Foreign fighters heavily involved in fighting. Asking for ceasefire

[waz]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 9 — In some of the heaviest fighting seen in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani fighter jets bombed villages for the third day today as the authorities battled pro-Taliban militants.
Soldiers, civilians and militants have all suffered casualties in the fighting in the region of North Waziristan, but the reported figures have so far been impossible to verify.

Pakistan’s chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, said that at least 45 Pakistani soldiers have been killed since the first ambush on Saturday, and a further 20 wounded. Another 50 soldiers, who went missing on Monday, were able to re-establish contact today, he said.

The state of the bodies of 31 soldiers that had been retrieved by local elders — some of the bodies were decapitated, some burned — had led the military to resort to aerial bombardment of the militants’ holdouts, according to a military official who asked not to be named.


Dozens of civilians have been killed and wounded in the bombing, in particular at a village, Hasu Khel, which is a known hub for foreign fighters. As villagers fled the area, some reached hospitals in the region where they told of bombing in at least six villages and of as many as 55 civilians killed, including women and children.

The deteriorating security situation in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where Al Qaeda and the Taliban’s influence are spreading, is posing a growing challenge for Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has been focusing his attention on re-election and now awaits Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible for the vote he won on Saturday. Pakistan has been raked with surging violence as the military battles militants sympathetic to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, with a rising number of deadly attacks on military targets. Peace accords negotiated by the government with the militants and local tribes in 2005 and 2006 have all but broken down.

Most of the latest fighting is taking place in villages around the town of Mirali, in North Waziristan, an area known for a strong presence of foreign fighters. Sher Khan, a councilman from North Waziristan who lives near Mirali, said he lost 12 members of his family when several bombs fell on his house. Eighteen bodies were reported by villagers to have been pulled from the rubble in Hasu Khel.


General Arshad said that at least 150 militants had been killed in the battles, which first erupted Saturday when an army truck was ambushed. After that initial attack, about 300 militants went on to ambush an army convoy that was traveling to the scene, killing 22 troops and wounding 11, The Associated Press reported.

The bodies of dozens of soldiers, many with their throats slit, have been recovered from deserted areas of the region, fleeing residents said, according to the A.P.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/as...akistan.html?hp

 

[waz]

Four days of bloody clashes in Pakistan
Airstrikes reportedly kill more than 50 militants, civilians on Tuesday
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:07 a.m. ET Oct. 9, 2007
MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan - Four days of fierce fighting between Islamic militants and security forces near the Afghan border has killed as many as 250 people in some of the deadliest clashes on Pakistani soil since it threw its support behind the U.S.-led war against terrorism in 2001, the army said Tuesday.

Airstrikes hit Epi village bazaar in North Waziristan tribal region on Tuesday afternoon, and more than 50 militants and civilians were killed and scores more were wounded, said resident Noor Hassan. "The bombing destroyed many shops and homes," Hassan said by telephone. "We are leaving."

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said that military aircraft struck "one or two places" near the town of Mir Ali and there were unconfirmed reports that about 50 militants were killed.

Soldiers' bodies recovered

The bodies of dozens of soldiers, many with their throats slit, have been recovered from deserted areas of North Waziristan, residents fleeing the clashes said. There were also reports of villagers killed in artillery and jet fighter strikes on militant targets.
The fighting in North Waziristan comes as Gen. Pervez Musharraf tries to secure another term as president, vowing to shore up Pakistan’s troubled effort against Islamic extremism.

But his troops are suffering mounting losses as they try to reassert authority in a swath of mountainous territory where warlords supportive of the Taliban and al-Qaida have seized control.

Battles in North Waziristan have killed 150 fighters and 45 soldiers since Saturday, an army statement said. About 12 to 15 troops are missing, it added. Another 50 militants and 20 soldiers had been wounded.

Security forces have rejected a cease-fire proposed by the militants and will “continue punitive action till complete peace is restored” in the area, it said.

Cease-fire deal

Pakistan struck a controversial cease-fire deal with militants in North Waziristan last year. U.S. officials criticized the pact, claiming it gave a safe haven for al-Qaida and provided a rear base for Taliban guerrillas fighting NATO troops in Afghanistan.

In July, Pakistan’s army redeployed troops at key checkpoints in the region, sparking fresh hostilities.

A local intelligence official said the latest fighting started Saturday when a roadside bombing killed one paramilitary soldier and wounded 12 traveling in a truck.

Troops ambush

When five vehicles of army troops went to the bomb site Sunday to retrieve the truck, about 300 militants ambushed them, killing 22 troops and wounding 11. Others were captured alive and could be still held by militants, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

One resident of Isu Khel village said that three soldiers came to his home asking for protection but he refused, fearing he might be targeted by militants. The three soldiers later escaped in a military truck, said the villager, speaking after fleeing to the region’s main town, Miran Shah.

Other residents of Isu Khel and nearby Melagan village said they had spotted bodies of the slain soldiers abandoned in deserted areas and the side of the road linking Mir Ali with Miran Shah.

Many of the victims had their throats slit, they said.

A woman, who fled to Miran Shah, said that she saw eight bodies of army soldiers who had been shot dead. The bodies were covered in dust and one of them was badly mutilated, she said.

The villagers who spoke to The Associated Press requested their names not be printed as they feared reprisals.

The intelligence official said Monday that a dozen civilians had died when a shell struck their home in Mir Ali. It was unclear who fired the shell. State-run Pakistan Television on Monday reported eight civilian deaths in mortar fire but did not say where in North Waziristan it happened.

Arshad said the security forces avoid collateral damage but conceded that some houses had been targeted that were being used for attacks on security forces.


© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: Four days of bloody clashes in Pakistan - Focus on Pakistan - MSNBC.com

 

[yarmook]

kill these fanatics, establish education and health centres for people introduce new education and tell them how to live like humans.

enough is enough!!!

atleast am sick and tired of there version of islam for treating women as animals, treating PA troops as enemies of islam and brainstorming teenagers for suicide missions naming smuggling as trade between islamic countries so on and so forth

Shovel there a r s e s simply. Kill them or ask them to let live!!!

dont you understand why muslims in minority in non muslim countries are successful why??????can any one here tell me why??????

BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE ESSENCE OF MODERN DAY WARFARE and that is not to fight with AK-47 but with your mind finance and economics.

Today all muslims living non muslims countries are being successful see Srilanka, See India, See America, Australia and even Africa, Muslim communities are contributing major part in developing societies and look at these b a s t a r d s what are they contributing to............

Shame on these b a stard zzz!!!

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

kill these fanatics, establish education and health centres for people introduce new education and tell them how to live like humans.

enough is enough!!!

atleast am sick and tired of there version of islam for treating women as animals, treating PA troops as enemies of islam and brainstorming teenagers for suicide missions naming smuggling as trade between islamic countries so on and so forth

Shovel there a r s e s simply. Kill them or ask them to let live!!!

dont you understand why muslims in minority in non muslim countries are successful why??????can any one here tell me why??????

BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE ESSENCE OF MODERN DAY WARFARE and that is not to fight with AK-47 but with your mind finance and economics.

Today all muslims living non muslims countries are being successful see Srilanka, See India, See America, Australia and even Africa, Muslim communities are contributing major part in developing societies and look at these b a s t a r d s what are they contributing to............

Shame on these b a stard zzz!!!

Yarmook,

No one can contest you feelings which is what any true patriot should have.

However, the ground realities cannot be wished away.

You are right in feeling that Moslems around the world are doing well. That is because there is less influences of the Mullahs and religion and more on personal expertise.

Musharraf has brought in the whiff of fresh air into Pakistan.

Bide your time and be with Musharraf and you will find that even the NWFP will become a much better place than what it is now!

Patience.

Rome was not built in a day!

 

[kidwaibhai]

i think that we should not resort to areil bombardment. this only further aleinates the local population. i was listening to the guy who has co authored the new american millirary counter insurgency manual and he said that air supremacy should only be used for logistical support for the troops fighting on the ground.

 

[Cheetah786]

i think that we should not resort to areil bombardment. this only further aleinates the local population. i was listening to the guy who has co authored the new american millirary counter insurgency manual and he said that air supremacy should only be used for logistical support for the troops fighting on the ground.

If the locals are willing to give anti pakistan elements place to live and do this .

One resident of Isu Khel village said that three soldiers came to his home asking for protection but he refused, fearing he might be targeted by militants. The three soldiers later escaped in a military truck, said the villager, speaking after fleeing to the region’s main town, Miran Shah.

guess what they should be bombed with there guest pigs.

Finally pak army is doing what should have been done from day one.Aeriel bombing take out the people that give them place to hide.after few of these so called civilians start to pay the price with there own life's.
they will get the message loud and clear don't hide the rodents in your house. if you tie down militarys hands with restriction and keep on taking the losses that will kill the moral of the troops.
And the idea isn't to get killed to save the civilians who don't get the message.the idea is to kill the enemy of the state and the people that give them protection.