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| Taliban offer stiff resistance in Kotkai |
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Four soldiers, 12 insurgents killed in SWA operation
By Irfan Burki & Daud Khattak
WANA/PESHAWAR: Fierce fighting was reported from the Kotkai area where the Taliban were offering stiff resistance to the advancing troops on the fourth day of the operation Rah-e-Nijat on Tuesday.
Sources said seven soldiers lost their lives and as many got injured in an attack on their security post by militants in Kotkai area on the Jandola-Srarogha direction. Both sides are trying to get control of the area, which is the village of militant commander Hakimullah Mahsud and his key lieutenant Qari Hussain.
Sources said 20 militants were killed in fighting in Kotkai. However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the killing of four soldiers and a dozen militants in the fighting.
He political administration officials said the soldiers died when their post established in the Ghundai area near Kotkai came under attack from militants. ìSporadic fighting is still going on in the area and it is expected that the troops will push back the militants tonight,î said an official.
Kotkai village has a population of 5,000 to 6,000 and majority of the people had fled the area after the launch of the operation. Locals said only militants were on the ground in the village. They said army controlover Kotkai would demoralise the militants as it is the village of their leader Hakimullah Mahsud.
The political administration officials also informed about the troopsí advance towards Mandana, Sheikh Ziarat and Murghi Band areas from Spinkai Raghzai side. They said the troops had secured the area up to Murghi Band.
Army soldiers also advanced towards Srarogha after circling Kotkai village and clashes with militants continued all the day on Tuesday. Clashes were also reported in Sherwangai during their advance from Wana towards Shakai.
Sources said after clearing Khaisoor, the troops were now moving towards the villages of Chalweshtai, Kaniguram, Sam and Ladha. They said the forces would establish their positions in a plain area on top of a hill in Asman Manza, Kaniguram.
In their advance from Razmak side, the troops have cleared the area of Nawazkot and on way to reach Makeen. Sources said most of advance had been made from Wana side in the past four days of the operation.
The Sherwangai area is located some 25 kilometres from Razmak on Wana-Razmak road. The village of Chalweshtai is located at a three kilometres distance from Sherwangai while the villages of Kaniguram, Sam and Asman Manza are at seven-kilometre distance from Chalweshtai. Kaniguram is at seven kilometres from Ladha while the distance between Ladha and Makeen is also seven kilometres. The town of Razmak is located at five kilometres distance from Makeen.
Locals and political administration officials said the troops were shelling Mahsud areas with artillery guns from Razmak, Wana, Jandola, Malzai and Sarwakai areas. Spokesman for the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Azam Tariq confirmed fierce fighting in Kotkai village and the nearby areas. He said the militants were offering tough resistance to the troops and had inflicted heavy casualties on them.
Pointing an accusing finger at the local media, the Taliban spokesman complained it was giving the government version of the events. He claimed nearly 40 soldiers were killed in an attack at a security post in Kotkai area. The ISPR confirmed the killing of only four soldiers.
The TTP spokesman also warned pro-government elders from Mahsud tribe against support to the government. He said they would take action if the elders did not quit their pro-government stance.
Meanwhile, the arrival of displaced people continued in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and the neighbouring North Waziristan. Although some displaced families are living with relatives or rented houses, many are lying under the open sky as the government or relief agencies have yet to provide them the necessary assistance.
The population that arrived here said hundreds of families have been stranded in the conflict-zone as all roads are closed at different locations due to the fighting.
AP adds from Dera Ismail Khan: The Pakistan Army has struck deals to keep two powerful tribal chiefs — Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur — from joining the battle against the government, officials told The Associated Press on Monday.
Under the terms agreed to about three weeks ago, Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur will stay out of the current fight in parts of South Waziristan. They will also allow the army to move through their own lands unimpeded, giving the military additional fronts from which to attack the Taliban.
In exchange, the army will ease patrols and bombings in the lands controlled by the two warlords, two Pakistani intelligence officials based in the region told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because revealing their identities would compromise their work.
The United States has responded cautiously to the initial Pakistani strategy, publicly welcoming the offensive but saying little about the specific choice of targets.
ìWe have a shared goal here, and the shared goal is fighting violent extremism,î State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. Kelly said he was unaware of an agreement to keep some militant factions out of the fight for now, but other US officials said the strategy is not surprising or necessarily worrisome. Because the faction loyal to Taliban leader Hakimullah Mahsud poses the most direct threat to the Pakistani government and army, it is the logical first target, US officials briefed on the offensive said.
While a broad offensive that takes on all comers at once might be ideal, it is not practical, US military officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the United States has no direct role in the operations of another country.
Pakistani security analysts said the army had little choice but to cut deals with rival Taliban factions to have a chance of success. The campaign will likely be far tougher than in the Swat Valley.
ìIf the army opens up multiple fronts, they will be deluged,î said Khalid Aziz, a former top administrator in the northwest.ìItís like having a patient suffering from multiple diseases — you tend to treat those that are life-threatening first,î he observed.
Hafiz Gul Bahadurís area of influence lies in North Waziristan just across the border from South Waziristan. He and his followers come from a different tribe than the Mahsuds, who make up the majority of the Pakistani Taliban. Mulla Nazir controls territory in South Waziristan.
Mulla Nazir is an old-time opponent of the Mahsud tribe, while Hafiz Gul Bahadur is reportedly angry over the appointment of Hakimullah as Taliban chief. Being able to move unimpeded through their territory gives the army a massive boost in its current campaign.
Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said there was no agreement with the two men, but ìthere is an understanding with them that they will not interfere in this war.î He said the army ìhad to talk to the devilî to isolate its main target. Asked whether the agreements were holding, he said: ìObviously, they are not coming to rescue or to helpî the Taliban.
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