The Taliban targeted the Army for the second time in five days in Pakistan’s lawless tribal agency of North Waziristan, while a suicide bomber struck at the police in Peshawar.
A Taliban force killed two Pakistani soldiers during an assault on a checkpoint in North Waziristan. “Four militants, which included three Uzbeks and a German, were also killed in the clash,” Dawn reported.
The attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Jihad Group (or Islamic Jihad Union), a splinter faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Islamic Jihad Group is based out of the Mir Ali region in North Waziristan and maintains close ties with al Qaeda and North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar. It is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.
German Muslims make up a significant portion of the Islamic Jihad Group. Its fighters are often referred to as German Taliban, and they carry out attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year, the Islamic Jihad Group released video of ‘German Taliban villages’ in Waziristan. Its fighters were seen training at camps and conducting military operations. Over the past year, two American jihadists, Abu Ibrahim al Amriki and Sayfullah al Amriki, have been featured in propaganda released by the Islamic Jihad Group.
The US killed Najmuddin Jalolov, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Group, in a Predator airstrike in North Waziristan on Sept. 14.
Today’s attack is the second against security forces in five days in North Waziristan. On April 23, Taliban fighters ambushed a military convoy and killed two officers and six soldiers. The Taliban claimed they killed 20 soldiers in the ambush.
The two attacks are direct violations of a peace agreement forged between North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Pakistani military. Bahadar agreed to cease attacks on the military and promised not to shelter Taliban fighters fleeing South Waziristan and other areas. The military promised not to carry out operations in North Waziristan. While the military maintains two large bases in Miramshah and Ramzak in North Waziristan, its soldiers are confined to base.
Bahadar’s forces have also violated the peace agreement by sheltering top Taliban and al Qaeda leaders. Waliur Rehman Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in the Mehsud areas in South Waziristan, and other top commanders and fighters are known to shelter in the Miramshah region.
Suicide strike in Peshawar
The Taliban also carried out a suicide attack in Peshawar today. A suicide bomber drove his car packed with explosives into a police checkpoint in the provincial capital, killing four policemen.
The attack in Peshawar is the second against the police there in two weeks. A suicide attack at a bazaar in Peshawar targeted and killed a police chief and 22 others during a protest by the pro-Taliban Jamaat-i-Islami political party. The Jamaat-i-Islami failed to denounce the attack and instead justified the murders as being a result of the Pakistani government’s cooperation with the US against the Taliban.
4 Comments
Bill,
Two comments:
Check today’s Guardian (www.theguardian.co.uk) – Mehsud is alive and
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LD28Df04.html
I found the latter credible and ‘on the ball’.
This is not for publication – just your info – I guess you would have known this anyway.
Give money to Pakistan when they attack “Afghan Taliban” rather than fund their exploits against the “Pakistani Taliban”. If they are the same thing, give money if they actually get someone working both sides.
We have to focus this conflict a bit more. Besides, as an added benefit, the more Afghan Talibam that are killed, the more Pakistani Taliban will cross the Durand and attack as well. Focusing on the Afghan side acts as a lightning rod for the other, in other words.
Under this system (taking into account specifics to make this viable), the North Waziristan Taliban would have to be attacked, but they could, if they really wanted to, leave alone the Taliban factions that focused on Pakistan proper. They would escape justice at first, but then once they took up the mantle of their fallen “brothers”, they become targets too. Would it work? Dunno. But certainly beats giving them money for taking on a problem they should have been tackling while doing diddly about what is happening within a supposed ally’s territory or a supposed ally’s troops in said territory.
Based on recent Newsweek story of Pakistan’s “Catch & Release” program vis-a-vis the Taliban, it’s obvious Pakistan is sheltering not just many Taliban people, but AQ leadership as well. I’ve reconciled myself to the miserable thought that we will never defeat Terrorism aimed at U.S.A. in my lifetime. How our Government, whether it be GOP or the Democrats, expects to prevent every homeland attack against us without confronting Pakistan in a meaningful way is beyond me.
I agree JRP
Pakistan,Iran Govt and Saudi Arabia are the true Axis of evil/Islamism and must be dealt with to end WOT!