Okay, so I editorialized a bit on that headline, but the airstrike inside of Pakistan by a U.S. predator drone that killed six was the first strike inside of Taliban-linked leader Baitullah Mehsud's home turf in over a year and if Mehsud didn't get that signal, then he's dumber than I thought. Here's some of the details of the strike from The Long War Journal:
Mehsud was recently rumored to be near death as he suffers from some serious physical effects of diabetes but then was seen in public a few days later so I'm sure the U.S. is viewing him as a viable threat as usual. One of the key benefits of disrupting Mehsud's operations, in my view, is that he has been a real conduit between the Taliban and al Qaeda leaders. Mehsud is basically a renegade with his own plans against Pakistan and the infidels but he has a knack of coordinating attacks with all of the jihadi resources in the region. Believe me, for him to be dead would be a huge plus for not only the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan but also the government of Pakistan.
After a relative lull in targeted airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal areas, the US has launched an attack in South Waziristan.We don't have any information as to whether or not any of Mehsud's leadership team was killed in this airstrike, but hopefully we got a couple of them.
Reports from Pakistan indicate at least six were killed and five were wounded after an unmanned Predator strike aircraft launched two missiles in the tribal region run by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. It is unclear if any senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders were killed in the attack.
The strike targeted a safe house in the village of Sam in the Ladha region. The Pakistani Frontier Corps abandoned a fort in Ladha after the Taliban made three attempts to overrun the fort this year. Pakistani officials said the military was unable to hold and resupply the outposts due to Taliban activity.
Mehsud was recently rumored to be near death as he suffers from some serious physical effects of diabetes but then was seen in public a few days later so I'm sure the U.S. is viewing him as a viable threat as usual. One of the key benefits of disrupting Mehsud's operations, in my view, is that he has been a real conduit between the Taliban and al Qaeda leaders. Mehsud is basically a renegade with his own plans against Pakistan and the infidels but he has a knack of coordinating attacks with all of the jihadi resources in the region. Believe me, for him to be dead would be a huge plus for not only the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan but also the government of Pakistan.
US kills 6 in strike in Baitullah Mehsud's territory
After a relative lull in targeted airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal areas, the US has launched an attack in South Waziristan.
Reports from Pakistan indicate at least six were killed and five were wounded after an unmanned Predator strike aircraft launched two missiles in the tribal region run by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. It is unclear if any senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders were killed in the attack.
The strike targeted a safe house in the village of Sam in the Ladha region. The Pakistani Frontier Corps abandoned a fort in Ladha after the Taliban made three attempts to overrun the fort this year. Pakistani officials said the military was unable to hold and resupply the outposts due to Taliban activity.
The US has upped its attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas in an attempt to disrupt al Qaeda and the Taliban's network of training camps and safe houses that are being used to plot attacks against the West and in Afghanistan.
Today's strike was the first since Oct. 11, when US Predators hit a safe house run by the Haqqani family in North Waziristan. Two days prior, the US hit another safe house in North Waziristan, where more than 30 senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders are said to have been meeting.
US officials familiar with the Oct. 9 strike The Long War Journal they believe the operation was compromised by Pakistani intelligence, as the meeting was abruptly broken up just 10 minutes prior to the strike. Six low-level al Qaeda operatives and three others were killed in airstrike. No senior leaders were killed in the attack.
There have been 24 recorded cross-border attacks and attempts in Pakistan in 2008, compared to 10 strikes during 2006 and 2007 combined. Sixteen of these attacks have occurred since Aug. 31. Three senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed in Pakistan’s tribal areas in 2008.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terrorist groups have established 157 training camps and more than 400 support locations in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal.
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