Pakistan's Military In South Waziristan Sets Sites On Taliban Base, Sararogha

The report is out there now that the Pakistani military, in their operation in South Waziristan, has the Taliban base of Sararogha, now in their sites. This comes a couple of days after they overran the hometown of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and what this will now represent is probably the biggest single battle of the new offensive. I am confident that the Taliban will not wish to give up such an established base of operations as Sararogha and if the Pakistanis are adamant about taking it, it could literally define the success or failure of this offensive.

From the article at Breitbart:

The army announced Saturday the capture of Kotkai, the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain.
The town lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, and the army statement Sunday said troops had captured two key fronts between Kotkai and the base. The statement said troops secured at least one other important front and fought 16 hours to capture a significant mountaintop.
Terrorists have fled Kotkai and are sporadically attacking troops with rockets from distant heights, the statement said.

I can't substantiate this but I have a feeling that many of the fleeing Taliban from the offensive so far have migrated to Sararogha and we'll just have to see if the Taliban leadership decided to make this the fortress to protect.

It will be interesting to see just how much firepower the Pakistanis will call in on this battle - will they unleash dozens of JDAMs on Sararogha? will they line up artillery to pound this base? One can only hope that the answer is "yes" to both of those questions.

Pakistan army claims more advances in offensive

ISLAMABAD (AP) - The army claimed to be advancing on a main Pakistani Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border Sunday, a day after capturing the hometown of the militant group's chief and sending insurgents there fleeing into the nearby mountains.
The militants in the rugged, lawless South Waziristan tribal region continued to attack troops with rockets, an army statement said, while in northeastern Pakistan a suicide bomber killed a police officer on a highway south of the capital.

Taliban militants have carried out a string of attacks across the country in response to the air and ground offensive. Washington has encouraged the operation in the northwest because many militants there are believed to shelter al-Qaida leaders and be involved in attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan.
The army announced Saturday the capture of Kotkai, the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain.
The town lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, and the army statement Sunday said troops had captured two key fronts between Kotkai and the base. The statement said troops secured at least one other important front and fought 16 hours to capture a significant mountaintop.
Terrorists have fled Kotkai and are sporadically attacking troops with rockets from distant heights, the statement said.
The most recent fighting in the region killed 15 militants and one soldier, the statement said. Independent verification of such reports is nearly impossible because the military has blocked access to South Waziristan.
The majority of homes in Kotkai had been converted into "strong bunkers," and it was home to a training camp for suicide bombers, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told reporters. Troops had begun ridding it of land mines and roadside bombs.
"Thank God, this is the army's very big success," Abbas said. "The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taliban ranks. Their aides are deserting them."
Abbas said some of the fleeing Taliban have shaved their beards and cut their hair to try to blend in with the civilian population. Taliban spokesmen could not be reached for comment.
Some 200 people have been killed in militant attacks across Pakistan this month.
In the latest attack Sunday, a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives on the highway near Jhelum city, some 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Islamabad, police official Waseem Kausar said.
He said the car was stopped by police, and one man fled and was caught while the other detonated the bomb, killing a patrol officer. The man now in custody told police they had planned to detonate the bomb in Lahore, Kausar said, without giving details of a specific target.
The eastern city of Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city, has been a scene of commando-style attacks by the Taliban in recent months, including on law enforcement agencies.
The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled South Waziristan. In Dera Ismail Khan, a nearby town where many of those fleeing have congregated, they reacted to the news of Kotkai's capture with suspicion.
"They are making tall claims of conquering Waziristan in a few weeks, but we think this is not doable even in five to six years," said Azam Khan Mehsud, who hails from the Makeen area.
The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on an estimated 12,000 militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs.
Meanwhile, the army statement said six soldiers died in an army helicopter crash Saturday in the Bajur tribal region.