i have posted this article in another thread but it would be better if i do it here as well.
May 13, 2009
Pakistan drops hundreds of commandos in Taleban's Swat strongholds
Zahid Hussain in Islamabad
Hundreds of Pakistani commandos were dropped by helicopter into a mountainous Taleban stronghold in the Swat district yesterday as the Army stepped up its campaign to root out the militants’ top commanders.
Members of the counter-insurgency force landed behind the front line in the Piochar region, about 40 miles from Mingora, the main city in the Swat Valley.
It was the first time that such forces had been involved in fighting since the military offensive began in the valley more than a week ago. “It signifies a major shift in the fighting,” Major-General Athar Abbas, the chief military spokesman, said.
Previous military action has tended to peter out without the capture or deaths of leading insurgents. Past stalemates brought criticism, particularly from the country’s American allies, that the Army was not pursuing the Taleban hard enough. This time, Pakistani leaders say, the Army will not rest until it has wiped out all militants.
The offensive has won praise even from the US. According to the Pakistani officials, there are about 5,000 Taleban militants fighting 15,000 regular government troops in what is being described as the biggest counter-insurgency operation that Pakistan has undertaken since 2001.
Piochar, 10,000ft (3,050m) above sea level, is regarded as the main base for the militants. “The troops have surrounded the terrorist camps and are closing in on the militants’ command centre,” General Abbas said. Among them, the general said, was Mullah Fazalullah, the leader of the Swat insurgency, and some of his top commanders. “Our main strategy is to block the free movement of the militants and eliminate the entire leadership.”
The army claims that 751 militants have been killed in Swat and neighbouring districts so far, with 29 soldiers dead. But the figures could not be verified independently.
Government forces have been using heavy artillery, helicopter gunships and fighter jets to pound Taleban positions but this has forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee the area.
The Army launched a full-scale assault on the Swat Valley and the surrounding districts last week after Taleban militants tried to extend their influence to areas only 65 miles from the capital, Islamabad, on the back of a peace deal that handed them control of the region.
Government ground and air forces are also operating in the neighbouring districts of Buner and Lower Dir, turning a large swath of the northwestern region into a battle zone.
Mullah Fazalullah, the long-haired, 34-year-old cleric also known as Mullah Radio for his fiery broadcasts from a pirate station, had declared holy war against the Pakistani Government, calling it un-Islamic.
His hardline brand of Sharia, briefly established in Swat, banned music and education for girls, and his followers destroyed hundreds of girls’ schools.
Although Swat does not border Afghanistan, Mullah Fazalullah has pledged allegiance to Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader of Afghanistan’s Taleban movement. Pakistan says that he has close links to al-Qaeda, and many foreign fighters are believed to have joined the battle for Swat.
The commandos sent to Piochar have been trained under a new programme for fighting in the region’s tough mountainous terrain. They have joined the Frontier Corps, a once neglected Interior Ministry force that now has millions of dollars in American funding and training with some British assistance.
It is believed to have been very effective in recent assaults on the Taleban in Buner and the tribal region of Bajaur. However, Government forces have yet to start the bloody business of “hardcore” urban warfare to retake towns seized by the militants.
“This is going to be a difficult battle because hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped inside \ and militants are using them as shields,” General Abbas said. In Mingora the Taleban are said to have taken up positions in residential areas and to have mined the main roads.
General Abbas indicated that the fighting could last for months, adding that the army was heading towards Mingora from two directions. Military spokesmen said yesterday that the number displaced in the region had risen to 1.3 million, including half a million who fled fighting in Bajaur last year. Aid workers have expressed concerns at the poor levels of water, food and medical supplies.
President Zardari called on the international community last night to help refugees driven from their homes by the fighting. “They are losing their crops, they’re losing their earnings, their livelihood and their homes, so we want the world to help us,” he said.
The UN’s World Food Programme said that it was doubling its shipments of emergency food to the new refugees but warned that more funds were needed. “We need the international donor community to quickly step forward with donations to avoid any interruptions in food distributions,” said Wolfgang Herbinger, WFP’s representative in Pakistan.
Most-wanted leaders
Shah Doran A firebrand orator, he would read out the names of people to be killed on Taleban-run FM radio. He has been blamed for murdering Pakistani soldiers
Muslim Khan The chief spokesman of the Taleban in Swat, returned to Pakistan in 2002 after spending four years in the US as a construction worker. He was blamed for ordering the deaths of people accused of being informants for the military
Bin Yamin One of the fiercest Taleban commanders, is blamed for attacks on Pakistan’s Army. His brother was also a militant commander
Pakistan drops hundreds of commandos in Taleban's Swat strongholds - Times Online
