| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Ayman al-Zawahri Surrounded? |
| 2004-03-18 |
| Pakistan forces may have al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahri surrounded in a remote tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani government official said on Thursday. "A pitched battle is going on there. The way these people are resisting, we think there is someone important over there," the official told Reuters. "We think al-Zawahri may be holed up there," he said. Earlier, President Pervez Musharraf said Pakistani troops believed they had surrounded a "high value target" during a battle with militants loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "(Judging by) the resistance that is being offered by the people there, we feel that there may be a high value target," Musharraf told CNN. Musharraf, who said he had spoken to a military commander, declined to speculate on the identity of the target. Asked if it could be bin Laden or Zawahri, Musharraf said: "I am not going to say that because my previous experience is that whatever I say, headlines come that ’he says Zawahri is there, or Osama’. I can’t. It would just be a guess. But I think that very likely there is a high value target. Who I don’t know." Pakistani forces launched a fresh offensive on Thursday against suspected al Qaeda fighters and their Pakistani tribesmen allies near the Afghan border. Fighting went on through the day and the sound of shelling in the South Waziristan region could be heard late into the evening. Sixteen soldiers and 24 suspected militants were killed in fighting in the same area on Tuesday. The dead suspected militants included men believed to be foreigners loyal to bin Laden, officials said. |
| Posted by:PlanetDan |
| #28 Per Fox news.. copters now on the attack. Baddies drop their sheep. |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2004-3-18 10:43:38 PM |
| #27 Thay gonna break out that Screaming Machine I read about the other day? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-3-18 10:24:57 PM |
| #26 Attractive sheep? |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2004-3-18 10:19:53 PM |
| #25 Don't overlook unconventional non-lethal means of supressing resistance that might be available in that region. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-3-18 10:12:37 PM |
| #24 The military option sounds good. I think the key consideration is getting as many alive as possible. Also rumors are that there are missing PAKs that could be in there. I think it will be a lot of copters and gunships. Wouldnt be surprised to hear a chopper going down. If I was one of the baddies, I would have spent my last wackin off, cuzz the end is near. |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2004-3-18 10:03:29 PM |
| #23 could we review the military situation. Paki troops have a perimeter of about 25 km. manned by 3000 to 5000 troops(?) about 5 meters per man. well inside the perimeter are a bunch of fort like mud huts, with 200 defenders, and artillery. The paks have been hitting with artillery and choppers, keeping the baddie awake and under stress, and killing them as possible, and watching to avoid escape. Maybe tightening the perimeter? Then at day break (now?) bring in the fixed wing aircraft, suppress the defensive fire, and storm with infantry? Military guys, does that make sense? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-3-18 9:14:40 PM |
| #22 watching O'Reilly on Fox: David Hunt says Seals killed 22 plus Zawahiri (suspected) - awaiting DNA or autopsy confirmation now, and will give the kill credit to Pakland |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-18 8:07:33 PM |
| #21 RESISTING URGE TO URINATE ON ISLAMOTERRORISTS' GRAVES WITH GLEE!!!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: anymouse 2004-3-18 6:57:40 PM |
| #20 I'm with you Planet D. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-18 6:42:25 PM |
| #19 I just hope two things: 1. that it really is that frigginsonofabitch 2. that if it is, in light of all their bluster about Islam, paradise, infidels, kufr, and Joooooos, etc, that AQ realizes he was sold out by his "brothers" for a few shekels ;o) oh. and I hope he, like saddam, gives up rather than dies for the cause! Now THAT would be a HOOT! |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-3-18 6:09:00 PM |
| #18 I sure hope we own the night. If this guy is gone come daylight I'm going to be annoyed. I assume we have two SF guys on scene for every Pakistani. |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-3-18 4:41:20 PM |
| #17 CNN reported that they just doubled the bounty for Osama. Does that mean that they got Zawahiri and thus have more funds available, or does it mean they just cut a deal with someone who demanded more cash??? Either way, it seems good to me. |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-18 4:27:36 PM |
| #16 From Haaretz news ticker: |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-3-18 4:15:49 PM |
| #15 BOMBERS TO BE CALLED AT FIRST LIGHT!!!! |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2004-3-18 4:15:02 PM |
| #14 He's an analyst on fox news who makes outlandish reports sometimes. Some people buy into him but I think he just smokes a J and comes up with some of his stuff. |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2004-3-18 4:13:23 PM |
| #13 whos this monsoon fella u speak of? |
| Posted by: Jon Shep U.K 2004-3-18 4:08:19 PM |
| #12 2:10 Am Pakistan time..... 4 hours until dawn! http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=106 |
| Posted by: JackAssFestival 2004-3-18 4:08:08 PM |
| #11 Mansoor pulls this stuff out of his ass! But, I hope I'm wrong ;) If he's injured we have a much better chance of getting the bastard before he tries to escape. |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2004-3-18 4:06:48 PM |
| #10 Mansoor Ijaz (salt licks upon request) has suggested that a phone intercept is what suggested that it is Zawahiri that is inside, and that he may be injured. The Pakis are supposedly going to send some choppers in. (Gosh, hope AQ doesn't watch Fox News...) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-3-18 4:01:56 PM |
| #9 If they can get him alive I don't care what they have to do to extract every last bit of information this mutt knows |
| Posted by: Cheddarhead 2004-3-18 4:01:20 PM |
| #8 bet theres a globahawk or 2 up above them with predators maybe swooping around lower down.Hope theyve got thermobaric hellfires hung under each wing. |
| Posted by: Jon Shep U.K 2004-3-18 3:50:34 PM |
| #7 I could not believe that we don't have UAV's buzzing around giving real time images to some SF liasons with the Paks |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-18 3:48:45 PM |
| #6 Hey, what happened to all of today's articles? |
| Posted by: someone 2004-3-18 3:48:29 PM |
| #5 Can we drop the fuel air explosives now? |
| Posted by: Douglas De Bono 2004-3-18 3:34:26 PM |
| #4 Zawahri is more important than bin Laden. Well, since Zawahri is the one who was still alive, yes. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-3-18 3:17:52 PM |
| #3 This story is scattered all the bejesus over the RB. A strength/weakness of our fair blog. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-18 3:17:11 PM |
| #2 Zawahri is more important than bin Laden. He's the strategist - bin Laden is the personality with the money and connections. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-18 3:12:44 PM |
| #1 "The way these people are resisting" I hope means "choosing to die in large numbers" |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H 2004-3-18 3:07:58 PM |