Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief - August 4, 2009�

Suspected militants attacked a security forces checkpoint late Monday in North Waziristan, provoking a clash that left four soldiers and three civilians dead; local residents of the Swat valley continue to express fears about lingering militant presence as sporadic fighting continues in the area; members of militant groups Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) have been arrested in connection with last week's riots in Punjab that targeted a community of Christians and killed eight. �

• Suspected militants attacked a check post near Miramshah, North Waziristan late on Monday. The resulting two-hour battle left four security forces members dead and six others wounded. A subsequent counterstrike on militant locations killed three civilians and wounded four others.[1]
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• Despite a two month offensive by the Pakistani military aimed at eliminating Taliban presence in the Swat Valley area, and the ongoing resettlement of the originally over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs), fighting continues and local residents still express fear of lingering Taliban forces. Official statistics give the number of militants killed at over 1,800, but violence still occurs on a nearly daily basis.[2]
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• Recent reports from an independent human rights commission suggest that last week's sectarian riots in the city of Gojra, Punjab which resulted in the death of eight Christian's, may have been premeditated. Members of banned groups Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and its al-Qaida-linked offshoot Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) have been arrested in connection with the attacks.[3]