2 Pakistani Soldiers killed in S.Waziristan bombing.

[Assault Rifle]

Bomb kills two soldiers in South Waziristan.
AFP

The explosion took place in a village in the South Waziristan tribal region near the Pak-Afghan border. — File Photo
Published 2013-10-30 11:21:39

ISLAMABAD: A bomb explosion on Wednesday killed two Pakistani soldiers and wounded four others in village situated in South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The explosion took place in a village in the South Waziristan tribal region.

A senior security official told AFP that two soldiers were killed and four others were injured when an improvised explosive device planted by terrorists exploded on roadside in a village.

Homemade bombs are a major weapon for militants who attack government forces in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal districts bordering Afghanistan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast.

South Waziristan is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal areas.

http://dawn.com/news/1052901/bomb-kills-two-soldiers-in-south-waziristan

 

[haviZsultan]

I have repeatedly stated that we will have to go to South Waziristan sometime and clear the mess up. Operation Rah E Nijat did not give us the leverage we needed against the militants. Instead of the 6 tehsils that were to be cleared only 1, Sararogha was cleared of militants.

We need to bring the Taliban down. See how they flout agreements. We were supposed to be talking peace to these barbarians weren't we. Why are those Talibani swines still attacking Pakistani civilians and soldiers now?

I think military operations may be the only way to deal with the militants once and for all. The operation should be modelled on operation Rah E Rast with an added plan to eliminate Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud in a daring raid. We need to eliminate the Taliban. Its been a long time since we have let the militants do whatever they want and they are growing bolder. We need to stop them. Even yesterday a major terror bid was foiled when police recovered explosives in Peshawar. It means the militants are not stopping the killings despite everyone vouching for peace with them.

 

[Ayush]

RIP

 

[CENTCOM]

Our deepest heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and families of these soldiers. We take our hat off to these brave soldiers who lost their lives while serving their country. These brave soldiers continue to sacrifice their lives for the sake of restoring peace in the region. We commend their bravery and admire their sacrifices. The terrorists are working on both sides of the border to disrupt our peace objectives. We encourage the regional partners to work together to negate the threat of violence. It only makes sense for us to combine our strength against our common enemies. We wish to see peace prevail throughout the region, and certainly hope to remain unified in regards to our shared objectives.

Ali Khan
DET, United States Central Command

 

[Assault Rifle]

Death toll at 5 acc. to BBC Urdu & Geo News:

BBCURDU ‏@BBC_Urdu_News 16m
Janobi Waziristan: Barodi Surang Kay Dhamakay Main Zakhmi Mazeed 3 Ehalkar Dam Toor Gaye,Janbahaq Ehalkaron Ki Tadad 5 Ho Gai, Askari Zarai.

#GeoNews ‏@GeoUrdu_pak 14m
Janobi Waziristan: Barodi Surang Kay Dhamakay Main Zakhmi Mazeed 3 Ehalkar Dam Toor GayeJanbahaq Ehalkaron Ki Tadad 5 Ho Gai Askari Zarai.
Details

 

[OrionHunter]

I think military operations may be the only way to deal with the militants once and for all. The operation should be modelled on operation Rah E Rast with an added plan to eliminate Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud in a daring raid. We need to eliminate the Taliban. Its been a long time since we have let the militants do whatever they want and they are growing bolder. We need to stop them.

That's easier said than done. Putting down an insurgency could take decades. It's not like conventional warfare where you know where the targets and objectives are. COIN ops are extremely difficult to execute.

The combat ratio needed is 17:1 at the minimum, meaning 17 combatant soldiers for every militant. Now let's assume the TTP has 5000 militants in its ranks. That means a minimum of 85,000 fully equipped combatants would be needed.

Then there's the problem of secure logistics required to feed the 85,000 troops fighting in inhospitable areas with little or no lines of communication, which needless to say will be a nightmare.

For example the basic necessity - water. Let's say it's rationed to 5 litres a day per soldier. That means 425,000 litres per day or 42 water bowsers of 10,000 litre capacity or 84 trucks with 5000 litre capacity plying daily. Considering the inhospitable terrain, are there enough roads to carry this load to forward troops? If not the alternative is mules. One mule carries 54 kg. You can calculate how many mules per day would be required to carry water to at least 20,000 troops who would be in the forward battle zone! Now that's just water. You need to factor in re-supply of rations, ammo, weapons, equipment and so on.

The supply chain would be mind boggling and securing it from militant attacks would be a nightmare!

So, as I said, fighting an insurgency is no child's play. And I forgot to mention the need to hold areas once cleared of insurgents, otherwise they'll be back to fight another day. Do you have adequate number of troops for this? Simple answer, NO! Unless of course you re-deploy troops from your Eastern borders with India and reassign them to the West. But that's not going to happen any time soon.

 

[meena24]

Pakistan needs to Get advanced MRAP Vehicles from United States which offer protection Against IED Attacks.

 

[EasyNow]

Pakistan needs its own drones - or at least work with US to let PA have full access to their drones.

It's the only proven effective way to fight an insurgency with minimum casualties.

 

[meena24]

That's easier said than done. Putting down an insurgency could take decades. It's not like conventional warfare where you know where the targets and objectives are. COIN ops are extremely difficult to execute.

The combat ratio needed is 17:1 at the minimum, meaning 17 combatant soldiers for every militant. Now let's assume the TTP has 5000 militants in its ranks. That means a minimum of 85,000 fully equipped combatants would be needed.

Then there's the problem of secure logistics required to feed the 85,000 troops fighting in inhospitable areas with little or no lines of communication, which needless to say will be a nightmare.

For example the basic necessity - water. Let's say it's rationed to 5 litres a day per soldier. That means 425,000 litres per day or 42 water bowsers of 10,000 litre capacity or 84 trucks with 5000 litre capacity plying daily. Considering the inhospitable terrain, are there enough roads to carry this load to forward troops? If not the alternative is mules. One mule carries 54 kg. You can calculate how many mules per day would be required to carry water to at least 20,000 troops who would be in the forward battle zone! Now that's just water. You need to factor in re-supply of rations, ammo, weapons, equipment and so on.

The supply chain would be mind boggling and securing it from militant attacks would be a nightmare!

So, as I said, fighting an insurgency is no child's play. And I forgot to mention the need to hold areas once cleared of insurgents, otherwise they'll be back to fight another day. Do you have adequate number of troops for this? Simple answer, NO! Unless of course you re-deploy troops from your Eastern borders with India and reassign them to the West. But that's not going to happen any time soon.

Pakistan Lacks the resources to fight a Continuous COIN Campaign unleashed by the TTP. Regarding the logistics the roads are a great concern. Vehicles will be more vulnerable to attacks by TTP. Providing Security to those vehicles are consumes a money and resources. As of today most of the logistics are supplied via helicopters both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while doing so, some times they come under small arms fire by Taliban.

Alternatives Available to Pakistan.

a) More helicopters like Chinook or MI-17, Since Pakistan army pilots are familiar with MI-17, they should get more number of MI-17 Helicopters.

b) More Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected vehicles. If you look at any Insurgent attacks in south east asia (barring Srilanka) IED's would have been used. Pakistan can get it from US as they are leaving Afghanistan.

c) Better weapons (Bullet proof vests, sensors and some mini UAV's - I hope in this area US has already provided assistance.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Innalilahey wainna illheyrajeoon... Prayers for you n your families brothers!

 

[A.Rafay]

RIP to the brave soldiers!

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Pakistan Lacks the resources to fight a Continuous COIN Campaign unleashed by the TTP. Regarding the logistics the roads are a great concern. Vehicles will be more vulnerable to attacks by TTP. Providing Security to those vehicles are consumes a money and resources. As of today most of the logistics are supplied via helicopters both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while doing so, some times they come under small arms fire by Taliban.

everything costs money!! COIN or conventional are both not cheap or always predictable

as for resources -- we have the man-power and we have been learning on the job how to deal with the menace. We've been at it since 2008. We won in Swat and on the broader scheme of things we WILL win.

It's all contingent on how things pan out politically inside Pakistan but more so how things pan out in Afghanistan -- once NATOs leave

Alternatives Available to Pakistan.

a) More helicopters like Chinook or MI-17, Since Pakistan army pilots are familiar with MI-17, they should get more number of MI-17 Helicopters.

we are familiar with the platform (mi17)....we received 4 new ones about 3 or 4 years back

cargo/transport choppers like Chinooks are good to have; but remember that they are sitting (flying?) ducks if the enemy is lucky enough to hit one with their crude RPG7s

our Cobras were effective during Swat (rah e rast op)

b) More Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected vehicles. If you look at any Insurgent attacks in south east asia (barring Srilanka) IED's would have been used. Pakistan can get it from US as they are leaving Afghanistan.

we have two options; lobby to get second-hand ones from the americans who are withdrawing anyways -- or for HIT to invest in better armor for vehicles like Mohafiz for army & para-mil

c) Better weapons (Bullet proof vests, sensors and some mini UAV's - I hope in this area US has already provided assistance.

we have improved a lot in demolitions/ied detection but still a wayz to go....as for UAVs, we can/should use our own

they would be invaluable in this kind of warfare and are less precious than the lives of soldiers/pilots

 

[American Pakistani]

Rest In Peace to these brave Martyrs.

Death to terrorists.

 

[Kompromat]

• Innalilahey wainna illhey rajeoon.

 

[Aamna14]

Inna lilahey wa Inna illaihey rajeoon. Proud of our brave soldiers may Allah bless their souls and ease the pain of their parents and families. Ameen