CHUPRIAL: Pakistani troops backed by jet fighters and artillery have killed thirty-two militants in a fresh offensive in Mehsud areas of Waziristan, a military statement said Saturday.
They were the first known militant casualties in South Waziristan — stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud — since the military started pounding the area with artillery about a week ago
Although the army has not announced a formal start of full-scale operations in this tribal region, officials said troops are already occupying strategic positions in the region.
Jet fighters flattened two abandoned militant-linked seminaries and a training facility Friday in a clear sign that the operation was ramping up.
Two intelligence and army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media, said heavy fighting was under way in the villages of Barwand and Madijan.
A military statement said 32 extremists were killed when they tried to block the main South Waziristan road near the town of Sarwaki.
On Friday, columns of troops, backed by tanks, were seen heading from Wana to Madijan, a locality adjacent to the Mehsud territory. Southwestern parts of Waziristan are inhabited by the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.
Helicopter gunships bombed Mehsud-dominated areas of Kund Serai, Wara and Serwekai. Two seminaries, a training camp and three houses occupied by militants were destroyed.
Troops fired rockets from the Tanai Fort and dug trenches on hilltops in Madijan and deployed artillery.
An official said troops would first secure the Jandola-Wana road passing through the Mehsud territory and then launch a full-fledged assault on Baitullah Mehsud and his supporters.
The road, which served as the main supply line for troops based in Wana, has been under Taliban’s control for three years.
NWFP Governor Awais Ahmad Ghani, who is representative of the president for Fata, announced last week that security forces had been ordered to launch a decisive action against Baitullah and his associates.
Grouping against Baitullah
Meanwhile, two anti-Baitullah commanders have intensified their activities in nearby Tank district and are raising lashkars for a final showdown.
Turkistan Bhittani and Qari Zainuddin Mehsud, who are reported to have won government’s backing after revolting against Baitullah, started recruiting volunteers in Tank and Jandola.
The government is supporting anti-Baitullah forces in the region to isolate the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan leader who carries a $5 million bounty announced by the US government.
According to local people, Turkistan Bhittani and Zainuddin have set up recruitment offices in Tank and a large number of people are joining them. ‘Each volunteer is being offered Rs5,000 to Rs8,000 per month and given an automatic rifle and ammunition,’ they added.
Banners praising slain militant commander Abdullah Mehsud and his successor Zainuddin have been put up in different areas of Tank. The armed volunteers are patrolling the streets in Tank and Jandola.
The sources said that Baitullah’s supporters had gone underground after the return of his rivals. According to them, the Taliban left Tank after four supporters of Baitullah Mehsud were shot dead last week. — Dawn Report/Agencies.
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