The Critical Threats Project Pakistan Security Brief provides daily updates on the security developments in Pakistan.
(The Critical Threats Project is developing a site focused specifically on the threat from al-Qaeda and Associated Movements (AQAM); until that site reaches production, related pieces will be posted on the IranTracker site.
OCTOBER 30, 2009
Pakistani security forces prepare to enter militant strongholds of Sara Rogha and Kaniguram in South Waziristan; Karachi security forces increase security for Friday prayers; rescuers continue to search for missing people as the death toll from Wednesdays attack in Peshawar climbs to 118; Clinton believes that government officials know where al-Qaeda terrorists are hiding in the Pakistan.
OCTOBER 29, 2009
The Pakistani military’s operation in South Waziristan Agency continues into its thirteenth day as the military prepares for an offensive on Kaniguram; five suspected Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants were arrested in Orangi Town with explosives from India; al-Qaeda and TTP members deny responsibility for blast in Peshawar bazaar; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has town hall in Lahore.
OCTOBER 28, 2009
The Pakistani military’s operation into South Waziristan continues into its twelfth day; a large car bomb kills scores in a busy Peshawar market; Secretary of State Clinton begins her official visit to Pakistan; the UNHCR says U.S. drone strikes into Pakistan may be a violation of international law.
OCTOBER 27, 2009
The Pakistani military’s operation in South Waziristan Agency continues into its eleventh day as the military reports progress on all its axes; TTP militants ambush a Pakistani checkpoint in Mohmand Agency; a senior military officer escapes an assassination attempt in Islamabad; a top aide to TTP-Swat commander Mullah Fazlullah is arrested; eleven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps are arrested after illegally entering Pakistani territory.
OCTOBER 24-26, 2009
The Pakistani Military’s offensive in South Waziristan continues into its tenth day after forces capture the TTP stronghold of Kotkai; IDP numbers continue to swell; a suspected drone strike narrowly misses TTP Bajaur commander; Baloch Education Minister is assassinated by separatists; a Pakistani military helicopter went down in Bajaur; Pakistani military checkpoints in Bajaur and Hangu are ambushed by militants.
OCTOBER 23, 2009
The Pakistani military operation in South Waziristan continues into its seventh day; two top Punjabi Taliban commanders are arrested by Pakistani law enforcement; two bomb attacks in Peshawar and at the Pakistani Aeronautical Complex in Kamra kill seven; several members of a wedding party die after their bus is struck by an anti-tank mine in Mohmand Agency.
OCTOBER 22, 2009
A Pakistani Brigadier General and his driver were killed in Islamabad on Thursday by unknown gunmen; a dozen militants, including Arabs, Afghans and Pakistanis, were killed in a mysterious explosion on Wednesday, al Qaeda commander Abu Musa al Masri is rumored to be among the dead; Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave an order for all illegal Afghans to leave Islamabad in the next three days; police foiled an attack on an Islamabad court when they recognized a suicide bombers vest.
OCTOBER 21, 2009
Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Deliverance) continues into its fifth day as fierce fighting continues for control of Kotkai; the Pakistan military reports six foreign militants killed in Sara Rogha; an explosion initially thought to be a drone strike kills three in North Waziristan; schools and universities remain closed over security concerns following a Taliban attack on a university in Islamabad; the World Food Program ceases its operation in North-West Pakistan following an earlier attack on its headquarters; six Frontier Corps recruits are kidnapped by militants in Orakzai.
OCTOBER 20, 2009
Pakistani security forces take Kotkai on Monday night but expelled by Taliban counter-attack on Tuesday morning; details emerge regarding the Pakistan military’s deal with key North and South Waziristani militants; a suicide bombing in Islamabad targets a university and kills several students; dozens are killed in Pakistani military strikes in Mohmand and Bajaur agencies; Pakistani officials raise the number of registered internally displaced people (IDPs) to over 150,000.
OCTOBER 19, 2009
Pakistani military claims eighteen militants, two soldiers dead after third day of operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Deliverance); forces begin consolidating areas seized as they subdue Sharwangi and surround Kotkai; CENTCOM Commander General Petraeus and Senator John Kerry meet Pakistani General Kayani; U.S. and European couter-terrorism officials fear influx of westerners to Waziristan for jihadi training; Karachi police arrest Taliban commander in Karachi; Pakistan military airdrops leaflets into Waziristan urging Mehsud tribesmen to rise up against Taliban; reports that U.S. military is coordinating with Pakistan army including use of drones for Waizirstan operation.
OCTOBER 18, 2009
Day two of Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Deliverance); Pakistani forces claim to have killed sixty militants, lost five soldiers; army captures Spinkai Raghzai, enters Tiarza, continues to face resistance at Sharwangi; TTP spokesman claims militants are beating army back; rumors circulate of Afghan Taliban lending assistance to TTP; TTP starts fundraising drive in parts of FATA and NWFP; NWFP government declares Swat-like aid program for IDPs; U.S. General Petraeus to visit Islamabad on Monday.
OCTOBER 17, 2009
Pakistani military launches South Waziristan operation early Saturday morning, over 30,000 troops converging on TTP strongholds from several directions; decision to launch taken Friday night after meeting involving top civilian and military leaders; four soldiers, nine militants killed in operation thus far; latest UN statement says over 250,000 people have fled South Waziristan operation.
OCTOBER 16, 2009
Suicide attack in Peshawar kills twelve; suicide attack in Islamabad foiled by police; Pakistani authorities investigate yesterday’s bombings; 200,000 flee South Waziristan violence; Pakistani jets strike in South Waziristan; airstrikes in Orakzai kill four militants; U.S. accelerates delivery of military aid to Pakistan.
OCTOBER 15, 2009
More than three dozen people have been killed during a series of attacks in Lahore, Kohat, and Peshawar; a drone missile struck a suspected militant compound in North Waziristan Thursday; the Pakistani military continued its aerial strikes in South Waziristan ahead of announced ground operations there; the U.S. signed the $7.5 billion aid package for Pakistan into law; two people were injured in a grenade attack on security forces in Quetta, Balochistan.
OCTOBER 14, 2009
Pakistan’s foreign minister met with US Senator Kerry regarding Islamabad’s concerns over the US aid bill; a dozen militants were killed in South Waziristan and Bajaur agencies during air strikes; a suspected suicide bomber was apprehended at a checkpoint on the Punjab/NWFP border; Pakistan’s interior minister stated that militant attacks on a UN office in Islamabad and military headquarters in Rawalpindi had been traced back to South Waziristan.
OCTOBER 13, 2009
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for this past weekend’s attack on the military’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, indicating operations were carried out by its Punjabi branch; following this weekend’s attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan security forces are tightening security in Islamabad’s Red Zone; over a dozen militants were reportedly killed on Monday in air strikes against militant positions in Bajaur Agency; Pakistan’s foreign minister returned to Washington this week to take up Islamabad’s concerns with the language of the five-year, $7.5 billion U.S. aid bill for Pakistan.
OCTOBER 12, 2009
Militants penetrated the Pakistani army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi on Saturday, taking dozens of hostages and killing several military personnel before all but one of the militants were killed in a rescue operation; around forty were killed by a suicide car bomb targeted at a Pakistani army convoy in a district adjacent to Swat on Monday; the Pakistani army claims an operation into South Waziristan is imminent; Pakistani military air strikes killed over twenty militants in South Waziristan on Sunday.
OCTOBER 9, 2009
A suicide car bomb was set off in a crowded bazaar in Peshawar Friday morning killing more than forty and wounding more than a hundred; militants attacked and torched a NATO fuel tanker near Peshawar early Friday; several militants have been killed in offensive and retaliatory military operations in Waziristan over the past day; the British military is building a training camp in Balochistan province to help train the Pakistani Frontier Corps paramilitary unit over a three-year period.
OCTOBER 8, 2009
Pakistani issued a warning for foreigners to limit their movements following the recent bombing of a UN office; more than a dozen suspected Taliban members have been found dead in Swat recently; Pakistani military leaders expressed concern over the conditions in the $7.5 billion U.S. aid bill for Pakistan; recent U.S. national security meetings focused on Pakistan.
OCTOBER 7, 2009
A top aide to Swat Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah has been killed in clashes with security forces according to the Pakistani military; Pakistani foreign minister Qureshi stressed the importance of a U.S. commitment to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the broader region during a meeting with U.S. secretary of state Clinton; several dead bodies of suspected militants were found in Kurram Agency north of Waziristan; some Pakistani political leaders have raised concerns over the “tone” of the new $7.5 billion U.S. aid package for Pakistan recently approved by the U.S. Congress.
OCTOBER 6, 2009
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for Monday’s UNWFP office bombing in Islamabad; the Pakistani military bombed militant positions in South Waziristan early Tuesday killing several suspected militants; the UK is increasing its counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan and pledged increased military aid to Pakistan’s security forces; Pakistani forces initiated strikes in Khyber Agency on Monday in retaliation for a rocket attack on a military fort.
OCTOBER 5, 2009
A suicide bomb struck a UN office in Islamabad on Monday killing four people; Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, along with deputies Wali-ur Rehman and Qari Hussain, met with reporters over the weekend following reports that he had been recently killed; security forces continued clearance operations in the Swat valley, killing nine militants on Sunday; Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam commander Rehman offered to act as a mediator between the Pakistani government and militants in FATA.
OCTOBER 2, 2009
Pakistani officials confirmed today that IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev was killed in a August drone attack in South Waziristan; reports have surfaced over the past indicating that the Pakistani military plans to launch a major offensive into South Waziristan; TTP commanders have vowed to carry out suicide attacks in retaliation for the killing of Beitullah Mehsud; South Waziristan-based militant commander Maulvi Nazir has reportedly extended a peace deal with the Pakistani government; suspected Taliban militants attempted a suicide attack following a compound raid in Swat valley.
OCTOBER 1, 2009
The Pakistani Taliban confirmed the death of its leader’s brother following a clash with security forces; six militants were killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan on Wednesday; video footage allegedly depicts Pakistani soldiers beating suspected militant detainees; the US insisted in a message delivered through the US embassy in Islamabad that Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden are in Pakistan.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
The Pakistani Taliban released a video of its former leader Beitullah Mehsud visually confirming his death; Afghan Taliban commander Hayatullah Khan claimed that Mullah Omar did not reside in Pakistan as indicated by US officials; unconfirmed reports claim that Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader Tahir Yuldashev was killed following a drone strike in August.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
Al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri praised slain Pakistani Taliban leader Beitullah Mehsud in the first statement acknowledging the militant leader’s death; Pakistan’s interior minister claimed that Mullah Omar and the Quetta Shura Taliban are not in Pakistan; two drones strikes struck areas in South Waziristan and Miran Shah in North Waziristan on Tuesday, the first killing several suspected militants; security forces responded to a recent militant attack on a paramilitary base in Razmak by engaging and killed several militants in North Waziristan.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
Multiple suicide bombings occurred over the weekend in the NWFP areas of Peshawar and Bannu; an outspoken anti-Taliban tribal elder was killed in Bannu along with several bodyguards on Monday; residents of the Mehsud areas in South Waziristan were reportedly urged by the government to evacuate the area; the Pakistani military shelled militant strongholds in Orakzai and Waziristan on Monday killing more than two dozen suspected militants; a drone strike near Mir Ali in North Waziristan reportedly missed its target on Monday.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
World Bank announces new Pakistan fund for restoring infrastructure; 10,000-man militia raised in Swat; eight militants killed in ambush on army convoy.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
North Waziristan drone strike targets suspected Haqqani hideout; Senate approves Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill; civilian exodus from South Waziristan continues; militants kills pro-government tribal elders in Bannu district.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik alleges Indian involvement in the Swat Taliban movement; Security forces arrest twenty-four militants in the Swat region.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2009
Clashes between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants in North and South Waziristan leave dozens dead; Pakistani authorities again restrict the movements of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba founder Hafiz Saeed; militants blow up a girls school near Peshawar.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2009
Pakistani police began investigating a group of foreign nationals, including four Swedes, with alleged links to al Qaeda; Abu Faraj, a suicide-bombing mastermind affiliated with the Swat Taliban, was arrested on Monday; Pakistani police foiled an assassination attempt on the Northwest Frontier Province education minister; pro-government commander Turkistan Bhittani announced Saturday that he and his supporters would turn in their weapons.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
Pakistan charged militant cleric Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai bombings, with inciting public sentiment on Friday; seven militants were arrested in Swat and Malakand during search and clearance operations; security forces killed thirteen militants in Orakzai Agency; a suicide bombing claimed by sectarian group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi killed thirty-three in Kohat.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
Police in Quetta captured twelve suspected terrorists Thursday; Pakistani security forces ambushed and killed ten militants attempting to infiltrate Mingora; reports claim that two important al Qaeda commanders, Ilyas Kashmiri and Nazimuddin, have been killed in recent U.S. drone strikes
SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
Sher Muhammed Qasab, the Swat Taliban commander for Charbagh, was arrested Wednesday; security forces in Dera Ismail Khan killed seven militants; administrators in Mohmand claimed the Agency is 80 percent cleared of militants.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2009
Three unidentified, burqa-clad assailants were foiled in an attempted attack on an oil terminal in Karachi Tuesday; one hundred and forty-nine militants reportedly surrendered in Swat, while an additional undetermined number were killed or captured; Pakistani fighter jets attacked suspected militant locations in Bajaur, killing five
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
Pakistani Security Forces operations in Swat and Malakand killed fourteen militants on Monday; the U.N. estimates that at least fifty-six thousand residents have been displaced due to the army initiative in Khyber Agency; ISPR spokesperson Gen. Abbas announced imminent commencement of military ground operations in Waziristan; the third U.S. drone strike to hit North Waziristan this week killed eight militants near Mir Ali; Pakistan’s interior minister claimed Sunday that the army was closing in on capturing Swat Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
Militants resurfaced in Lower Dir in a failed attack on a police post Friday; continuing security forces operations in Swat netted forty-nine militants and killed twenty-two more; the Swat Taliban announced that spokesman Muslim Khan had been captured by the Pakistani army; fighting in Kurram and Orakzai Agencies and Tank District left six militants and two Frontier Corps soldiers dead.
SEPTEMBER 8-9, 2009
Taliban militants killed four Shi’ite schoolchildren in Orakzai Agency on Tuesday; two U.S. drone strikes destroyed a militant compound and madrassa in North Waziristan; Pakistani security forces killed twenty-four suspected Lashkar-e-Islam members in Khyber Agency; three pro-government tribesmen were killed by unidentified gunmen in Balochistan.
SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
Pakistani military operations killed sixteen suspected militants, arrested thirty-five more, and confiscated a large stash of weaponry in Khyber Agency on Friday; Tehrik Nifaz-i-Taliban (TNSM) leader Maulana Saifullah surrendered to Pakistani security forces along with two supporters.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
A Pakistani military official reported that over one hundred militants had surrendered in Swar since the beginning of clearance operations there, including more than a dozen from a ‘most wanted’ list; more than forty bodies of suspected militants were founded dead in the Swat valley Tuesday, reportedly killed by anti-Taliban locals; Pakistani government raids in Khyber agency reportedly destroyed four Lashkar-e-Islam bases during operations on Tuesday that also led to more than forty arrests; rumors persist that new TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud is dead.
AUGUST 28, 2009
A Taliban spokesman claimed credit for Thursday’s suicide attack on a police post in Khyber agency on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; security forces continued to conduct search and clear operations in Swat, reportedly killing two militants; al Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri released a statement urging Pakistanis to join in jihad against the Pakistani military.
AUGUST 27, 2009
Pakistani security forces killed several militants during a clash in the Swat valley and a dozen other militants were arrested; a Pakistani government official stated that over eighty percent of the 2.2 million internally displaced residents of the Swat valley have returned to their homes; a suicide bomber struck a police post on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Torkham, killing over a dozen; nine militants and four Pakistani soldiers were reportedly killed during a clash near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan in South Waziristan on Wednesday; a drone missile struck in South Waziristan on Thursday killing six people including Uzbek militants, according to intelligence officials.
AUGUST 26, 2009
Pakistani helicopter gunships struck militant positions in South Waziristan in a clearing operation to facilitate the movement of military forces; Interpol issued a “red notice” for Jamat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliated leader Hafiz Saeed in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack; security forces arrested militants in Swat and continued to find dead Taliban militant bodies in the area.
AUGUST 25, 2009
The new head of the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud and the newly appointed chief deputy for the TTP in South Waziristan, Wali-ur Rehman, acknowledged the recent death of Beitullah Mehsud, a result of wounds he sustained following an August 5 drone strike; according to the Pakistani military, security operations in Swat and surrounding areas led to the death of three suspected militants on Tuesday; local anti-Taliban militias continued clearing operations in one area of Swat; the dead bodies of more than a dozen suspected Taliban leaders were found in Swat by local villagers, while some human rights groups claimed they were killed by the military in extra-judicial executions.
AUGUST 24, 2009
Over the weekend militant commander Faqir Muhammad announced that a shura had selected Hakimullah Mehsud as the new leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a report conflicting with statements made by TTP deputy Wali-ur-Rehman indicating he was in control of the TTP; Pakistani police reportedly arrested thirteen Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants in Karachi during a raid on Sunday, seizing narcotics and bomb-making materials; Pakistani’s interior minister claimed that members of Beitullah Mehsud’s extended family had been executed by Taliban militants on spying charges; the Pakistani government rejected militant leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s calls for a cease fire during the month of Ramadan; a suicide bombing in Peshawar killed three people on Sunday.
AUGUST 21, 2009
The Sri Lankan military has agreed to train Pakistani security forces in counterinsurgency techniques; a top Pakistani official claimed that over ninety percent of internally displaced persons had returned to their homes; a drone struck targets near Miram Shah in North Waziristan, where the Haqqani network is believed to maintain hideouts.
AUGUST 20, 2009
A bomb was detonated close near Rawalpindi on Thursday, wounding four policemen and several others; an ally of Swat Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah surrendered, along with sixty militants, to Pakistani security forces on Thursday in Mingora; the son of a top Osama bin Laden aide was founded dead during a raid on a house in Peshawar.
AUGUST 18, 2009
Unknown attackers killed three people in Quetta in what police officers described as targeted killings; Pakistani military officials announced that a ground offensive against militants in South Waziristan is months away and that the immediate plan is to maintain a blockade and continue aerial strikes; a suicide bombing in North Waziristan killed three security officials at a check point near Miranshah; top Tehrik-i-Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar was captured on Tuesday in Mohmand agency by local security forces and reportedly confirmed Beitullah Mehsud’s death; a militant bombing reportedly in retaliation for anti-militant militias killed several people outside of Peshawar.
AUGUST 17, 2009
Pakistani police reportedly arrested a recruiter for suicide bombers affiliated with Beitullah Mehsud’s Pakistani Taliban in Islamabad on Monday; a Sipah-e-Sehaba Pakistan (SSP) associated militant leader was assassinated by unknown attackers in Khairpur on Monday; militants affiliated with Maulvi Nazir were ambushed by unknown assailants in territory formerly claimed by the apparently dead Beitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan while spokesmen for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied involvement and locals implicated Uzbek militants in the attack; Pakistani security force operations reportedly led to the surrender of more than a dozen militants in Swat.
AUGUST 14, 2009
Pakistani President Ali Zardari announced legal reforms that will allow for political party activity in the FATA in hopes of loosening the monopoly held by local clerics and Islamist groups in the region; militants in Upper Dir agreed to surrender to Pakistani forces following a local jirga; Pakistani security forces claim to have cleared a section of Lower Dir of Taliban militants and encourage displaced families to return to the area.
AUGUST 13, 2009
Pakistani military forces shelled suspected bases of Hakimullah Mehsud in the Kurram and Orakzai agencies on Thursday, reportedly killed a dozen militants; Pakistani security forces continued search-and-sweep operations in Malakand Thursday; nearly 120,000 families displaced by the conflict in Malakand division, which includes Swat and Buner, have reportedly returned to their homes; an anti-Taliban tribal elder in South Waziristan was killed by a suicide bomber on Thursday; pro-government tribal elders in Buner, south east of Swat district, were attacked and shot on Thursday.
AUGUST 12, 2009
Taliban militants attacked forces loyal to pro-government militant commander Turkistan Bhittani in Jandola on Wednesday, leaving tens of fighters dead as a result; the Pakistani government declared its intention to restructure the ISI, having reportedly retired several dozen senior officers recently; the Pakistani military shelled militants from Lashkar-e-Islam in Khyber agency on Tuesday in retaliation for a rocket attack in Peshawar; Quetta police report that a gun-and-bomb attack on a security checkpoint left several people dead and wounded; the U.N. reports that it expects nearly 100,000 residents of Waziristan to flee from Pakistani military operations; UN officials indicate that over 700,000 displaced residents of Swat have returned to their homes.
AUGUST 11, 2009
Militants within Hakimullah Mehsud’s Pakistani Taliban group clashed internally on Tuesday resulting in the death of nineteen militants in Orakzai agency; a suspected drone strike struck militant hideouts in South Waziristan on Tuesday killing at least ten according to security officials; twenty-nine suspected militants were arrested in Swat and Malakand districts on Tuesday according to Pakistani security officials; a rocket attack on a Frontier Corps base in Peshawar left three civilians dead and was followed by retaliatory strikes against militants in the region
AUGUST 10, 2009
Pakistani Taliban aides continue to refute Pakistani government claims that Beitullah Mehsud had likely been killed in last week’s drone strike; a shoot-out reportedly occurred a Pakistani Taliban succession shura held over the weekend, attended by Beitullah Mehsud’s deputy Hakimullah Mehsud and close advisor Wali-ur-Rehman; a group of militants reportedly attacked and clashed with Pakistani security forces on Monday who were en route to Mir Ali in North Waziristan; a Baloch separatist group spokesman confirmed that the group executed several Frontier Corps soldiers over the weekend who had been taken hostage recently, demanding that Pakistani forces withdraw from Quetta and release Baloch separatists.
AUGUST 6-7, 2009
Reports emerged, according to Taliban aides and anonymous Pakistani government and intelligence officials, that Beitullah Mehsud had been killed in Wednesday’s drone strike that targeted the home of Mehsud’s father-in-law; a taxation minister in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province was assassinated in Karachi on Thursday evening; a delegation of elders from the Mehsud tribe traveled to Islamabad Thursday to lobby for an end to Pakistani military operations in Waziristan; residents of Swat valley have reportedly raised an anti-Taliban tribal militia of 5,000 people.
AUGUST 5, 2009
A suspected drone strike in Zanghara, South Waziristan reportedly killed one of Tehrik-i-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) leader Beitullah Mehsud’s wives on Wednesday along with three others; operations by Pakistani security forces and local anti-Taliban militias reportedly killed a dozen militants in Swat and Dir on Wednesday; a local Taliban commander in Maidan announced Tuesday his intention to vacate the Swat area and cease hostilities; Pakistani police forces have set up a community police station in the Swat valley and hope to recruit four thousand “community police” to work alongside regular police forces and enforce security.
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.
AUGUST 3, 2009
Pakistani security forces bombed suspected militant locations near the Swat valley, reportedly destroying several Taliban bases according to military officials; security forces continued to arrest suspected militants in Swat and Malakand over the weekend; TNSM founder Sufi Muhammed has been booked on charges of treason, terrorism and rebellion; unconfirmed reports surfaced indicating North Waziristan militant commander Gul Bahadur released ten soldiers kidnapped from a Frontier Corps fort last week.
JULY 31, 2009
Militants under the command of Gul Bahadur reportedly kidnapped ten members of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps security forces from a fort near Razmak, North Waziristan; paramilitary forces constructing a checkpoint in North Waziristan were attacked by militants; security forces shelled suspected militant positions in Khyber agency on Thursday; the U.S. military will begin to shift Predator drone strikes in Afghanistan to target the Taliban and affiliated insurgents.
JULY 30, 2009
Militants from Lashkar-e Islam executed four men for kidnapping and murder under an improvised sharia court order in Khyber agency; clashes at a Frontier Corps post in North Waziristan left three militants dead and several soldiers wounded on Thursday; locals in a village in the Swat valley, encouraged by Pakistani security forces, are reportedly reorganizing small and lightly armed local militias to protect from Taliban militants thought to be hiding in the area.
JULY 29, 2009
Police officials reported that Taliban militants killed a pro-government tribal militia leader after raiding his home; a bomb explosion outside a courthouse in Dera Ismail Khan killed a Shi’ia lawyer and two of his bodyguards; North Waziristan militant leader Gul Bahadur claimed credit for Tuesday’s bombing of a checkpoint in Miramshah that left a paramilitary soldier dead; security officials claimed to have carried out clearing operations in Lower Dir on Tuesday targeted at militants.
JULY 28, 2009
Operations in Swat and Dir conducted by local militias and Pakistani security forces reportedly killed nearly a dozen on Tuesday; a suicide bomber killed two policemen at a checkpoint in Miram Shah, North Waziristan; Pakistani helicopters shelled Lashkar-e Islam positions in Khyber agency on Tuesday; the United Nations refugee organization suspended operations in NWFP and Baluchistan following threats from a Baluch nationalist group.
JULY 27, 2009
Clashes between militants and Pakistani security forces continued over the weekend in Swat and Dir according to security officials and unidentified sources; three terrorists with alleged ties to last year’s Marriott hotel bombing were arrested Sunday by police and security officials in the suburbs of Islamabad; TNSM leader Sufi Muhammad was reportedly arrested on Sunday in Peshawar; airstrikes on Monday in Khyber agency reportedly killed nearly two dozen militants according to Frontier Corps officials; a commander for the Abdullah Mehsud group recently denied reports that Ikhlas Khan had been named the new amir for the group following a purported consolidation.
JULY 24, 2009
Clashes between militants and Pakistani security forces in Swat and Dir continued Thursday, reportedly killing nearly two dozen militants; despite NATO assurances to the contrary, Pakistani officials have voiced concerns about spillover effects from the U.S. offensive in Afghanistan; an estimated 350,000 displaced people, out of nearly two million, have reportedly returned to their homes in the Swat valley.
JULY 23, 2009
Drone strikes in Pakistan may have killed Osama bin Laden’s son Saad earlier this year, according to counterterrorism officials; a spokesman for Tehreek-e Nafaz Sharia Mohammadi (TNSM) commander Maulana Fazlullah denied reports that the militant leader in Swat had been critically injured as had been reported; U.N. officials indicated that several hundred thousand displaced residents of Swat had voluntary returned to the valley over the last ten days.
Ongoing airstrikes in South Waziristan left six Pakistani Taliban militants dead according to Pakistani intelligence officials; Clashes between militants and the Pakistani military left more than two dozen dead in the Swat and neighboring districts on Wednesday; three anti-Beitullah Mehsud militant groups reportedly consolidated ties and named Ikhlas Khan as the new amir for the Abdullah Mehsud group.
JULY 21, 2009
Pakistan’s Frontier Corps claims to have killed more than fifty militants since Sunday in Dir district; Pakistani officials claim 350,000 of the two million displaced people have returned to Swat; Lashkar-e Islam militants reportedly attacked policemen in Khyber agency, killing four on Monday; an order from a political official in Waziristan has led to the arrests and seizure of businesses belonging to Mehsud tribe members.