Saturday, March 20, 2010

Tribal Lashkar Destroying Taliban In Kurram Agency of Pakistan, 37 Taliban Killed


I've blogged quite a few times about the lashkars in Pakistan, those tribal "awakenings" that spring up in opposition to the Taliban much like the original Sunni awakenings in western Iraq did against al Qaeda in Iraq...well, the past week, these tribal lashkars in Pakistan's NW agency of Kurram have been dealing the death blow to the Taliban. Big time. Look at this from The Long War Journal:



A pro-government tribal military has inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban in the remote tribal agency of Kurram over the past six days, killing 37 fighters while taking only three losses.

A tribal militia, or lashkar, killed 21 Taliban fighters today in the Nekah Ziarat region in Kurram after holding a jirga, or council. No lashkar members were reported killed.

The tribal militias in Kurram have battled the Taliban at least two other times this week. On March 17, 10 Taliban fighters and three militia fighters were killed in a clash. On March 13, a militia dumped the bodies of six Taliban fighters in Kurram.
While we've been hoping to see the lashkars in Pakistan really catch on like they did in Iraq, they have had issues as the Taliban often match them in numbers and the Taliban have been quick to deal out some lethal revenge in the past. But now is a little different, in that, the Taliban forces in NW Pakistan right now are in disarray - and they are moving a lot more rather than being able to fortify themselves. It's my belief that these lashkars in Kurram are pouncing on these Taliban in transition and have had great success.

While I'm going to keep a check on my enthusiam here, this does frame up the perfect storm for the decimation of the Taliban. When you have the Pakistani military pressing forward with operations and air strikes against the Taliban and then couple that with U.S. predator strikes and these lashkar operations, the end result is the Taliban have to try and flee and one of the best escape routes for the Taliban doesn't look so good right now - southern Helmand province in Afghanistan is full of US Marines.



Tribal militia battles the Taliban in Pakistan's Kurram agency

A pro-government tribal military has inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban in the remote tribal agency of Kurram over the past six days, killing 37 fighters while taking only three losses.

A tribal militia, or lashkar, killed 21 Taliban fighters today in the Nekah Ziarat region in Kurram after holding a jirga, or council. No lashkar members were reported killed.

The tribal militias in Kurram have battled the Taliban at least two other times this week. On March 17, 10 Taliban fighters and three militia fighters were killed in a clash. On March 13, a militia dumped the bodies of six Taliban fighters in Kurram.

Over the past several months, Kurram has become a hotspot in Pakistan's tribal areas. Large elements of the Taliban in the Mehsud regions of South Waziristan have relocated to Kurram, as well as to nearby Hangu, Arakzai, and North Waziristan, after the Pakistani Army launched an operation in October 2009 [see LWJ report, "Pakistani military hits Taliban in Arakzai"].

Two powerful Taliban commanders, Maulvi Noor Jamal and Fazal Saeed Utezai, operate in the tribal agency.

Jamal, who is also known as Maulvi Toofan, is the Taliban commander in Kurram. Jamal is known as a brutal and effective leader. After Hakeemullah Mehsud was reported killed in late January 2010, Jamal denied rumors that he had taken control of the Pakistani Taliban. In fact, Jamal claimed Hakeemullah is still alive.

Utezai is a deputy to Hakeemullah and leads Taliban fighters in the Kurram tribal agency. His forces have been behind some of the worst sectarian violence against the Shia tribes in Kurram and beyond.

Kurram has a significant Shia population which has been under a relentless assault by the Taliban in the remote tribal agency. In 2008 and 2009, the Shia in Kurram were under siege by the Taliban while Pakistani security forces looked on. The Shia's only outside lifeline was through Afghanistan, as the Taliban blocked the major routes from the tribal areas into the settled district.

Throughout the northwest, the Taliban have responded aggressively to efforts by tribal leaders to oppose the spread of extremism in the tribal areas. Tribal opposition has been violently attacked and defeated in Peshawar, Dir, Arakzai, Khyber, and Swat. Suicide bombers have struck at tribal meetings held at mosques, schools, hotels, and homes [see LWJ report, "Anti-Taliban tribal militia leader assassinated in Pakistan's northwest," for more information on the difficulties of raising tribal lashkars in Pakistan's northwest].

The Taliban perfected this strategy in North and South Waziristan. Tribal leaders who opposed the Taliban were brutally liquidated. The Taliban would execute the leaders and dump their bodies on the roadside with notes pinned to their chests branding them as "US spies" and traitors. The bodies were often mutilated and beheaded.

The Taliban have made very public examples of local leaders who have dared to resist. In December 2008, the Swat Taliban executed a local tribal leader named Pir Samiullah, then returned to the village to dig up his body and hang it in the town square. The villagers were warned not to remove his body or they would face the same fate [see LWJ report, "Video: Taliban execute Swat tribal leader"]. In early January of this year, in nearby Arakzai, the Taliban torched an entire village for cooperating with security forces.

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