Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
January 28, 2008 Militants are killed when security troops use attack helicopters in a northwestern area of the country where rebel activity has surged.
By Zulfiqar Ali and John M. Glionna, Special to The Times
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — Security forces Sunday used attack helicopters to retake a strategic road tunnel captured a day earlier by fighters in troubled northwest Pakistan, the government reported.
At least 24 militants were killed during the offensive to regain control of the Kohat Tunnel.
"Many have fled, leaving behind arms and ammunition," stated the government release.
The fighting outside the dusty outpost town of Dara Adam Khel comes amid an escalation of brazen militant attacks in recent weeks, signaling that emboldened insurgents are moving out of the tribal belt to target settled areas.
Sunday's battle took place 20 miles south of Peshawar, on the busy Indus Highway that links the North-West Frontier Province capital with the tribal region along the border with Afghanistan. Islamic fighters had blown up a bridge near the tunnel, choking off all traffic, witnesses said.
Hundreds of residents braved harsh winter conditions to seek shelter in Peshawar. Many complained that the response of President Pervez Musharraf's government to the insurgent attacks had come too late.
"People are angry," said Mahmood Shah, a former government security chief for the tribal region. "They say Musharraf has gone soft on the Islamic fighters because they keep him in power. They're ready to take up arms themselves to drive the militants out."
The clash erupted Friday when militants reportedly seized four truckloads of ammunition en route to government forces in South Waziristan, a tribal sanctuary of Taliban commander Baitullah Mahsud.
Officials blame Mahsud for the Dec. 27 assassination of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, though the investigation into her death is ongoing. He has since become a main target for government forces.
On Saturday, government troops used tribal elders as intermediaries to demand, unsuccessfully, that rebels return the stolen trucks or face continued assault.
Analysts say the renewed rebel attacks are part of a strategy to spread out security forces and keep pressure off Mahsud.
"The militants have become extremely active," said Talat Masood, a prominent political analyst and retired general. "Different groups have begun to synergize their activity, hitting several places at once to dilute army resources."
The Taliban, a strict Islamic movement driven from power in neighboring Afghanistan by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, has found sanctuary in Pakistan's rugged tribal regions. Supported by religious militants in Pakistan, Taliban fighters have clashed with Pakistani troops.The violence in North-West Frontier Province intensified in July after government troops stormed a religious complex known as the Red Mosque run by a militant cleric in the national capital, Islamabad. Since then, hundreds of people have been killed in suicide and other bomb attacks.
Masood said insurgents have sensed opportunity amid the bomb attacks nationwide, just as the government prepares for elections scheduled for next month. Also, Musharraf is out of the country on an eight-day trip to Europe.
"They see the government losing control, trying to be more involved in suppressing the bombers," he said. "They're not paying as much attention to them. And so they attack."
Militants surfaced in Dara Adam Khel a year ago and started a campaign of bombing girls schools, barber shops, music centers and security personnel. But the federal government has not been able to flush the fighters from their position, Shah said.
In recent weeks, militants became more brazen, he said.
"The were stopping people in the tunnel, warning them that they had to live up to Islamic code," Shah said. "They started blocking traffic, looking for government officials in cars. People were thinking, 'Where is the military? Why aren't they stopping this?' "
Militants this month attacked remote military forts in the troubled region near the Afghan border.
In one attack, about 300 special-forces troops gave up without a shot fired.
"This place has been so bad for so many days," Shah said. "People want to get out of here. They're really afraid."
Musharraf's inability to defeat the insurgents has damaged his reputation with American officials, who consider him a main ally in the U.S.-declared war on terror, Masood said.
"The United States and the rest of the world are looking on with great concern," he said. "So are the Pakistani people. How could Musharraf leave the country at a time like this? It just shows you can't run a country of 160 million people as a one-man show."
On Sunday, residents say, army attack helicopters pounded militants' positions in the hills surrounding the tunnel as the rebels camouflaged their vehicles with mud to avoid detection.
Officials said 45 insurgents died in the fighting Friday and Saturday. A Taliban source said Mufti Ilyas, a prominent rebel commander, was killed.
But locals say the military is exaggerating its body count.
"On the first day of the fighting, there might have been some casualties when gunship helicopters resorted to shelling on the hilltops occupied by militants, but on the ground I saw nothing of that sort," said Dara Adam Khel resident Arshad Khan.
Special correspondent Ali reported from Peshawar and Times staff writer Glionna from Islamabad.
January 28, 2008 Militants are killed when security troops use attack helicopters in a northwestern area of the country where rebel activity has surged.
By Zulfiqar Ali and John M. Glionna, Special to The Times
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — Security forces Sunday used attack helicopters to retake a strategic road tunnel captured a day earlier by fighters in troubled northwest Pakistan, the government reported.
At least 24 militants were killed during the offensive to regain control of the Kohat Tunnel.
"Many have fled, leaving behind arms and ammunition," stated the government release.
The fighting outside the dusty outpost town of Dara Adam Khel comes amid an escalation of brazen militant attacks in recent weeks, signaling that emboldened insurgents are moving out of the tribal belt to target settled areas.
Sunday's battle took place 20 miles south of Peshawar, on the busy Indus Highway that links the North-West Frontier Province capital with the tribal region along the border with Afghanistan. Islamic fighters had blown up a bridge near the tunnel, choking off all traffic, witnesses said.
Hundreds of residents braved harsh winter conditions to seek shelter in Peshawar. Many complained that the response of President Pervez Musharraf's government to the insurgent attacks had come too late.
"People are angry," said Mahmood Shah, a former government security chief for the tribal region. "They say Musharraf has gone soft on the Islamic fighters because they keep him in power. They're ready to take up arms themselves to drive the militants out."
The clash erupted Friday when militants reportedly seized four truckloads of ammunition en route to government forces in South Waziristan, a tribal sanctuary of Taliban commander Baitullah Mahsud.
Officials blame Mahsud for the Dec. 27 assassination of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, though the investigation into her death is ongoing. He has since become a main target for government forces.
On Saturday, government troops used tribal elders as intermediaries to demand, unsuccessfully, that rebels return the stolen trucks or face continued assault.
Analysts say the renewed rebel attacks are part of a strategy to spread out security forces and keep pressure off Mahsud.
"The militants have become extremely active," said Talat Masood, a prominent political analyst and retired general. "Different groups have begun to synergize their activity, hitting several places at once to dilute army resources."
The Taliban, a strict Islamic movement driven from power in neighboring Afghanistan by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, has found sanctuary in Pakistan's rugged tribal regions. Supported by religious militants in Pakistan, Taliban fighters have clashed with Pakistani troops.The violence in North-West Frontier Province intensified in July after government troops stormed a religious complex known as the Red Mosque run by a militant cleric in the national capital, Islamabad. Since then, hundreds of people have been killed in suicide and other bomb attacks.
Masood said insurgents have sensed opportunity amid the bomb attacks nationwide, just as the government prepares for elections scheduled for next month. Also, Musharraf is out of the country on an eight-day trip to Europe.
"They see the government losing control, trying to be more involved in suppressing the bombers," he said. "They're not paying as much attention to them. And so they attack."
Militants surfaced in Dara Adam Khel a year ago and started a campaign of bombing girls schools, barber shops, music centers and security personnel. But the federal government has not been able to flush the fighters from their position, Shah said.
In recent weeks, militants became more brazen, he said.
"The were stopping people in the tunnel, warning them that they had to live up to Islamic code," Shah said. "They started blocking traffic, looking for government officials in cars. People were thinking, 'Where is the military? Why aren't they stopping this?' "
Militants this month attacked remote military forts in the troubled region near the Afghan border.
In one attack, about 300 special-forces troops gave up without a shot fired.
"This place has been so bad for so many days," Shah said. "People want to get out of here. They're really afraid."
Musharraf's inability to defeat the insurgents has damaged his reputation with American officials, who consider him a main ally in the U.S.-declared war on terror, Masood said.
"The United States and the rest of the world are looking on with great concern," he said. "So are the Pakistani people. How could Musharraf leave the country at a time like this? It just shows you can't run a country of 160 million people as a one-man show."
On Sunday, residents say, army attack helicopters pounded militants' positions in the hills surrounding the tunnel as the rebels camouflaged their vehicles with mud to avoid detection.
Officials said 45 insurgents died in the fighting Friday and Saturday. A Taliban source said Mufti Ilyas, a prominent rebel commander, was killed.
But locals say the military is exaggerating its body count.
"On the first day of the fighting, there might have been some casualties when gunship helicopters resorted to shelling on the hilltops occupied by militants, but on the ground I saw nothing of that sort," said Dara Adam Khel resident Arshad Khan.
Special correspondent Ali reported from Peshawar and Times staff writer Glionna from Islamabad.