...a tribe of primitives inhabiting Khyber Agency. They are a branch of the Afridi tribe. Traditionally they have been migratory, tromping between Jamrud and the Rajgal valley with the seasons. The tribe has had mustache-cursing relationships with several other tribes, including the Zakkakhel and Kambarkhel, and with the Mullagori. They make welcome most anyone with a turban and automatic weapons, but every once in awhile they get together a tribal lashkar to mollify the government...
tribe to take over one of the last bits of Khyber Agency
's Tirah Valley that had not already fallen into myrmidon hands. Remote as it is, Tirah is no insignificant mountain hideout. On the one side it shares a border with Afghanistan. On the other it leads to the plains of Bara, which connect the agency to the outskirts of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar. Khyber also links several agencies to each other, serving as a north-south route within Fata. So it has long been fought over by a mix of myrmidon organizations, including the TTP, the Ansarul Islam and Mangal Bagh...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency...
's Lashkar-e-Islam. But given the mountainous terrain and remoteness of the area, the task of fending off myrmidon occupation was outsourced to local tribal lashkars, supported by occasional aerial bombardments by the army. This latest myrmidon victory in Tirah is proof that the strategy has failed.
Pak troops had gone into the area shortly after the American invasion of Afghanistan had pushed Orcs and similar vermin across the border. The move had more than just practical importance; given the area's remoteness, it was seen at the time as evidence of Pakistain's commitment to containing militancy. But for the last several years the security forces have not maintained a presence in Tirah and the situation has tanked, likely because they had their hands full elsewhere, were unable to claim the decisive upper hand in neighbouring agencies that have served as communications and supply routes, did not manage to come up with a successful strategy for the area, and simply didn't pay enough attention. Experts point out that conducting an operation in Tirah might not have been a smart approach; various myrmidon groups may have started working together in response. If so, another workable approach was required, and was not worked out.
The upshot is that almost all of Tirah is now in myrmidon hands. The implications are both foreign and domestic, strategic and humanitarian. Cross-border movement could become another bone of contention with Afghanistan. If Tirah's Orcs and similar vermin are now able to make even more headway in Bara, Peshawar's security, so tenuously improved, will be at risk once again. Militants in other parts of Fata could see the defeat as an encouraging sign of state weakness. Meanwhile,
...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell...
the Kukikhel have had to flee their homes, and according to the local administration it is entirely unclear when they will be able to return. Pakistain has made progress against militancy, but Tirah is an example of how it still hasn't managed to crack the code in parts of the tribal areas.