70 militants and 18 soldiers among 92 persons killed during the week in NWFP: 18 militants were killed and several others were arrested during the ongoing military operation in the Charbagh sub-division of Swat District on August 30, 2009. Brigadier Tahir Hameed said search and clearance operations against the militants continued in Balash Banar, Gutt and Mangaltan areas during which 18 militants were killed and many others were arrested. Meanwhile, two local leaders of the ruling Awami National Party and a student were killed by unidentified gunmen in the Dheri area of Kabal sub-division, Police said.

16 Police recruits were killed and 11 others sustained injuries on August 30 after a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at the Mingora Police Station in Swat District. The volunteers for the new community Police force were conducting drills in the yard adjacent to the station when the attacker detonated his explosives, local Government administrator Atifur Rehman told The Associated Press. Authorities were investigating reports the attacker - possibly in uniform - might have hidden among the dozens of recruits, he said. "Initial investigations suggest the attacker climbed the small boundary wall and blew himself up, but there is also a report the suicide bomber was already inside," he said. In addition, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, his driver and two militants were killed in an ambush in the Karak District late in the night on August 29.

Security Forces (SFs) killed at least 18 Taliban militants, including six would-be suicide bombers, during the ongoing offensive against the Taliban in Swat on August 29. Helicopter gunships were called in after intelligence and locals said a suicide attack mastermind was present in the Charbagh town. "At least six would-be suicide bombers were killed in the shelling by helicopter gunships. The place was being used as launching pad for training suicide attackers," an army statement said. A military official in Mingora confirmed the strikes in the Mangaltan area of the town and the death toll, adding several Taliban militants were injured as well. Separately, bullet-riddled dead bodies of six suspected Taliban militants were found in a village in Swat, eight kilometres from Mingora. "Six badly mutilated bodies were found from two different places at Odigram," Ghulam Farooq, a senior Police official said. It was, however, not clear who had killed them. Meanwhile, the military sources said it continued search and clearance operations across Malakand and Swat. "Security forces carried out a search operation at Thana area and killed five terrorists during an exchange of fire," military sources added. Another Taliban militant was killed during an operation in Dandial.

Six militants and a minor were killed when gunship helicopters targeted a hideout of militants in the Charbagh area of Swat District on August 28. Acting on a tip-off, gunship helicopters targeted the base of militants near River Swat in the Charbagh area, killing six militants and injuring several others. A press release issued by the Swat Media Cell said the base was being used as a launching pad for preparing suicide bombers and using them for carrying out terrorist activities in Kabal, Kanju and Mingora city. Sources said a minor, identified as Ayaz, son of Fazal Rabbi, was killed while Ma’ab and Sajjad Ali were injured when helicopters targeted militant hideouts in Charbagh. Further, five militants were killed in a clash with the SFs in the Thana area of Malakand Agency in the early hours of August 28. Official sources said unidentified militants opened fire on the convoy of the SFs on Palai Road, west of Thana, at 4 am, and the troops returned the fire, killing five militants. Some of the slain militants were reported to be foreigners. In addition, two bullet-riddled bodies of militants reported to be brothers were found dumped in the Balogram area of Swat District. They were identified as Fazal Wahid alias Shikari, the militants’ ‘commander’ in Qambar area, and his brother Fazal Subhan. Elsewhere in the province, three bullet-riddled bodies of unidentified militants were found dumped in the Muhammad Khwaja area of Hangu District on August 28. Official sources said unidentified gunmen killed three militants and dumped their bodies in a field in Muhammad Khwaja area.

Seven Taliban militants were killed and four others arrested in a clash with the Police in Buner on August 27. The Buner District Police Officer said an exchange of fire occurred between SF personnel and militants, in which two vehicles were also destroyed.

Troops killed three Taliban militants and arrested seven others, while 11 locals – who were forced to get terrorist training – surrendered at Swat and Malakand on August 25. "Troops conducted a search operation in Taghan, Bishbanr near Gat and killed two Taliban, while another was killed and one arrested during a search operation in Asharbanr near Khawazakhela," said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. The ISPR said 11 locals surrendered to Security Forces in Bar Shaur near Chuprial.

SFs killed four militants during a search operation while 11 bullet-riddled bodies of the militants were found in the Sar Tiligram area in the Swat Valley on August 24. Sources said the SFs continued a search operation in Sar Tiligram area and killed four militants, identified as Sherzada, Yasin, Sabir and Bakht Rawan, besides recovering 11 bullet-riddled bodies of the militants. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 25-31, 2009.

24 soldiers and 13 militants among 39 persons killed during the week in FATA: Three militants were killed while eight others were arrested, four of them reportedly well-trained suicide bombers, during an encounter with the paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers at the Dosali checkpoint on the Esha-Razmak Road in North Waziristan Agency on August 30, 2009.

A former militant ‘commander’, who was also chief of a peace committee, was killed by militants in Mohmand Agency on August 28. Talking to the media from an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesperson Ikramullah Mohmand said the decision of killing former militant commander Yar Saeed was taken in the Shura (executive council) meeting held on the same day. He claimed Yar Saeed alias Chakri was picked up, along with his two colleagues identified as Jan Muhammad and Ikram from Qandaro in Safi sub-division.

A suicide bomber blew himself up as Security Force (SF) personnel gathered at sunset to break their daily fast in the holy month of Ramadan, killing at least 20 soldiers and injuring 10 others at Torkham in the Khyber Agency near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on August 27, according to Daily Times. Reuters, however, reported that at least 22 troopers had died. An injured soldier said that a man entered the compound where the soldiers had gathered and blew himself up when they offered him to break the fast with them. The bomber targeted soldiers from the Khyber Zakhakhel tribe, and sources said the political authorities of Torkham were tipped off about a week ago about the attack. In addition, at least 10 persons were killed and five others wounded when a drone fired two missiles at a house in the Kanigaram area of Laddha tehsil (revenue unit) of South Waziristan Agency on August 27. An intelligence official said those killed were believed to be militants from Uzbekistan.

Taliban militants attacked a military convoy killing two soldiers at Madi Jam, an area 20 kilometres east of Wana, in the South Waziristan Agency, on August 26. Subsequently, helicopter gunships and jets attacked Taliban hideouts.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead Afghan journalist Janullah Hashimzada in the Jamrud area of Khyber Agency on August 24 when he was on his way to Peshawar from Afghanistan. He was travelling in a passenger coach to Peshawar to reach his home in Hayatabad when four gunmen, driving a white colour car, intercepted the vehicle in the Surkamar area on the highway linking Pakistan to Afghanistan. Another passenger, Ali, also an Afghan national, sustained bullet injuries and was shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar. Janullah was the bureau chief in Pakistan for Afghanistan’s Pashto TV channel, Shamshad. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 25-31, 2009.

Interpol issues Red Corner Notice against Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and ‘commander’ Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi: The Interpol on August 25, 2009 issued Red Corner Notices (RCN) against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, and mastermind of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. The notices were issued against Saeed and Lakhvi after a Mumbai court issued a non-bailable warrant against the duo for their involvement in the November 26, 2008 attacks. India also sent proof and requests to issue a similar warrant against LeT ‘commander’ Zarar Shah and Abu Al Qama. Interpol said it was analysing the evidence against them. The RCN were issued after India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) approached the international agency for the same with non-bailable warrants against them. Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani had issued the warrants, asking the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the CBI Director to execute them through Interpol and produce the accused before the court soon. PTI News, August 26, 2009.

TTP confirms Baitullah Mehsud’s death: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud died in August 2009 after a US missile strike, his "successor", Hakeemullah Mehsud, confirmed on August 25, vowing revenge on the US for the attack. Hakeemullah also declared himself the new leader of the group. Disputing the US and Pakistani version of events, the Taliban said Baitullah had survived until August 23. "Baitullah was injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday afternoon," Hakeemullah told AFP from an undisclosed location. "He remained unconscious after being seriously injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday. Now the shura [meeting of elders] has unanimously appointed me new head of the TTP," said Hakeemullah. "We will take revenge and soon. We will give our reply to this drone attack to America. The effects of our attack will go up to Washington," he added. Hakeemullah also said Waliur Rehman had been named Taliban chief for South Waziristan. "All of the Taliban are united. The news about the differences and fighting are baseless and those spreading such type of news will face failure," he added. The AP news agency said Waliur had confirmed Baitullah’s death and the announcement that Hakeemullah would lead the TTP. Daily Times, August 26, 2009.

43 militants and six civilians among 55 persons killed during the week in FATA: Unidentified men on August 23, 2009, killed pro-government tribal chief Malik Sarwar Khan Wazir and three others in South Waziristan. Sarwar was travelling from his home village of Dazha Ghundi to Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, when gunmen attacked his vehicle, officials said, killing him, his son Bakhmal Khan, brother Gulzar and an uncle of ‘commander’ Nek Muhammad. In addition, a security official was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire in a mosque in the Khar sub-division of Bajaur Agency.

A pre-dawn drone attack killed at least 21 militants in North Waziristan Agency on August 21. According to sources, missiles fired by the suspected US pilotless plane hit a residential compound in Dandy Derpakhel village near Miranshah, frequented by militants mostly from the Punjab province. Militant sources claimed that women and children, and not their men, had been killed in the attack. The compound was adjacent to a large seminary set up by the Afghan militant ‘commander’ Jalaluddin Haqqani, said to be close to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. An unnamed official said the compound was used as a training centre for militants but he was not sure which group was running it. According to AP, the air strike targeted Siraj Haqqani, a Taliban ‘commander’ blamed for masterminding ambushes on American troops in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said. It was unclear if Siraj Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was among the people killed in the attack, the officials said, adding that three women were among the dead.

Security Forces (SFs) on August 21 killed at least 12 militants in different areas of Mohmand Agency and destroyed several of their hideouts. SF sources said at around 2:00 pm, two helicopter gunships shelled militant strongholds in the Ghani Baba, Michni and Seperay areas of Yakkaghund Sub-division. "Twelve militants were killed and four of their hideouts destroyed during the operation," the Frontier Corps revealed in a statement.

SFs said on August 19 that they had killed five Taliban militants in Bajaur Agency. "Taliban fired at a security convoy near Kuz Chamarkand .. troops retaliated and killed five Taliban," according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Further, unidentified armed men shot dead three persons, including a soldier of the Bajaur Levies, in the Shago area while the SFs killed a militant and arrested four others in different areas of the Khar Sub-division in Bajaur Agency.

A militant on suicide mission rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a check-post on the Bannu-Miranshah road in North Waziristan Agency in the evening of August 18, killing four SF personnel and injuring eight others. The bomber reportedly struck the Esha check-post located near Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, which was manned by Army and paramilitary personnel. Separately, three militants were killed in a clash between the militants and the local Lashkar (militia) in lower Orakzai Agency on August 18. Tribal sources said militants belonging to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) clashed with the Lashkar of armed tribesmen in the Qazikhel and Storikhel areas. The clash continued for four hours and three militants belonging to Swat and South Waziristan were killed and several others injured. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 18-24, 2009.

18 militants and 12 civilians among 32 persons killed during the week in NWFP: Three persons were killed and 15 others sustained injuries in a powerful suicide blast close to the house of the slain Ansar-ul-Islam spokesman, Mobin Afridi, in the Momin Town area of Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on August 23. "Three people, including two women, were killed and 15 others injured when the suicide bomber blew himself up in a street after he ran short of ammunition," said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Qazi Jamilur Rehman. The bomb disposal squad estimated around eight kilograms of explosives and a large number of ball bearings and nails were used in the attack. The SSP said the attack was probably linked to the blast in Hayatabad in the evening of August 22, which killed Ansar-ul-Islam spokesman Mobin Afridi and his associate Haji Khan. Elsewhere in the province, unidentified gunmen shot dead an intelligence agency official and a trooper of the Pakistan Army late on August 22 in Nowshera District.

Two persons were killed and three others injured in a suicide blast in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar on August 22. Senior Superintendent Police, Qazi Jamilur Rehman, said it was a remote-controlled device and weighed around five to seven kilograms. He also said the bomb was attached to a vehicle carrying Haji Mubin, a spokesman for the Ansar-ul-Islam (AI), a Khyber Agency-based banned outfit, and another member of the organisation. Rehman said Mubin and his fellow passenger were killed on the spot. Separately, a revenue division official was killed when unidentified men attempted to abduct him and his colleague.

A suicide bomber blew himself up after he was besieged by the Security Force (SF) personnel in Kohat on August 21. Official sources said Police were informed that a 15-year-old suicide bomber would attack an Imambargah (mosque) at any time in the city. The SF personnel spotted the bomber in a bazaar with two hand-grenades in his hand and a firearm on his shoulder, the sources said. Seeing the Police party, the bomber ran away and forced his entry into the house of Inayatullah Jan in BB Pakdaman Street and took his family members hostage. Later, the women and other members of the family, except one Safdar Hashmi, were allowed to go out of the house. Eyewitnesses said the only hostage, Safdar Hashmi, managed to escape from the house and the Police party headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdullah Khan fired tear-gas shells and bullets at the house. The bomber later blew himself up when he couldn’t escape.

The body of a suspected Al Qaeda leader was found in a house in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, on August 19. According to officials, the body with multiple wounds was of Abdullah Noori, son of Abdul Qadir, an Algerian believed to be Osama bin Laden’s top aide. They said the man had been suffering from kidney ailment and was being treated by a private physician in a rented house in the Tehkal area on the University Road. Ten other people in the house were also arrested, but seven of them were later released. The other three are said to be foreigners, one of them from Algeria. Police said they raided the house on information that an important militant commander was hiding there.

Suspected militants on August 18 beheaded a man kidnapped from the Matani area of Peshawar on August 12. Kabir Hussain, who had come from the US and was on his way from Peshawar airport to his village Dabori in the Kohat District, was kidnapped by five armed men from Matani along with the taxi driver, Mira Khan, who was later released.

At least seven persons, including three children and two women, were killed and nine others sustained injuries in a bomb blast in a passenger vehicle at a petrol station in the Shabqadr Sub-division of Charsadda District on August 17. Driver Zahid Khan was getting fuel in his pick-up at the Attock Filling Station on Michni Road near Shabqadr town, around 20 kilometres northeast of provincial capital Peshawar, when the explosion occurred. The vehicle was carrying passengers from Shabqadr town to the Anbar Sub-division of the nearby Mohmand Agency, when the blast occurred. Leader of the Mohmand Agency-based Taliban, Qari Shakeel, reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast, saying they would continue such attacks on locals until the Government stopped raising armed militias against the militants. Separately, the SFs said on August 17 that they had killed 13 Taliban militants in Swat District and arrested 28 militants, including 20 who surrendered in Dir District. "Troops conducted a search operation in Shaheed Sar near Sar Qala, and destroyed the Taliban headquarters there... seven Taliban were also killed," said the Inter-Services Public Relations, adding that another six militants were killed in a search operation at Derai. Separately, 20 Taliban militants surrendered to the SFs in Dir. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 18-24, 2009.

Nine Policemen killed in Balochistan: The bodies of nine Policemen taken hostage in July 2009 by insurgents were discovered in Balochistan on August 17, 2009. "We have recovered nine bodies of dead policemen. They were kidnapped by the Balochistan Republican Army," said senior Police officer Kaleem Ullah. The corpses were found in Naseerabad, some 390 kilometres southeast of provincial capital Quetta, and the Police officers were thought to have been killed about four days ago, Kaleem added. The insurgents had taken 24 local Police officials and labourers hostage in late July. Three Policemen escaped, and the bodies of 12 others have already been found. Sarbaz Baloch, a spokesman for the Balochistan Republican Army, had earlier in August claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and deaths in a telephone call to reporters in Quetta. He demanded that the Security Forces leave the city. Daily Times, August 18, 2009.

Sipah-e-Sahaba chief Ali Sher Hyderi shot dead in Sindh: Armed men shot dead Allama Ali Sher Hyderi, chief of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), along with his associate Imtiaz Phulpoto at Khairpur in the Sindh Province on August 17, 2009. Sources said Allama Hyderi was returning home after delivering a speech at a religious gathering in the Dost Muhammad Abro village within the limits of the Ahmedpur Police Station, when he was attacked. Police sources said one of the attackers, identified as Aashiq Ali Jagirani, was also killed in retaliatory fire by Hyderi’s bodyguards. Meanwhile, the SSP leader’s murder triggered violence in major towns of Sindh. There were reports of firing in the air and armed SSP activists forced shopkeepers to close their shops. The Army and the Rangers were called out to assist the Police in maintaining law and order. The protesters removed the main railway tracks, suspending train links upcountry. There were reports that the house of the suspected killer had been torched by the people in Luqman town. Two persons were killed and another sustained injuries in firing by paramilitary forces who tried to stop an angry mob from removing railway tracks.

Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi has been named as successor to Allama Hyderi. Allama Hyderi, who hailed from Khairpur, was the fourth SSP chief to be killed since it was formed in the late 1980s. After the Sunni outfit was banned by former President Pervez Musharraf in February 2002, it was operating under the name of Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jama’at. The News, August 18, 2009.

154 militants and 25 civilians among 180 persons killed during the week in FATA: Unidentified armed men killed 18 Taliban militants on the Wana-Ladha Road in South Waziristan on August 15. The slain militants were affiliated with the Mullah Nazir group. Taliban sources in Wana said the bullet-riddled bodies of 18 militants were shifted to Wana in the evening on August 16. They said the militants had gone to the Paktika province in Afghanistan to fight the US-led coalition forces and were returning home when they were attacked by the armed men. The militants, under the command of Meeradin, were reportedly travelling in two pickup trucks, when they were ambushed by unidentified assailants at the Shawangi area in the Ladha sub-division in the morning on August 15. Ladha is inhabited by the Mehsud tribesmen and is under the control of the Baitullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. A senior Taliban commander of the Mullah Nazir group said they would not say as to who killed their men and why. "Either the Government, the Uzbeks or the Mehsud Taliban could be involved in their killing. But right now, we cannot say anything concrete," he said. In addition, three passers-by were killed and 25 others, including some women and children, sustained injuries when Security Forces (SFs) resorted to indiscriminate firing after a roadside bomb blast in the Darga Mandi area of North Waziristan Agency on August 15. Separately, two militants were killed and four others were injured during a clash with the SFs in the Charmang valley of Bajaur Agency on August 16.

12 Taliban militants were killed when helicopter gunships pounded several hideouts of Taliban ‘commander’ Hakeemullah Mehsud at Orakzai Agency on August 13. "We targeted hideouts of Hekeemullah Mehsud," said Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas. Military sources in Orakzai said that six of the bases in Tora Cheena and Chappar Ferozkhel areas had been razed. The sources said dead bodies of 12 slain Taliban militants were seen from helicopters. Separately, at least seven persons were killed in encounters between Taliban militants and a Lashkar (militia) in South Waziristan on August 12, AFP reported. In addition, a tribal elder – who led a militia against Al Qaeda-linked foreign militants in South Waziristan in 2007 – his bodyguard and two passers-by were killed in a remote-controlled bomb explosion at Wana in South Waziristan on August 13. Further, two pro-Government militia leaders were killed and their bullet-ridden dead bodies dumped in the Bajaur Agency on August 13. The dead bodies of two persons, who were shot dead on an unspecified date, were recovered from Bara revenue division of Khyber Agency on August 13.

Fierce clashes broke out between supporters of the slain Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud and the rival Turkistan Bhittani group at Jandola in South Waziristan on August 12 and each side claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the other. According to sources, militants loyal to Baitullah attacked Bhittani’s men in the Soor Gher area and set ablaze 33 houses. They said that seven supporters of Bhittani were killed and 15 captured. Bhittani’s men claimed to have killed over 50 attackers. According to Associated Press, at least 70 militants were killed in the clash. Two intelligence officials said that militants used rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft guns against Turkistan’s men. The officials, who cited wireless intercepts from the area, confirmed that at least 70 people had been killed. Bhittani, however, claimed that 90 fighters were killed and more than 40 houses destroyed. Separately, two schoolboys were killed and another injured on August 12 when a mine exploded in the Bajaur Agency. The three, all brothers, were playing when the explosive device went off in Nisarabad on the outskirts of Khar, local administration chief Adalat Khan said.

SFs used helicopter gunships in an operation against the banned Lashkar-e-Islam in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency on August 11, killing 17 militants and destroying six militant hideouts. The Frontier Corps Media Cell said a huge ammunition dump was also destroyed in the Shalobar area. A paramilitary commander separately told AFP that the operation was launched after militants fired rockets at a paramilitary checkpoint early on August 10 in an assault in Peshawar, the NWFP capital, which killed two civilians.

14 militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries in an attack by a CIA-operated drone at Kaniguram town in the Ladha sub-division of South Waziristan Agency on August 11. Tribal sources said the US drone fired three missiles at a house, which the militants had occupied from Zangi Khan Burki, a local influential trader, and turned it into their ‘Markaz’ or headquarters. Zangi Khan and his family had left their house and shifted to Karachi after tribal and foreign militants took over Kaniguram. Another house owned by the Agency councilor, Arif Zaman, located near the alleged headquarters of the Taliban, was also damaged in the attack. Sources close to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan said all those killed in the attack were local tribal militants.

Unidentified men on August 11 killed eight Taliban militants in the Orakzai Agency and abducted two others. Official sources told Daily Times that armed men attacked a Taliban vehicle – en route to Mashti Bazaar from Ghaljo area – in Garhi village, killing eight militants, including a brother of Taliban ‘commander’ Sakhi. They said the slain militants were members of the Mashti tribe. Locals said the assailants could be Taliban militants from a rival group of Mufti Ziaur Rehman from the Akhel tribe.

SFs, backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, shelled hideouts of the militants loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur after a military convoy was attacked in North Waziristan on August 10. According to officials, 11 militants were killed when troops launched a counter-attack and fired heavy artillery and mortars to dislodge the militants from their positions. The military convoy was going to Mirali from Dosali when it was ambushed near Asadkhel, injuring three soldiers. Gul Bahadur’s spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi claimed that 32 soldiers had been killed and 14 military vehicles captured. In another incident, a paramilitary soldier was killed and three others sustained injuries when a bomb exploded near the Banda Post, about two kilometres from Miranshah. The soldiers were reportedly fetching water from a nearby spring when the bomb exploded. Separately, two women and two children were killed and nine others sustained injuries when a shell hit a house in the Shalobar area of Bara sub-division in the Khyber Agency, during fighting between the SFs and Lashkar-e-Islam militants on August 10. In addition, two militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in a clash between militants and SFs in the Hasham area of Bajaur Agency on August 10. Separately, Taliban militants killed a local tribal elder after abducting him on August 11 in the Mohmand Agency, while two of his family members are still in the group’s custody. The bullet-riddled body of Malik Zahir Shah Gorbuz was found in the Shwafarsh area of Safi sub-division after he was kidnapped along with his son and another relative. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 11-17, 2009.

36 militants and seven soldiers among 46 persons killed during the week in NWFP: 18 bodies of suspected militants were found dumped in various parts of the Swat District while Security Forces (SFs) killed six militants and arrested 12 others elsewhere in the valley during a search operation on August 16, 2009. Official sources said 11 bodies were found dumped on the roadside in Kanju Dheri and Dewlai areas in Kabal sub-division. Eight of the bodies were recovered from the Kanju area. Three bodies were recovered from Islampur, one in Kota Aboha, another from Gumband Mera and two from the Gorai area. Another unconfirmed report said another three bodies were found in the Valley, raising the total to 21. In an interview with the BBC Urdu service, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the slain men weren’t in the custody of the SFs and the military had no hand in the killings. He also said people who had suffered at the hands of the militants might have killed them to take revenge. Since July 13 when the displaced people started returning to Swat, a total of 102 bodies have been found dumped on roadsides and on the banks of Swat River. Almost all of them were reportedly stated to be of militants. Meanwhile, the SFs claimed to have killed six militants at Ningolai in Kabal. The slain militants were identified as Sher Alam, Umar Rahim, Rehmat Ali, Muhammad Rafiq, Nawab Ali and Aftab.

A soldier was killed and three others sustained injuries in a suicide attack near a SF checkpoint in the Swat District in the night of August 16. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a suicide bomber was moving towards the Naway Killay check-post when the soldiers asked him to stop. However, the bomber entered a house near the check-post and blew himself up, injuring four soldiers. One of the soldiers later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

A Taliban suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a security check post at Waliabad near Charbagh in the Swat District on August 15, killing three soldiers and a civilian. "An explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into a security checkpost in Waliabad near Charbagh, killing three soldiers and a civilian," the ISPR disclosed. "We believe the bomber was aiming to hit a target in Mingora, where locals celebrated Independence Day on a massive scale," an unnamed security official added. Separately, one Taliban militant was killed during a clash with the Police in the Kat Garh area of Hangu District.

On August 13, the SFs killed a Taliban militant and arrested 14 others, including a ‘commander’, at Swat. "Troops killed a Taliban, identified as Liaqat, in Liluani and arrested local Taliban commander Rahim Gul from Liluani village," the ISPR confirmed.

The SFs, during an 18-hour-long operation in Akhund Killay in the Kabal sub-division of Swat District, killed a militant commander and three others and showed their corpses to the media in Mingora on August 11. Briefing reporters, Lt-Col Akhtar of the ISPR said the SFs succeeded in killing four militants, including ‘commander’ Rahim Shah alias Fauji. Two others killed in the operation were identified as Wajid and Said Rahim while the name of the third militant could not be ascertained. An APP report, meanwhile, stated that about eight militants and two soldiers were killed during the operation. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 11-17, 2009.

President Zardari announces reforms package for FATA: Pakistan announced an Independence Day package of reforms for its tribal areas, including lifting a ban on political activities, which it said would integrate these areas with the rest of the country and marginalise militancy and extremism in the restive region. President Asif Ali Zardari, who rules directly over the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) through the Governor of the North-West Frontier Province, announced the package of political, administrative and legal reforms on August 13, 2009. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the reforms took effect immediately, as the Constitution empowered the President to make regulations for "the peace and good governance" of FATA. Laws enacted by Parliament do not apply to the region.

Among the most important of the reforms is the announcement that political parties can now extend their activities to the tribal areas. Until now, political activity was barred in FATA. Announcing the package, Zardari said the people in FATA had been governed by a hundred years old "obsolete system of administration of justice" that did not give room for their full potential. The law had been "changed in accordance with the aspirations of the people and democratic principles while respecting local customs and traditions." In addition to removing the ban on political activities, the package also includes changes to the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), a colonial-era law that provided for arbitrary arrest and detention without the right to bail and the arrest of an entire tribe, including women and children below 16 years, as collective punishment. "Most of it has now changed with the amendments made in the FCR," said Babar. The Hindu, August 15, 2009.

38 militants and 14 civilians among 60 persons killed during the week in FATA: Taliban militants on August 9, 2009, attacked an Army convoy using a remote controlled bomb in North Waziristan, killing two Security Force (SF) personnel and injuring three others. The convoy was heading from Mir Ali to Miranshah, when the bomb exploded at Norak on the Mir Ali-Miranshah road, 15 kilometres east of the Agency headquarters.

A Khwazai peace committee chief with five others, and 11 Taliban militants were killed in a clash in the Payazai sub-division of Mohmand Agency on August 9. A political administration official said a group of Taliban militants attacked the peace committee chief Malik Ajmal’s residence at around 2 am. Ajmal’s security guards and volunteers retaliated, killing 11 militants. However, Ajmal and five of his men were also killed in the attack. Ajmal Khan was a pro-government tribal elder, who captured 12 Taliban militants and handed them over to the SFs last week.

The SFs killed two militants and destroyed six militant hideouts in a search operation in the Nawagai and Salarzai sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency on August 7. Official sources said troops during search operations in various areas of Charmang sub-division destroyed hideouts and underground bunkers and killed two militants.

Ten people were killed and seven others sustained injuries during clashes between two rival militant groups in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on August 7. Sources said the fighting between Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) started when AI cadres captured a post in the Kookikhel area. After a fierce clash, with both sides using heavy guns, the post was recaptured by the LI militants. Sources said the dead included six AI men, three from the LI and a non-combatant. Those killed from the LI also included ‘commander’ Rangeen Khan. The civilian was killed when a mortar shell landed at a house.

Nine militants were killed and two others sustained injuries during an operation by the SFs in different areas of the Nawagai and Salarzai subdivisions in Bajaur Agency on August 6. The SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in the Chinar, Kohi, Manugai and Banda areas of Nawagai and Darra, Ghundi and Sur Dagai areas of Salarzai. The troops also arrested three Taliban militants during a search operation in the Manugai area of Nawagai. Meanwhile in Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency, Taliban militants opened fire on a Bajaur Levies soldier, Alam Khan, killing him on the spot. Separately, two persons, including a soldier, were killed during an operation against the banned Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in the Akakhel Mera area of Bara sub-division in Khyber Agency on August 6. The troops are reported to have surrounded the centre of the Akakhel unit of the LI and, in the ensuing encounter, one soldier and an LI militant were killed while five LI members were arrested.

Five civilians and four SF personnel were killed and six civilians and an equal number of SF personnel were wounded in the North Waziristan Agency on August 3. Militants fired rockets and missiles at an Army camp, northeast of Miranshah, killing four Army personnel and seriously injuring another six. Separately, a missile hit a house in the Chashma village, one kilometre south of Miranshah, killing three civilians and injuring three others. In retaliation, the troops fired shells, targeting the sites from where the Taliban militants were launching attacks. Further, Taliban militants attacked an Army camp in the Datakhel area, 40 kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. A Taliban-launched rocket hit a house killing two women and wounding another three.

Three militants were killed and several others injured when the SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the militants in different areas of Salarzai sub-division in Bajaur Agency on August 3. Official sources said the SFs targeted the militant hideouts in Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay areas with artillery fire, killing three militants and injuring several others. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 4-10, 2009.

57 militants among 60 persons killed in NWFP: Two civilians and a Policeman were killed when Taliban militants ambushed a Police convoy in the Bannu District on August 9, 2009. Separately, the Security Forces (SFs) killed a leader of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) after an exchange of fire in the Malanari area of Dera Ismail Khan District on the same day.

At least 19 persons were killed and more than 18 injured in a gunfight between pro and anti–Baitullah Mehsud groups in the Tank District on August 7. The clashes broke out soon after media reports saying that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud might have been killed in a missile strike by US drones in South Waziristan on August 5. A private TV channel reported that Baitullah’s men attacked two offices of peace committees run by Turkistan Bhitani in the Imamkhel and Umerada areas of Tank. Around 200 armed militants reportedly took part in the pre-dawn raid. The gunfight continued for about two hours, the channel reported. Turkistan Bhitani, who had won the backing of the Government after challenging Baitullah Mehsud in Tank and South Waziristan, had set up the camps in Government school buildings. Bhitani joined the anti-Taliban campaign after 40 of his men had been killed by supporters of Baitullah in 2008. Separately, SFs on August 7 said they killed two Taliban militants and arrested five others in the ongoing operation in Swat District.

A Taliban commander killed six militants before being shot dead by another militant in the Batara area of Chagharzai in Buner District late on August 6. Sources said the Taliban ‘commander’ Shah Zar Khan from Choga area developed differences with his associates over the July 29 attack on the house of Haji Khalil, an activist of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Shah Zar is reported to have opened fire on his colleagues when they were offering Maghrib prayers, killing six of them on the spot, while he himself was killed by another militant, deputed to guard them. The militants later killed the son of Shah Zar who was stated to be a militant as well. Shah Zar was said to be a close relative of Haji Khalil and both hailed from the same village.

SFs killed seven Taliban militants and arrested 21 others in the ongoing military operation in Swat and Malakand, the ISPR said on August 6. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said SFs killed four militants during an encounter at Samsel Bandai near Kabal, while two others were killed during a search operation in Amankot. A Taliban militant was also killed in the Rashghatta-Kokarai area near Jambil. Elsewhere in the province, unidentified persons shot dead two shopkeepers in Dera Ismail Khan on August 6. Police sources said Ajab Khan and Akhtar Khan were on their way home after closing their shop in Dahoter area when unidentified persons opened fire on them, killing them on the spot. Reports said the two belonged to a banned religious group.

SFs said on August 5 that they, in collaboration with local militias, had killed eight militants during the ongoing military operation in Swat and Dir Districts. "The local Lashkar [militia], during a search operation backed by the Frontier Corps, killed four terrorists at Dog Darra in Dir, including Taliban commander Shakoor," the ISPR said in a statement. The Lashkar also destroyed the houses of nine Taliban militants. According to the Online news agency, the militia killed five militants, adding that three of the deceased were Afghan nationals, while the remaining two were residents of Swat. The ISPR said another four Taliban militants had been killed in two different areas of Swat. It said the SFs, during a search operation at Goratai, had killed three extremists, including an explosives expert. In a separate incident, another member of the Taliban was killed in Kotah near Barikot and some arms and ammunition was recovered.

SFs killed at least six Taliban militants in fighting in the Kabal and Barikot areas on August 4, while a soldier was killed and another sustained injuries. Sources said dead bodies of five of the slain militants were recovered. While three dead bodies were recovered from Manglor on the outskirts of Mingora, two other dead bodies were recovered from Landai Kas and Qazi Abad areas.

Jets shelled Taliban hideouts and killed at least five militants near Swat on August 3. The aircraft raided Dok Darra town after intelligence reports said that a large number of militants had gathered in the area, military spokesman Major Nasir Ali Khan said. "The bombing destroyed three Taliban bases and killed five militants," he said. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, August 4-10, 2009.

Government confirms TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud’s death: On August 7, 2009, the Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan on August 5. "Based on information gleaned from intelligence reports, the news of Baitullah’s death is correct. But we are going for ground verification, and when the information has been confirmed, then we will be 100 percent sure," he told reporters in Islamabad. He also told BBC Radio that it was "pretty certain" that the Taliban chief was dead, Reuters reported. A Taliban commander and aide to Baitullah Mehsud, meanwhile, told Associated Press that the TTP chief was killed in the US strike. "I confirm that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan," Taliban commander Kafayatullah said by telephone. He did not give any further details. Baitullah Mehsud was allegedly killed in a drone attack on August 5 while visiting his father-in-law Maulana Ikramuddin’s house in the Laddha sub-division. The attack also resulted in the deaths of one of his wives, Ikramuddin’s daughter, and over half-a-dozen guards. "Information is coming from that area that he is dead… I am unable to confirm unless I have solid evidence," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Daily Times, August 8, 2009.

Government issues list of 25 banned outfits: The Government announced that 25 extremist and militant groups and welfare organisations affiliated to them have so far been banned because of their involvement in terrorist activities. In a written reply submitted on August 5, 2009, in response to a question in the National Assembly, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the banned organisations included Al Qaeda, Sipah-e-Mohammed Pakistan (SMP), Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqah Jafaria, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Jama’at-ud-Da’awa, Al Akhtar Trust, Al Rasheed Trust (ART), Tehrik-e-Islami, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Islamic Students Movement, Khairun Nisa International Trust, Tehrik-e-Islam Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Lashkar-e-Islam, Balochistan Liberation Army, Jamiat-e-Ansar, Jamiatul Furqan, Hizbut Tehrir, Khuddam-e-Islam and Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan.

Malik said the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa, Al Akhtar Trust, and Al Rasheed Trust were banned on December 10, 2008, after they were named in the United Nations Security Council Resolution No 1267 and the Sunni Tehrik was placed on the ‘watch list’. He said law-enforcement agencies were closely monitoring their activities and stern action was being taken against people taking part in objectionable activities. Dawn, August 6, 2009.

32 militants and seven civilians among 42 persons killed during the week in FATA: Taliban militants, reportedly affiliated with ‘commander’ Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan Agency, shot dead another militant, Maulvi Gulab, and his deputy in the crowded Miranshah Bazaar on July 31. Sources close to the Taliban militants told The News that Gulab was known for abducting people and then beheading them on charges of spying on the Taliban for the US forces stationed in Afghanistan. Witnesses said armed men came to the bazaar in a pickup truck and opened indiscriminate gunfire on Gulab and his associates. Gulab died on the spot, along with his deputy.

The Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) executed four men on July 30 after pronouncing them guilty of abduction and murder at a self-styled court, witnesses and a spokesman said. The executions by firing squad took place near Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency. The LI announced the impending execution by mosque loudspeakers in Bar Qambarkhel village, 10 kilometres northwest of Bara, late on July 29 and urged locals to witness the killings, a local tribesman told AFP. Separately, two Taliban militants and a trooper were killed in a clash between the Taliban and SFs in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, on July 30.

Two persons, including a woman, were killed and six others sustained injuries when militants attacked a pickup truck on the Peshawar-Bajaur road in Mohmand Agency on July 29. The Mohmand Agency Assistant Political Agent Rasool Khan said one militant was also killed in the exchange of fire with Khasadar force. Separately, three militants were killed and four paramilitary soldiers injured during an exchange of fire in the Dosali area of North Waziristan Agency on July 29. According to sources, militants attacked the Gerdai Rogha post, about 40 kilometres south of Miranshah. Frontier Corps personnel returned fire and killed three of the attackers.

A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint in North Waziristan on July 28, causing an explosion that killed two SF personnel and injured five others. The bomber aimed for a checkpoint some three kilometres north of Miranshah, local Government official Rehmatullah said. Two intelligence officials confirmed the casualty figures and said the wounded include three paramilitary soldiers. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. He said the suicide attack on the SFs was a reaction from the Taliban against the silence of the Government over the US drone strikes in North Waziristan Agency, in which, he claimed, innocent tribesmen, including women and children, had died. He threatened to continue attacks on the troops if the drone attacks were not stopped. In another incident, SFs opened fire at a speeding car passing through the Frontier Corps checkpoint in front of the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital, killing three persons. Sources said all the three men who died on the spot were said to be Punjabi Taliban militants.

According to AFP, military helicopters killed 20 militants and destroyed four militant hideouts, including a training centre for suicide bombers in Tirah Valley, 35 kilometres southwest of Landi Kotal in the Khyber Agency on July 27. "Military helicopters shelled militant hideouts in the afternoon, killing 20 rebels and destroying four of their hideouts," a spokesman for the Frontier Corps, Major Fazal-ur-Rehman, said, adding that the air strikes were ordered after an intelligence tip-off. In addition, sources said three helicopters shelled Daras Jumat, a mosque in Akakhel area, near Bara, killing a boy and injuring three others. A vehicle and two shops were also destroyed. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, July 28-August 3, 2009.

27 militants and four civilians among 34 persons killed during the week in NWFP: Security Forces (SFs) killed four Taliban militants and arrested 27 others from the Swat District on August 2, 2009. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), two militants were killed and seven others arrested during search-and-cordon operations in Derai and Danda. In addition, two more militants were killed and two others arrested in Gorai, Kotlai and Daragai. Further, militants shot dead two Policemen in Paharipura in the provincial capital, Peshawar, while a Police party escaped a booby trap when a bomb disposal squad defused explosives placed with the body of a slain prayer leader in Mashogagar in the early hours of August 2. Further, in the southern Mashogagar village, terrorists killed a prayer leader Qari Roohul Amin of Sulemankhel, who had been abducted on June 29.

SFs killed six Taliban militants in the on-going military operation in Swat District on July 31, a statement by the ISPR said. "Security forces conducted a search operation in Charbagh and Allahabad and killed six terrorists and also recovered a cache of arms and ammunition along with material for preparation of IEDs," it said. The SFs also conducted a search operation in Khog Bacha and arrested Ibn-e-Aqil, younger brother of Ibn-e-Amin, an important Taliban commander.

On July 30, unidentified terrorists stormed the house of a tehsil (revenue division) official in Swat District and killed his brother. "Terrorists raided the house of tehsil nazim Muhammad Ali at Choga near Aloch, killing his brother and injuring his nephew and a neighbour," the ISPR said.

Four terrorists were killed and 23 were arrested in 24 hours during search and clearance operations by the SFs in Swat and Malakand, the ISPR said on July 29. The SFs killed four terrorists and arrested three suspects during search operations at Amankot, Ahingro Derai, Minar Qambar and Landikas near Mingora. According to the ISPR, the SFs conducted search operations at Tal near Shah Dheri, resulting in the arrest of two terrorists and the demolition of 10 hideouts. Meanwhile, an anti-Taliban elder and cousin of a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) was killed and his son was injured when suspected militants stormed their house in Shangla District on July 29. The militants attacked the house of Haji Khalil, cousin of MPA Fazlullah and relative of the PML-Q NWFP chapter President Amir Muqam, who had supported the military operation against the militants. Haji Khalil died on the spot while his son Adil and two other were injured.

SFs killed two Taliban militants in Swat and arrested at least 26 suspected militants in various areas of the Swat, Darra Adam Khel and Lakki Districts on July 28. The ISPR said those arrested in Swat included local Taliban ‘commander’ Liaqat, who was taken into custody during a search operation in the Karorai Kandao area.

11 militants were killed in a clearance operation by the SFs and local militia in the Swat and Dir Upper Districts, while 25 others were arrested on July 27. An ISPR media update said nine terrorists also surrendered in different parts of the Malakand Division. It said the local militia (Lashkar) killed 10 terrorists and arrested six others in the Karodara, Shakoh and Chopra Kandao areas of Dir Upper District. Seven terrorists belonging to the Safi group also surrendered before the civil administration. Further, suspected Taliban militants bombed a CD shop in Mansehra, killing one person and injuring two bystanders on July 27. Dawn; Daily Times; The News, July 28-August 3, 2009.

10 persons killed in communal riots in Punjab province: Paramilitary troops were on August 2, 2009, deployed in the Azafi Abadi village, also known as Koriaan, in the Punjab province, where 10 people were killed in violence between Muslims and Christians over the alleged desecration of the Koran. Pakistan Rangers personnel took up positions in and around Azafi Abadi, a day after it witnessed communal clashes. Persons from the two communities reportedly exchanged fire and over 80 homes of Christians were set ablaze by mobs. However, despite deployment of the Pakistan Rangers, the situation in the area remained tense throughout the day as some Christians refused to bury their dead until Police registered a complaint against those responsible for the killings and arson. "We have arrested a number of suspects and exemplary punishment will be given to those involved in heinous crimes. This is a crime against humanity," Rana Sanaullah, Law Minister of Punjab, told reporters. He said some outlawed religious groups were involved in the violence but did not name them.

A Police source told PTI that activists of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP) were involved in the violence. "Their armed activists from other parts of Punjab gathered in Koriaan village," the source said. Violence erupted in the village, part of Gojra sub-division of Toba Tek Singh District and located 160 km from Lahore, when a group of Muslims alleged three Christians burnt pages of the Koran during a wedding last week. At least seven Christians, including four women and two children, were burnt alive. Three others were killed in Police firing on August 1. The Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti and provincial minister Sanaullah, however, said no Christian was involved in desecrating the Koran. The Hindu, August 3, 2009.

Lashkar-e-Toiba behind Mumbai attacks, says British parliamentary report: Holding the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) responsible for the November 26, 2008, Mumbai attacks, a British parliamentary committee on August 2, 2009, said several major terrorist attacks across the world, including those in London, Madrid, and Bali, had their origins in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

A report by the Foreign Affairs Committee quoted a former CIA chief as saying the Pakistan-based LeT had reached a "merge point" with the Al Qaeda. "It was from the tribal areas in Pakistan that the bomb plots in London, Madrid, Bali, Islamabad, and later Germany and Denmark were planned," said the report on ‘Global Security: Afghanistan and Pakistan,’ headed by lawmaker Mike Gapes. The report said the LeT, which was responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that targeted Westerners, in particular U.S. and U.K, nationals, also operates from these tribal areas. It added that a section within the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) still feels that "India, rather than the Islamic terrorists," was the main threat to it. "We welcome the increasing recognition at senior levels within the Pakistani military of the need for a recalibrated approach to militancy, but we remain concerned that this may not necessarily be replicated elsewhere within the Army and the ISI," the report said. It welcomed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s remark that terrorism, not India, was the real threat to his country. However, the report raised doubts over "whether the underlying fundamentals of Pakistani security policy have changed sufficiently to realise the goals of long-term security and stability in Afghanistan." The Hindu, August 3, 2009.