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India-Pakistan
Top Taliban commander (Mulla Mansour Dadullah) captured in S.W. Pakistan
2008-02-11
Pakistani security forces arrested a top Taliban commander near the Afghan border on Monday, the Pakistani government confirmed. Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said Mulla Mansour Dadullah and five others were arrested when security officials raided a house in Zhob district in Baluchistan, about 420 kilometers southwest of Islamabad.

Dadullah took control of Taliban forces in turbulent Helmand province in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed by British forces in May last year.

Cheema confirmed that Dadullah was injured in the operation and has been hospitalized. Earlier reports had said that Dadullah had died while being flown to a hospital.
Posted by:anonymous5089

#4  LH - I think the Taliban operate out of Quetta, and that's where Mullah Omar and all his major chiefs are holed up. Their primary interest is southern Afghanistan and the opium trade (financing). I think most of the Al-Qaida operations are based out of the Chitral or Peshawar region of the NWFP, and are aimed more at Kabul and the US forces there. There may (and probably are) lines of communication between Omar and Zawahiri, and they probably do coordinate activities between their respective groups, but neither "controls" the other or their activities.

I'm really getting tired of the crap with Pakistan. This is the same kind of situation that caused the US so much grief in Vietnam - a nearby, supposedly "neutral" or "allied" country where terrorists could rest and resupply next door, with little ability of US forces to openly attack them there. Pakistan needs to be swatted like a anopholis mosquito, and the so-called "tribal areas" dealt such a blow they'll run for the hills every time they see a cloud that looks like it might possibly be a contrail. With the Pashtuns, you're either feared or treated with contempt. It's much better to be feared than treated with contempt, expecially if you're a military force.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2008-02-11 13:18  

#3  After nearly seven years of operations and continuous drone observation, methinks that the (rugged, impenetrable, mysterious, unbreachable, take your pick of adjectives) Afghan/Pakland border ain't got quite as many hidey holes as it used to.

Bet the extremely frigid weather is slowing the Tangos down, as well.
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-02-11 09:56  

#2  Hasnt been a good 12 months for the Dadullah family, huh.

Several interesting things, among which is that apparently the Taliban ops in Helmand/Kandahar have been run out of Quetta, not NWFP. IIRC folks here have said that for a while, but this adds confirmation.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2008-02-11 09:36  

#1  Death to all Dadullahs!
Posted by: Captain Lewis   2008-02-11 09:34  

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