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| India-Pakistan |
| Army takes control of Kabal in Swat |
| 2008-11-23 |
| Security forces have taken complete control of Swat's Kabal tehsil, a military statement said on Saturday. It said the Taliban had fled the area after heavy casualties and a team of engineers was detecting and removing landmines and remote-controlled bombs that Taliban had planted in the area. It said the fleeing Taliban had robbed several houses and offices. Minister's brother: An unidentified gunman shot dead NWFP Forest Minister Wajid Ali Khan's brother in Mingora on Saturday, witnesses and officials said. Farooq Khan, an NWFP Police inspector in Mingora, was heading on his motorbike for a market in Mingora city, officials told Daily Times. The gunman then escaped on foot from the scene on the outskirts of Mingora, local police official Khaista Rehman told AFP. "It was a targeted killing. The militants threatened him several times," he said. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Daily Times the inspector was not on the Taliban 'hit-list'. But he owned the attacks on Awami National Party (ANP) leaders and relatives of provincial ministers from the district in the recent past. ANP called the killing 'terrorism' against Pashtuns. "The terrorists are out to kill Pashtuns," Asfandyar Wali Khan said. "But the ANP will not step back from its struggle for the rights of the Pashtun people." "The day has come when the (Pashtun) nation stands up to protect itself and cleanse the land from the anti-Islam enemies of peace," the ANP leader said in a press statement issued in Peshawar. Taliban flog: Locals said Taliban punished two men with 39 whips each on charges of adultery in Kabal tehsil. In Charbagh tehsil, they also punished two alleged drug peddlers with 20 whips each. The punishments followed rulings of their own 'shariah courts'. Video shop: In Mingora, unidentified men set fire to a CD and video film store. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far, but Taliban have owned such incidents in the past. Seven killed in Bajaur: Four Taliban and three women were killed in bombing by fighter aircraft in Bajaur Agency on Saturday. Officials said the aircraft attacked suspected hideouts in Kas, Gatki and Kharki areas of Mamoond tehsil. Locals said one of the bombs was dropped on a stream where women had gathered to fetch water. Officials did not confirm the killing of women. Security forces claimed to have made swift advances in Nawagai teshil and taken over several areas that were under Taliban control. Northern Areas: Inspector General of Police for Northern Areas Khursheed Alam Khan said on Saturday that police would conduct a grand operation against criminals by the end of the current month. A statement said that around 150 commando detachments would be formed for the operation, while security arrangements on Karakurram Highway for Chinese engineers and foreign and local tourists have been completed. He said that around 400 non-locals have been expelled from the areas, and peace committees are being formed in the villages. He said that police officials have been asked to eliminate crime by November 25 or face stern action. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 If the cops busted your next door neighbor and then had to come in and clear landmines and boobytraps, it'd be in the news for weeks. Out in Swat, it's just another quaint local custom... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-11-23 00:56 |
| #1 Well, I have a feeling there will be no "Spring offensive" in 2009. Those Talibs will be plum tuckered out come March. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2008-11-23 00:37 |