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10-24-2009, 11:12 AM
Pak-Taliban Leader's Hometown Captured
October 24, 2009
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD - Officials say Pakistan's army has captured the hometown of the country's Taliban chief in a major offensive.
Elsewhere in the northwest, officials said a suspected U.S. missile strike has killed at least 14 people.
Two army and one intelligence official said Saturday that the military has taken the town of Kotkai in South Waziristan after days of fighting.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Kotkai is strategically important because it lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha. It's also the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.
Government official Mohammad Jamil said the missile strike hit the Bajur, a tribal region farther north.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistani leaders say the military offensive in a Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border is succeeding and have resolved to press ahead despite a ferocious wave of retaliatory attacks that have killed some 200 people this month.
The government statement came as a spate of bombings in northwest Pakistan on Friday killed 24 people, including 17 headed to a wedding. The onslaught appears aimed at sapping public support for the army's offensive in South Waziristan, a lawless tribal region under the sway of the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared that "failure is not an option despite the ferocity of these attacks," according to the statement released late Friday after a meeting of top government and military officials.
The army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, told participants that the offensive is moving ahead successfully and is trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, according to the statement. Some 155,000 civilians have fled the region, the United Nations says.
Pakistan's civilian government and powerful military are under intense international pressure to root out Islamist militants who are also blamed for rising attacks on U.S. and NATO troops across the frontier in Afghanistan.
The militants have promised to carry out strikes across the country if the offensive in South Waziristan doesn't stop, and the attacks have put many Pakistanis on edge.
In a sign it is sensitive to popular support, the government statement appealed to the media "not to glorify the terrorists and acts of terrorism in any form and to avoid live coverage of such incidents as it created panic and despondency in the public."
In one of Friday's attacks, a suicide bomber struck a checkpoint on a road leading to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad. The complex is the country's major air force maintenance and research hub, servicing and building jet fighters and radar systems.
The blast killed two security officers and five civilians who were on their way to work at the base, said police officer Akbar Abbas. Some 13 people were hurt.
Hours later, an explosion struck a bus traveling in the Mohmand tribal region, north of South Waziristan.
Four women and three children were among the 17 killed, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. He said it was unclear whether the bus struck a buried bomb or the explosive device was detonated by remote control.
Also Friday, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a recreational facility housing a restaurant and a marriage hall in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. Fifteen people were wounded.
Pakistan reported fighting in several parts of South Waziristan on Friday and said its soldiers had seized some high ground from militant control. A statement reported two soldiers were killed, bringing the army's death toll to 20, and that 13 militants were killed - six of them Uzbeks - bringing their death toll to 142.
Reporters are blocked from entering the region, meaning independently verifying the information is all but impossible.
Around 100,000 more civilians are expected to join the 155,000 who have already fled the region, according to a U.N. statement Friday. Security concerns complicate delivering humanitarian aid to nearby regions, but the U.N. says it is managing the work through local partners.
October 24, 2009
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD - Officials say Pakistan's army has captured the hometown of the country's Taliban chief in a major offensive.
Elsewhere in the northwest, officials said a suspected U.S. missile strike has killed at least 14 people.
Two army and one intelligence official said Saturday that the military has taken the town of Kotkai in South Waziristan after days of fighting.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Kotkai is strategically important because it lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha. It's also the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.
Government official Mohammad Jamil said the missile strike hit the Bajur, a tribal region farther north.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistani leaders say the military offensive in a Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border is succeeding and have resolved to press ahead despite a ferocious wave of retaliatory attacks that have killed some 200 people this month.
The government statement came as a spate of bombings in northwest Pakistan on Friday killed 24 people, including 17 headed to a wedding. The onslaught appears aimed at sapping public support for the army's offensive in South Waziristan, a lawless tribal region under the sway of the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared that "failure is not an option despite the ferocity of these attacks," according to the statement released late Friday after a meeting of top government and military officials.
The army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, told participants that the offensive is moving ahead successfully and is trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, according to the statement. Some 155,000 civilians have fled the region, the United Nations says.
Pakistan's civilian government and powerful military are under intense international pressure to root out Islamist militants who are also blamed for rising attacks on U.S. and NATO troops across the frontier in Afghanistan.
The militants have promised to carry out strikes across the country if the offensive in South Waziristan doesn't stop, and the attacks have put many Pakistanis on edge.
In a sign it is sensitive to popular support, the government statement appealed to the media "not to glorify the terrorists and acts of terrorism in any form and to avoid live coverage of such incidents as it created panic and despondency in the public."
In one of Friday's attacks, a suicide bomber struck a checkpoint on a road leading to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad. The complex is the country's major air force maintenance and research hub, servicing and building jet fighters and radar systems.
The blast killed two security officers and five civilians who were on their way to work at the base, said police officer Akbar Abbas. Some 13 people were hurt.
Hours later, an explosion struck a bus traveling in the Mohmand tribal region, north of South Waziristan.
Four women and three children were among the 17 killed, said Zabit Khan, a local government official. He said it was unclear whether the bus struck a buried bomb or the explosive device was detonated by remote control.
Also Friday, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a recreational facility housing a restaurant and a marriage hall in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. Fifteen people were wounded.
Pakistan reported fighting in several parts of South Waziristan on Friday and said its soldiers had seized some high ground from militant control. A statement reported two soldiers were killed, bringing the army's death toll to 20, and that 13 militants were killed - six of them Uzbeks - bringing their death toll to 142.
Reporters are blocked from entering the region, meaning independently verifying the information is all but impossible.
Around 100,000 more civilians are expected to join the 155,000 who have already fled the region, according to a U.N. statement Friday. Security concerns complicate delivering humanitarian aid to nearby regions, but the U.N. says it is managing the work through local partners.