KHAR, Bajaur Agency: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States may not have achieved its prime target, the No 2 Al Qaeda leader Egyptian, Dr Ayman al-Zawahri, but the January 13 air attack on Damadola village in Bajaur Agency has certainly left a deep psychological impact on the tribesmen. The tribesmen believe that the attack was a warning not to host âforeign guestsâ in the future. âWe spent the next day and night in fear and when we heard planes we run out of our homes to avoid a second tragedy,â 35-year-old Sadiqullah Khan, whose house was destroyed in the attack, told Daily Times. A security official in Khar, the regional headquarters of Bajaur Agency that overlooks the Afghan province of Kunar, a hotbed of anti-US militants, said it seemed unlikely that the target was achieved. âThe CIA has sent a clear message to all tribesmen along the Pak-Afghan border that they are aware of all activities and can launch strikes as precise as the Friday attack,â he told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. Sources said that the US had intelligence sources in almost every tribal region.
The January 13 attack was based on âintelligenceâ received from ground agents - both Afghans and Pakistanis. However, the information seemed sketchy according to intelligence experts. âI think the the information about the alleged presence of the high value target was poor. He (the agent) was not sure in which house the Al Qaeda leader was present,â the security official said. Pakistani counter-intelligence was looking for âUS agentsâ in the area and tribal sources said that expulsion of Afghan refugees from tribal areas along the Afghan border was part of the âlook-outâ for US-paid agents.
Damadola is regarded a stronghold of outlawed Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi (TNSM) that mobilised thousands of volunteers to fight with the Taliban against the Washington-backed Northern Alliance in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in the US. Fahim Wazir, Bajaur Agency chief administrator, does not believe the banned TNSM has widespread support in the area. However TNSM leader Maulana Faqir Muhammad hails from the same village and local tribal leaders do not agree with Wazirâs views.