Battle for Shawal Valley begins.

[Star Wars]

Any idea on the number of enemy combatants ? What is stopping them from simply disappearing into the civilian population instead of trying to hold ground against a professional army ?

 

[Kompromat]

Its not easy anymore, when they try to pose as civilians they will be asked to go through biometric IDs. Shawal is too important for them, they are going to throw every living suicide bomber they have.

Any idea on the number of enemy combatants ? What is stopping them from simply disappearing into the civilian population instead of trying to hold ground against a professional army ?

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Any idea on the number of enemy combatants ? What is stopping them from simply disappearing into the civilian population instead of trying to hold ground against a professional army ?

Shawal Valley and some adjoining pockets are the last stronghold of militants... All terrorists that could escape (From other areas - which have been cleared) have gathered there .. It presents the toughest terrain - mountains and densely forested ....

The civilians were evacuated by military... Processed and issued digital cards that served both as ID Aswell as ATM cards for money and ration (for IDP's)...

All escape routes have been choked .. So the militants could either die or surrender ... These are hardcore bastards... The ones who either couldn't escape into Afghanistan or the ones who were willing to stay and fight..

Shawal Valley;

Rest of the agencies have been cleared....

 

[Star Wars]

Its not easy anymore, when they try to pose as civilians they will be asked to go through biometric IDs. Shawal is too important for them, they are going to throw every living suicide bomber they have.

BTW ...Is the Afghan side of the border being guarded ?

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Don't you find odd PA avoided Datta Khel ? So the rumors of peace deal with local haqqani commander had some substance in it.

A simple Google search will reveal several articles about military operations in datta khel ..,

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

BTW ...Is the Afghan side of the border being guarded ?

No, the NDS and ANA are too busy blaming Pakistan and supporting and training TTP and Baloch terrorists to bother about protecting their own country, hence the spike in terrorism in Afghanistan since Zarb-e-Azb started - all the fleeing terrorists managed to find sanctuary in Afghanistan, both Haqqani and Afghan Taliban fighting in Afghanistan plus the TTP that the ANA and NDS are working with.

 

[Devil Soul]

Airstrikes destroy militants' training camp, ammunition dump in Shawal: ISPR
By Web Desk
Published: August 25, 2015

Army aviation helicopters destroyed a militants’ training camp and an ammunition dump in Shawal Valley of North Waziristan, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The gunship helicopters targeted the hideouts in Gurbaz. “There are reports of several terrorists being killed,” ISPR added.

The airstrike comes a day after asenior officer and a soldier of Pakistan Army were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in a thickly-forested strategic valley near the border with Afghanistan where hardcore militants have regrouped after fleeing a major military offensive in North Waziristan Agency.

Six terrorists were also killed in the firefight that took place in Shawal Valley where the military last week launched the much-awaited ground offensive following weeks of air raids against the bases of suspected militants. Nearly 100 suspected terrorists had been killed in the aerial strikes.


The densely forested ravines of Shawal and Datta Khel are popular smuggling routes between Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, and are infested with hideouts of militants used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.

Homegrown Taliban militants and their foreign cohorts used to control North Waziristan Agency, including Shawal Valley and Datta Khel, and runs along the Afghan border. But Pakistan Army wrenched back the control of most of the region in a major offensive, codenamed Zarb-e-Azb, launched in mid-June, last year.

Since May, the military has stepped up operations in Shawal, where Taliban militants are still holed up. With the launch of ground offensive in Shawal, Operation Zarb-e-Azb has entered the final stage.


Further, on Monday in a meeting with Air Chief Air Marshal Sohail Aman on Monday at the GHQ in Rawalpindi, army chief General Raheel Sharif vowed to eliminate terrorists even from the remotest pockets in North Waziristan at all costs. According to the ISPR, the army and air chiefs discussed progress on ongoing operation in Shawal Valley. Air Marshal Aman assured full support to the army in the ongoing offensive against terrorists.

 

[saiyan0321]

This will be a hard battle for our men. We must be vigilant, proactive and strong in our approach. They have gathered here and will try to defend this last strong hold to not lose footing in fata. Odcourse our biggest problem will also be reinforcements from afghanistan where some terrorists have escaped to. Their entire eastern side is a hub for terrorism so we can expect a fierce fight. After this the most difficult part of the operation starts. Bringing back the IDPs and protecting the border from militant movement while giving fata development in every sector.

 

[fatman17]

And counting. ....

 

[fatman17]

Shawal valley the black hole

 

[fatman17]

Taliban infrastructure from the air

 

[fatman17]

No more

 

[fatman17]

WARFARE

Pakistani Success Against Taliban May Be Elusive

By Usman Ansari


ISLAMABAD — As the military operation to clear the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and other terrorists from Pakistani soil enters what is predicted to be the final stage, experts warn the struggle could continue.

The Pakistan Air Force extensively bombed targets in the Shawal Valley, the last significant terrorist pocket in North Waziristan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan where many terrorists are believed to have fled as a result of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, as the mission is known as.

According to a statement by the military's Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) media branch, Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman met Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif to discuss the ongoing operation.

Sharif "vowed to eliminate terrorists even from the remotest pockets in the area at all cost" and was assured of "full support" by Aman, who has himself piloted F-16s during missions over the Shawal Valley.

The Army moved in last Thursday and encountered pockets of fierce resistance; Monday saw two casualties, Lt. Col. Faisal Malik and a sepoy/private whose full name was not given.

Brian Cloughley, author, analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, said the terrain is tough and favors the terrorists.

"Shawal is a dreadful place — for a soldier fighting through, that is. For a guerrilla/militant/terrorist it is ideal country, as there is plenty of cover and airstrikes are difficult because of the ground's folds and ridges. ... The area is sparsely populated and I think most people have fled to comparative safety already, but some of the compounds will remain occupied, and they can expect a hammering."

Air power were used extensively in support of ground troops, and soldiers of the Air Force's elite Special Service Wing were embedded with troops to designate targets and act as forward air controllers.

In this case, however, Kaiser Tufail, author analyst and former Air Force pilot, said they may not be needed.

"I think sending in [Special Service Group] personnel to do the lasing is not required, really, as the aircraft have high resolution sensors that can pick out the targets and lasing can be done autonomously," he said. "There is no adversary air power to be contested, so our aircraft have the freedom of loitering in the area while looking for targets."

He said he also believes that using special forces to independently hunt for targets may not be required.

"I suspect that sufficient real-time targeting information is available, so there is no point infiltrating special forces at great risk. Imagine what might happen if these infiltrators are apprehended by the terrorists. That will be a great blow to the morale," he said.

One major problem the military might face is that the terrorists could flee and escape.

"As pressure increases, and the [chief of Army staff] is determined that it will, then the militants will escape to Afghanistan and the Afghan Army will not be able to do anything at all to intercept them," said Cloughley.

"The US may be able to mount a few more drone strikes," but targeting will be difficult, he said. "They will probably target any groups of people carrying weapons, which of course will mean killing ordinary [if somewhat combative] tribesmen," he added.

Though the Shawal Valley has been the stronghold of Gul Bahadur, a warlord formerly considered pro-government, a June 6 drone strike believed carried out by the US is claimed to have killed nine men of the Haqqani Network.

Efforts to finally drive out the TTP, its allies and affiliates have been overshadowed by recent exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani forces along the Line of Control that divides the mountainous province of Kashmir between them, and the Working Boundary that forms the border just south in parts of Punjab province.

A suspected terrorist rocket attack from the Afghan side of the border killed four Pakistani soldiers and injured four others in the Akhandwala Pass on Monday. ISPR claimed the terrorists have been killed by counter fire.

Claude Rakisits, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, said this "will create further tension between Kabul and Islamabad following President [Mohammad Ashraf] Ghani's recent accusations that the Pakistan government was not doing enough to stop Afghan Taliban attacks in Afghanistan.

"Moreover, he accused Islamabad of allowing the Afghan Taliban to hold large meetings in Pakistan in the wake of the selection of Mullah Mansour as the new leader of the Taliban following the revelation that Mullah Omar had died two years ago," he added.

"As far as the Afghan government is concerned, these developments go against the spirit of the latest bilateral agreement to work together in fighting terrorists on both sides of the border."

He says despite the general success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb the TTP and other terrorists "are not yet a spent force. And this is the message that they want to convey to the Pakistan authorities and the public", he said.

Email: uansari@defensenews.com

 

[dilpakistani]

Any idea on the number of enemy combatants ? What is stopping them from simply disappearing into the civilian population instead of trying to hold ground against a professional army ?

We have registered and verified all IDP through national central database... besides it isn't safe for them anymore... In tribal culture most people know who is who... and IDPs are now identifying Talibs in their camps... In major cities they are trying to hide but their hideouts are getting massively busted for last 6 months
so thanks to ISI and army .... fight is their last option... and death is their last refuge...

 

[Irfan Baloch]

No, the NDS and ANA are too busy blaming Pakistan and supporting and training TTP and Baloch terrorists to bother about protecting their own country, hence the spike in terrorism in Afghanistan since Zarb-e-Azb started - all the fleeing terrorists managed to find sanctuary in Afghanistan, both Haqqani and Afghan Taliban fighting in Afghanistan plus the TTP that the ANA and NDS are working with.

the recent statement of peace by Brandagh has challenged millions of dollars and decades of investment in the Indian cultural centres along the Pak Afghan borders.
stepping up the discrete operations by SSG have also helped a lot. by discrete I mean where Pakistani media or state keeps quiet in contrast to the Myanmar operation by Indians that was equated (by Indian state & media) with the world conquest by Alexander.