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Pakistan troops in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan
 [Al Arabiya Latest] Pakistani troops backed by fighter jets launched a major operation against the Taliban in South Waziristan on Saturday, sparking deadly clashes with heavily-armed rebels, officials said.The mountain district is part of a tribal belt on the Afghan border that U.S. officials call the most dangerous place in the world and is home to thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters branded a major threat to the West. Heavy clashes erupted on Saturday as soldiers backed by aircraft and artillery encountered resistance, and four soldiers were killed and 12 wounded, the military said. There was no information about militant casualties. "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," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. Civilians fleeing Around 90,000 civilians have fled South Waziristan, normally home to 600,000 people, since August and officials said the number could more than double. "More people are coming out," said Colonel Waseem Shahid, from an army support group. "We estimate that around 100,000 more people can be displaced, say a total of around 150,000 to 200,000 people can be displaced," he said. Long-distance artillery pounded rebel positions as the vanguard of troops engaged in heavy clashes in mountainous forest at Sharwangi and Spinkai Raghzai, a local administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Four soldiers were killed during clashes, the military said. Troops thrust north towards the Mehsud stronghold of Makeen, east towards Kotkai and Spinkai Raghzai, and west towards Kunigaram, Saam and Baddar, officials said. Pakistan has mounted numerous offensives against militants in its northwest since 2002, meeting with limited success and costing the lives of 2,000 troops. "The operation will continue until the objectives are achieved. The army has blocked all entry and exit points of Waziristan," Abbas was quoted as saying by television channels that outlined an operation of six to eight weeks. Military officials said the offensive would be swift, with the goal of finishing before the onset of harsh winter snows. Weakness of forces There are 10,000 to 12,000 fighters from the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) movement in South Waziristan and up to 25,000 across Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, which has a history of fierce independence, experts estimate. Pakistan's military has said Central Asian militants, mainly Uzbeks, as well as Arabs, north Africans and even some Europeans are also in the area. The frequency and sophistication of a string of attacks since Oct. 5 has underscored the weakness of government security forces who many say lack necessary military hardware and counter-insurgency expertise. One U.S. official said the United States was "doing everything in our power" to help Pakistan improve its counter-insurgency capabilities with military assistance to the nuclear-armed Muslim country "on a war-plan footing". Hundreds of night-vision goggles, radios and thousands of protective vests were provided in July alone, with overall military assistance amounting to $6.85 billion since 2001, the embassy official said. Posted by: Fred 2009-10-19 |
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