The killings in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a
ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, the main town in the North
Wazoo tribal area, highlight the dilemma facing the Pak military in dealing with the most important turban sanctuary in the country.North Waziristan is a key base for the Pak Taliban, which have waged a bloody battle against the government and its security forces over the past several years. But it is also a refuge for Afghan and Pak Orcs and similar vermin battling U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan who are believed to be close to the government in Islamabad.
The U.S. has repeatedly demanded that Pakistain launch an offensive against the Orcs and similar vermin conducting cross-border attacks from North Waziristan, especially the Haqqani network. Pakistain has refused, claiming its forces are stretched too thin fighting the Pak Taliban in other parts of the tribal region.
However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
many analysts believe Pakistain is reluctant to target Orcs and similar vermin in North Waziristan with whom it has strong historical ties and who could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
But those Orcs and similar vermin are also closely allied with the Pak Taliban, the country's fiercest enemy.
On Sunday, the Taliban ambushed a security checkpoint in Miranshah, killing nine Pak soldiers, the army said. Militants had been firing on the checkpoint for the past few days before they ambushed it, the army added.
The army retaliated with helicopter gunships, which pounded suspected turban hideouts and also hit three houses and a mosque in the town, said intelligence officials. Three non-combatants were killed and 20 were maimed in the helizaps, they said. It's unclear how many Orcs and similar vermin were killed.
A Taliban capo said the military raided two houses in Miranshah on Sunday night, killing a turban commander and several of his colleagues. The Orcs and similar vermin seized two soldiers during the raids, beheaded them and hung their heads in different parts of Miranshah, said the commander.
The intelligence officials did not specify how the soldiers were seized, but confirmed that their heads were hanging from poles in Miranshah.
The army has retrieved some of the bodies of the soldiers who were killed, and authorities are working with local tribal elders to try to get the Orcs and similar vermin to return the rest, said the officials.