The army on Saturday launched a three-pronged attack against Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan amid reports of roadside bombings and stiff resistance that left at least two soldiers dead and eight wounded.
Thousands of troops, backed by jet fighters and helicopter gunships, started advancing on the Mehsud tribe’s heartland at Makin from three points at first light.
Thousands of troops, backed by jet fighters and helicopter gunships, started advancing on the Mehsud tribe’s heartland at Makin from three points at first light.
Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, the chief of the Inter-Services Public Relations, told journalists: “The army has launched an operation after receiving orders from the government. The operation was launched early in the morning. Both air and ground troops are taking part.” The operation, code-named Rah-i-Nijat (path to deliverance), seems to be almost a replay of the one last year against Baitullah Mehsud. The action was called off all of a sudden, perplexing some observers as they felt the forces were close to achieving the objective.
This had drawn criticism from independent observers and contributed to fresh allegations that the militants were the military’s surrogates and it would never take decisive action against them. Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a drone attack on Aug 5.
The operation, believed to be the most difficult of all against militants in a treacherous terrain in the tribal regions, followed a spate of terrorist attacks, including the one at the General Headquarters, that have left over 150 people dead.
Military and intelligence officials blame militants based in the Mehsud redoubt of South Waziristan for eighty per cent of terrorist attacks in the country. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani briefed the political leadership on Friday on the “imperative” of a military operation against the Mehsuds. The military has been bracing for an operation for the past three months, putting in place 28,000 troops and enforcing a crippling blockade that forced thousands of people to flee their homes for safety.
This had drawn criticism from independent observers and contributed to fresh allegations that the militants were the military’s surrogates and it would never take decisive action against them. Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a drone attack on Aug 5.
The operation, believed to be the most difficult of all against militants in a treacherous terrain in the tribal regions, followed a spate of terrorist attacks, including the one at the General Headquarters, that have left over 150 people dead.
Military and intelligence officials blame militants based in the Mehsud redoubt of South Waziristan for eighty per cent of terrorist attacks in the country. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani briefed the political leadership on Friday on the “imperative” of a military operation against the Mehsuds. The military has been bracing for an operation for the past three months, putting in place 28,000 troops and enforcing a crippling blockade that forced thousands of people to flee their homes for safety.
Military officials said they had undertaken extensive studies to make the operation a success. The three previous operations in South Waziristan, — in 2004, 2005 and early last year — all ended up with the government suing for peace. Soon after daybreak on Saturday, forces stationed at Shakai and Tyarza moved towards Badar and Kanigoram from the south, converging on Kalkai from Jandola and Spinkay Raghzai from the east.
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