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Pakistan reveals the Taliban's secret underground cave network
Pakistan's army on Tuesday revealed a vast Taliban and al-Qaeda hideout dug into mountains near the Afghan border.Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan and said by one general to comprise 156 caves developed over five to seven years. Pakistan seized the complex in its latest offensive against terrorists in its semi-autonomous tribal belt, following U.S. pressure on the country to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked groups who attack Western troops in Afghanistan. Major-General Tariq Khan told journalists on the visit that the warren of caves in the Damadola area had served as a terrorist headquarters until it was overrun by troops in an offensive launched in January. "It was the main hub of militancy where al-Qaeda operatives had moved freely," he said. Journalists saw bedding such as pillows and mattresses that suggested the inhabitants had camped out for significant periods. "Al-Qaeda was there. They had occupied the ridges. There were 156 caves designed as a defensive complex," Maj.-Gen. Khan said. It is believed the caves at one point sheltered Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command to Osama bin Laden, and Damadola was the scene of a 2006 U.S. drone strike that unsuccessfully targeted him. Bobby Wilkes, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Central Asia, said the caves would have housed the terrorists permanently. "They could winter there," he said. "They're huge complexes that are just dug into the mountains. There's nothing extravagant to them, they're just big open holes that would provide shelter from weather and from anybody attacking. "The entrances are hidden and typically on the steep side of a mountain so they'd be very difficult to spot from overhead. They just climb up the hills, it's like going up into the Rockies in Colorado." Damadola covers about five square kilometres and is about 20 km from the Afghan border. The village lies in the Bajaur tribal region and has been fought over for 16 months. The latest fighting saw 75 local and foreign terrorists killed. "The first Pakistan army uniformed soldiers have arrived in Damadola after a recent operation and the Pakistan flag has been raised for the first time since [independence in] 1947," Maj.-Gen. Khan said. Damadola is strategically important as a link to Afghanistan, Pakistan's northern district of Chitral, the main highway to China and the northwestern valley of Swat, which has been troubled by the Taliban. Until 2008 the area was tantamount to an independent state run by an Afghan warrior, Qazi Ziaur Rehman, who was its administrative controller, collecting taxes from local people. As the journalists visited, hundreds of tribesmen celebrated in front of the television cameras, waving guns in the air and hailing the army and vowed to form pro-government militias -- known locally as lashkars --to prevent the Taliban's return. Posted by: tipper 2010-03-03 |
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