| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Security forces close in on Taliban stronghold |
| 2009-10-31 |
| [Dawn] Pakistani forces pressing an offensive inside the militant stronghold of South Waziristan are closing in on a major Taliban base and have killed 14 insurgents over the last 24 hours, the army said Friday. In a statement, the army said its soldiers now control the hills above the village of Sararogha, a reputed base where Taliban leaders have long operated openly. The army said 14 militants had been killed, along with two Pakistani soldiers. In Shakai, security forces have secured the Asman Manza area, and they are expanding their perimeter of security. Meanwhile, search and clearance operations have also been started in Kaniguram. Security forces are also consolidating their positions on the crucial Razmak-Makeen Axis. A training camp of militants was also located during a search operation on the same axis. Weapons and ammunitions were also recovered. A total of 289 militants and 34 government soldiers have been killed in the offensive, according to a tally of army figures. Six more militants have been arrested. Access to South Waziristan is heavily restricted, so independently verifying death tolls from fighting is all but impossible. On Thursday, during a journalists' visit to South Waziristan, the army displayed a German passport apparently belonging to a suspect in the 9/11 attacks. They showed off another passport, from Spain, bearing the name of a woman who Spanish media have reported is married to an alleged al-Qaida member from Morocco suspected in both the 9/11 attacks and the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The Pakistani military launched a ground offensive earlier this month in the rugged, tribally controlled region of South Waziristan, where the Pakistani Taliban are based and are believed to shelter al-Qaida leaders. It has deployed about 30,000 troops against some 5,000 to 8,000 militants, a top general said Thursday during a rare visit to the battle area by journalists. His estimate included up to 1,500 foreign fighters, most of them Uzbeks. |
| Posted by:Fred |