for Defence Douglas Feith is arriving here on Wednesday at the head of a US defence delegation for the two-day meeting of the Pakistan-US Defence Consultative Group (DCG) which begins Thursday, foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told a weekly briefing.
The Pakistan delegation will be led by Defence Secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan. The DCG would "review bilateral military cooperation, US security assistance to Pakistan, counter-terrorism and long-term Pakistan-US strategic relations," Khan said. "The two sides will have a general exchange of views on the situation in South Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East." The meeting will address "all issues" relating to Pakistan-US defence cooperation, he said in response to a question on whether Pakistan would raise the issue of purchasing F-16 aircraft. Pakistan reportedly wants to buy up to 25 F-16 fighter jets, worth around 25 million dollars each, by mid-2005 to add another squadron of aircraft to the nuclear-armed nation's existing fleet. The US Senate last month approved a 388-million-dollar budget which includes military aid to Pakistan and its war-torn neighbour Afghanistan. The allocation is designed to bolster the capabilities of Pakistan's armed forces in hunting down suspected Al-Qaeda members along the rugged Afghan-Pakistan border. The approval of the military aid follows notification by US defense officials of a possible 1.3-billion-dollar arms package for Pakistan. The package includes eight P-3C Orion planes to beef up surveillance of its coastal and border regions in a bid to stop the movement of terrorists and drug smugglers, US defense officials have said. (AFP) (Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Mushy always seems to capture an Al Qaeda big shot when US company shows up.....wonder who is this months gift.
True, expect something in the news the coming days...
(Too many Khans to keep track of.)
Let's get a REAL BIG fish.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2005/February/subcontinent_February109.xml§ion=subcontinent
Pakistani tribesman linked to Al Qaeda to surrender next week
(AFP)
3 February 2005
WANA, Pakistan - A Pakistani tribal militant linked to a wanted former Guantanamo Bay inmate is to give himself up to authorities in a remote tribal district near the Afghan border, an official said Thursday.
Baitullah Mahsud and a number of his allies will surrender on February 7 under a peace deal between his clan and the government, local official Khan Bakhsh Khan told AFP in Wana, the main town in restive South Waziristan.
However the government has refused an amnesty for his close companion Abdullah Mahsud, a one-legged tribal rebel who masterminded the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers last year. One hostage died in a rescue operation.
Baitullah and his group allegedly sheltered members of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network who fled from Afghanistan after the US invaded in late 2001, a Pakistani security official told AFP.
They also battled Pakistani security forces last year during a search of the region.
Baitullah will surrender at Sararagha, 47 kilometres (29 miles) east of Wana and near an area where the Pakistani military fought pitched battles against the militants last year.
Under the deal, elders of the Mahsud tribe have assured the government that they will not shelter any militants and will cooperate with Pakistani troops.
In return Baitullah and his companions would be allowed to live freely provided they do not engage in terrorist activity, Khan said. He did not specify how many of Baitullah’s companions were included in the surrender offer.
The surrender will take place at a special ceremony to be attended by the commander of Pakistani troops in the region, Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain, Khan added.
During a series of military operations in South Waziristan last year Pakistan’s military killed more than 300 foreign and local militants but lost about 200 of its own soldiers.
Pakistani authorities are still hunting Abdullah Mahsud after he went to ground following the October abduction of the Chinese, whom he used to press for an end to the army operations in the region.
RE: Feith visit
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-03-voa61.cfm
Washington: Al-Qaida Still in Pakistan, More Work Needed
By VOA News
03 February 2005
A senior U.S. defense official says elements of al-Qaida still remain in Pakistan and unless more is done to stop the flow of recruits into militant groups the war on terror will never be won.
Visiting U.S. Undersecretary for Defense Douglas Feith told a news conference in Pakistan that disrupting and destroying terrorist networks is not enough.
He said the war on terror cannot be won without stopping the flow of people into the ranks of terrorist groups. He also said terrorists must be denied what they need to survive and operate.
Pakistan is a key U.S. ally and has handed over more than 500 militants to the United States. But hundreds of al-Qaida militants are still hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border region.
Some information for this story provided by Reuters.
Thanks for the ping....
Not from what the Pakis I know say. The militant Islamic element in Pakistan is around 15 percent of the population, at most. Most Pakis remember the last Islamist government (of Zia ul-Haq '78-'88) very unfavorably, and blame it directly for many of Pakistan's current problems and shortcomings. Mursharrif's approval ratings have shot up (over 80 percent some months ago, IIRC) primarily because of his finally turning against the Islamists. Miltary (and civilian) governments in the past have been justly faulted by many ordinary Pakistanis for playing "footsie" with the Islamists and giving them more legitimacy and influence than their numbers warrant.
Let's get a REAL BIG fish.
Isn't that the truth - Damn does it get frustrating each day that goes by with UBL, Al Zawahiri and Mullah Omar all still alive and free.
I really think that perhaps UBL, Zawahiri (and to even a larger extent Zarqawi in Iraq) have simply adjusted to how long our OODA loop is within military operations.
That they simply feel safe in having a measure of our Intel guys and how long that Intel to action cycle is within our ability to respond.
So even when we do have "good Intel" (especially with Zarqawi in Iraq) by the time the whole OODA process (loop) takes place these guys are long gone.
We have to shorten our decision / action loop to as short as possible.
Wouldn't it be a hoot if OBL gets nabbed as a result of a TV ad campaign?:
Pakistan TV appeals for Bin Laden info give 'useful' leads: US
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1535&u=/afp/20050218/wl_sthasia_afp/uspakistanattacksqaeda&printer=1
Fri Feb 18, 5:37 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Television, radio and newspaper ads run by the United States in Pakistan asking for leads to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and other Al-Qaeda kingpins have yielded useful information, a US official said.
The brief television spots flash up colour pictures of bin Laden and his 13 most wanted henchmen while a voiceover in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, offers rewards of up to 25 million dollars.
"During the last couple of days we got some 28 calls and a number of them gave useful information," US embassy spokesman Greggory Crouch told AFP on Friday. He declined to specify if the information was related to bin Laden.
The first ad on state-run Radio Pakistan aired on Wednesday while the television campaign started two weeks ago, Crouch said. The first newspaper advertisement ran on January 7 in a national Urdu-language daily.
Pakistan is a key ally in Washington's war on terror and has already captured around 600 Al-Qaeda suspects, most of whom have been handed over to the United States.
US officials believe bin Laden and other key militants have been hiding somewhere along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan (news - web sites) since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
The ads -- created by the US State Department's Rewards For Justice campaign -- will continue for about six weeks in the key Pakistani regional languages, but may be extended, Crouch said.
The advert gives a toll-free number and email and website addresses. It also offers to relocate anyone who provides crucial information in any third country, along with their family.
Since starting in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than 57 million dollars to 43 people who have provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism, according to the State Department's website.
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