Pakistan Security Brief - June 21, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – June 21, 2010

Drone strike kills al-Qaeda leader in North Waziristan; fighting continues in Orakzai; helicopter gunships target militants, security forces repel attack on security checkpost in Mohmand; three militants killed in Swat; roadside bomb kills one policeman in Dera Ismail Khan; two Levies recruits killed in Lower Dir; Special Representative Holbrooke says al-Qaeda network “severely degraded” due to US-Pak efforts; Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan will abide by sanctions against Iran; new national security strategy highlights importance of engagement with Pakistan; State Department dismisses report linking Afghan Taliban with ISI; top TTP commander Asmatullah Mehsud arrested in Karachi; Jundullah militants free Ashura bombing suspects at Karachi courthouse; Taliban presence expanding in Karachi; militants try to derail train in Quetta; one soldier killed in roadside bomb blast, two men gunned down in Quetta.

FATA

• A US drone strike in North Waziristan on Saturday killed as many as 16 militants and wounded more than a dozen others. The missile reportedly struck a compound in a village just outside Mir Ali where security officials say a meeting of “al-Qaeda operatives” was being held. Intelligence sources believe that an al-Qaeda leader, Abu Ahmed Tarkash, was among those killed in the attack along with both foreign and local militants.[1]

• Around a dozen Taliban fighters ambushed a security checkpost in Orakzai Agency, sparking off a gunfight that claimed the lives of three Frontier Corps soldiers and ten militants. Air strikes also continued to pound Taliban positions in Upper Orakzai on Sunday with security officials reporting as many as 70 militants killed, although other estimates put the death toll at around 20-25.[2] (For detailed bi-weekly updates on the security situation in Orakzai CLICK HERE)

• On Sunday, four militants, including one commander, were reported killed by shelling from helicopter gunships in the Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. Six militants were also killed on Saturday during a firefight which erupted after militants armed with mortars and heavy weapons opened fire on a security checkpost in Manzari Cheena.[3]

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• Security forces killed three militants during clashes in Swat district on Sunday. The exchange of fire began when the militants opened fire on security personnel conducting an operation in the Mangultan area of Charbagh sub-district.[4]

• A police patrol was struck by a roadside bomb explosion as it was travelling through Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday. One policeman was killed and eight others were wounded in the blast.[5]

• On Sunday, militants in Lower Dir district fired rockets and heavy weapons at a Levies training camp in Timergara, killing two recruits and injuring two others. An investigation into the attack is currently underway.[6]

US-Pakistan Relations

• Standing beside Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a press conference on Saturday, US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke said that “the al-Qaeda network has been severely degraded in recent years” due to joint efforts between the US and Pakistan. However, Holbrooke also acknowledged that the recent gains did not mean “that we’ve reached the end of the road,” further adding that “this is a tough, long struggle and much more needs to be done.”[7]

• Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told reporters on Monday that Pakistan will abide by any US sanctions against Iran. Gilani’s announcement comes just after Richard Holbrooke’s visit with top Pakistani officials over the weekend during which he reportedly asked Pakistani leaders to “wait and see” until the US legislation for the sanctions has been drafted, particularly in regard to a potential $7.6 billion gas pipeline deal with Iran.[8]

• The Obama administration’s new national security strategy (NSS) highlights the importance of increased cooperation with Pakistan and has deemed al-Qaeda’s “core in Pakistan” as “the most dangerous component of the larger network.” The NSS also outlines the goal of “[fostering] a relationship with Pakistan founded upon mutual interests and mutual respects” in order to address both the “security and civilian” issues faced by the country as well as continuing to bolster Pakistan’s capacity to target “violent extremists.”[9]

• The US State Department has “dismissed” the recent allegations of a London School of Economics report that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is actively supporting the Afghan Taliban. A State Department spokesman was quoted as saying that “we’re in a period of unprecedented cooperation with Pakistan.”[10]

Karachi

• Top Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Asmatullah Meshud has been arrested during a police raid in Karachi. Mehsud was allegedly planning attacks against Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel and is believed to have been involved in the failed bombing attempt of the Kimari oil terminal. He is also known to give financial support to the TTP and has provided safe houses and medical treatment for militants in the city.[11]

• On Saturday, six Jundullah militants launched an attack on the City Court in Karachi, killing one security personnel and successfully freeing four prisoners who were under police escort. The four prisoners were suspected of being behind last December’s Ashura procession bombing which left more than 40 people dead. One of the suspects was later killed during a chase through a nearby bazaar while the other remaining culprits managed to escape. Although the attack was initially believed to have merely been a failure by police to provide adequate security, an investigation by intelligence agencies has now revealed that senior police officials may have actually colluded with the prisoners in facilitating their escape. The federal government has subsequently ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to try terror suspects in jails in order to avoid future incidents.[12]

• Police in Karachi have indicated that the Taliban’s presence in the city is growing rapidly. By expanding its influence in the city, the Taliban are able to cooperate with “other militant networks and splinter groups” and blend in with the many ethnic Pashtun neighborhoods throughout the metropolitan area. The Taliban have also reportedly shown increased interest in operating out of the city in order to attempt to contact potential new recruits from the West.[13]

 Balochistan

• On Saturday, an explosive device detonated on a stretch of train tracks in Quetta, causing minor damage to the rails. The blast went off as a train travelling from Quetta to Faisalabad was passing through the area but did not result in any casualties or cause any significant damage to the train.[14]

• One soldier was killed and more than a dozen others injured in a bomb explosion which targeted an army convoy as it was travelling through Quetta on Sunday. Officials said that an explosives packed vehicle parked near the Polytechnic Girls College on Sariab Road was the source of the blast. In a separate incident in Quetta on Sunday evening, unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles shot and killed two men and left another wounded.[15]