Pakistan Security Brief - May 4, 2010
Authorities arrest Pakistani-American in connection with NYC bomb plot; TTP spokesman denies TTP posted the video attributed to Qari Hussain Mehsud claiming responsibility for the attack; security forces repel Taliban assault on checkpoint in Orakzai; military operations kill several militants in Bajaur; NATO and Afghan artillery fire strikes village in South Waziristan; German-born terrorist killed in North Waziristan; US releases report on effectiveness of drone strikes; security forces issue warning for Swat Taliban leaders to surrender, kill two militants; PAF pilots complete F-16 training in Arizona; US delivers $656 million payment to Pakistan.
NYC bombing
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Authorities have apprehended a Pakistani-American suspected of involvement in Sunday’s attempted car bombing in New York City’s Time Square. Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born US citizen from Connectictut who recently returned from a five-month stay in Peshawar, was arrested on Monday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport where he was trying to board a flight to Dubai. Shahzad also reportedly told authorities after his arrest that he acted alone and denied ties to radical Islamist groups in Pakistan.[1]
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TTP spokesman Azam Tariq has denied that the TTP posted the recent video claiming responsibility for the attack.[2]
FATA
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Taliban fighters stormed a security checkpoint in the Stori Khel area of Lower Orakzai on Monday, killing two security forces personnel. Troops killed 11-13 militants in the ensuing exchange of fire which repelled the assault.[3]
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Yesterday, security forces supported by helicopter gunships attacked militant positions in the Ghundo and Bokai areas of Bajaur Agency’s Khar sub-district. As many as 18 militants were reported killed, including an important militant commander identified as Pervez, and two Frontier Corps soldiers were also wounded in the action.[4]
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Artillery shells fired by NATO and Afghan security forces reportedly struck a mosque and several shops in the village of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan on Monday. Several of the buildings were damaged but no injuries were reported.[5]
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On Monday, German officials confirmed the death of a German born Islamic extremist, Eric Breininger, in a clash with Pakistan security forces in North Waziristan on April 30. Breininger was a member of the Islamic Jihad Union and was accused of involvement in bomb plots against US targets in Germany in 2007.[6]
US drones
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A US report indicates that drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan have killed more than 500 Taliban fighters over the last two years. However, the report also found that over 90-percent of the militants killed were low-level fighters and not top tier leadership. Additionally, civilian deaths caused by US drone strikes were found to be staggeringly low with only 30 killed compared to the Pakistani estimate of over 600.[7]
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly NWFP)
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On Monday, security forces in Swat issued a three-day deadline for leaders of the Swat Taliban to surrender. If they do not surrender, security forces said they would destroy their houses and expel their families from Malakand division. Additionally, two Taliban militants were killed during clashes with security forces in the Manja area of Kabal sub-district.[8]
US-Pakistan relations
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Eight pilots of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) have completed their seventh month-long flight training at the F-16 training center in Tuscon, Arizona. The pilots were also given instructor certifications so they could return to Pakistan and train other PAF pilots how to fly the F-16 jet aircraft.[9]
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The US has transferred $656 million to the Pakistani government as part of the Coalition Support Fund reimbursement for counterinsurgency operations in 2009.[10]