Security
Pakistan: Militants 'fight back' in northwest
Islamabad, 21 October (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Militant fighters in South Waziristan on Wednesday fought back against the Pakistani army's military offensive in the northwest tribal area and claimed to have shot down a military helicopter and destroyed eight tanks. The number of casualties is not known but is believed to be dozens, well placed militant sources told Adnkronos International (AKI) by phone.
The militant counter-attack came on the fifth day of the offensive, when Pakistan armed forces claimed to have entered the key town of Kotkai, hometown of the Pakistan Taliban's leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
Military bases in Razmak were said to have come under heavy attack on Wednesday, confirming that the army is also being hampered by lower level commanders of renowned anti-American warlords from the Ahmadzai tribes, who are actively supporting the militants
The Ramzak attacks belied claims by the military that the powerful Ahmadzai warlords Mullah Nazir from South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur from neighbouring North Waziristan were neutral and were giving safe passage to forces deployed in the offensive against the Mehsud tribe and the Pakistani Taliban.
If Nazir and Bahadur are no longer neutral in the conflict and are backing the Pakistani Taliban, this calls into question the military's entire plan. It may be unable to win the war South Wazirstan and could be forced to withdraw.
"The game should be quick like Kasparov chess...otherwise the bleeding will lead to a coma,” a senior intelligence official told AKI on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan armed forces earlier suffered a major setback in the region with the withdrawal of NATO forces from border posts in the southeastern Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Khost bordering Pakistan, before the current operation began.
The NATO withdrawal gave the militants greater room for manoeuver as the Pakistani army advances.
The US military commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal in early October ordered the pull-out of troops from isolated border posts after a deadly Taliban attack in eastern Nuristan province in which at least 9 American and dozens of Afghan soldiers were killed.
"The game should be quick like Kasparov chess...otherwise the bleeding will lead to a coma,” a senior intelligence official told AKI on condition of anonymity.
Around 25,000 Pakistani troops are involved in the military offensive against suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in South Waziristan. The militants are are blamed for two years of bloody attacks across Pakistan.
The army claims to have killed some 90 militants and to have lost 13 soldiers in the offensive so far.
The militant counter-attack came on the fifth day of the offensive, when Pakistan armed forces claimed to have entered the key town of Kotkai, hometown of the Pakistan Taliban's leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
Military bases in Razmak were said to have come under heavy attack on Wednesday, confirming that the army is also being hampered by lower level commanders of renowned anti-American warlords from the Ahmadzai tribes, who are actively supporting the militants
The Ramzak attacks belied claims by the military that the powerful Ahmadzai warlords Mullah Nazir from South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur from neighbouring North Waziristan were neutral and were giving safe passage to forces deployed in the offensive against the Mehsud tribe and the Pakistani Taliban.
If Nazir and Bahadur are no longer neutral in the conflict and are backing the Pakistani Taliban, this calls into question the military's entire plan. It may be unable to win the war South Wazirstan and could be forced to withdraw.
"The game should be quick like Kasparov chess...otherwise the bleeding will lead to a coma,” a senior intelligence official told AKI on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan armed forces earlier suffered a major setback in the region with the withdrawal of NATO forces from border posts in the southeastern Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Khost bordering Pakistan, before the current operation began.
The NATO withdrawal gave the militants greater room for manoeuver as the Pakistani army advances.
The US military commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal in early October ordered the pull-out of troops from isolated border posts after a deadly Taliban attack in eastern Nuristan province in which at least 9 American and dozens of Afghan soldiers were killed.
"The game should be quick like Kasparov chess...otherwise the bleeding will lead to a coma,” a senior intelligence official told AKI on condition of anonymity.
Around 25,000 Pakistani troops are involved in the military offensive against suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in South Waziristan. The militants are are blamed for two years of bloody attacks across Pakistan.
The army claims to have killed some 90 militants and to have lost 13 soldiers in the offensive so far.
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