It's all about tips from the people. We saw this start to really turn the tide in Al Anbar province in Iraq as the Iraqi people started telling U.S. forces and Awakening teams where the bad guys of al Qaeda were hiding, and now, a senior commander of the Taliban was turned in by a civilian tip that led to a Pakistani military raid with the end result of six dead Taliban, including the commander, Ihsanullah alias Pir.
From the report at DAWN:
As we have seen, the Swat Valley was basically cleared out by the Pakistani army quite awhile ago which makes this hit even more significant as you can see from the article what this Taliban commander's role was meant to be:
All too often we've seen the Taliban get cleared from an area, whether it be in Afghanistan or Pakistan, only to send pockets of them back into that area to set up shop again so this is a significant hit against the Taliban and their plans to reinvigorate the Swat Valley.
From the report at DAWN:
A key militant commander was killed along with his five comrade-in-arms in two different incidents in Swat on Monday, a security official said. One security man was also wounded in the action. In a major raid, since the end of Operation Rah-i-Rast in July last, security forces surrounded a house in Kanju in Kabal tehsil and after intense 12-hour siege killed a key militant commander, Ihsanullah alias Pir, along with his three fighters. Curfew was imposed in Kanju, Dheri, Koza Banda and surrounding areas The official said the raid was conducted on a tip-off. He described Ihsanullah as a senior militant commander of the rank and stature of Fateh and Ibn-i-Amin, two important leaders of Taliban in Swat.
As we have seen, the Swat Valley was basically cleared out by the Pakistani army quite awhile ago which makes this hit even more significant as you can see from the article what this Taliban commander's role was meant to be:
“Ihsan was sent to organise a new round of insurgency in Swat. We have had intelligence but couldn’t trace him and finally came the tip-off,” the official said.
All too often we've seen the Taliban get cleared from an area, whether it be in Afghanistan or Pakistan, only to send pockets of them back into that area to set up shop again so this is a significant hit against the Taliban and their plans to reinvigorate the Swat Valley.
Key militant commander among six killed in Swat
MINGORA: A key militant commander was killed along with his five comrade-in-arms in two different incidents in Swat on Monday, a security official said. One security man was also wounded in the action.
In a major raid, since the end of Operation Rah-i-Rast in July last, security forces surrounded a house in Kanju in Kabal tehsil and after intense 12-hour siege killed a key militant commander, Ihsanullah alias Pir, along with his three fighters. Curfew was imposed in Kanju, Dheri, Koza Banda and surrounding areas
The official said the raid was conducted on a tip-off. He described Ihsanullah as a senior militant commander of the rank and stature of Fateh and Ibn-i-Amin, two important leaders of Taliban in Swat.
“Ihsan was sent to organise a new round of insurgency in Swat. We have had intelligence but couldn’t trace him and finally came the tip-off,” the official said.
According to unconfirmed reports, Fateh was believed to have been killed in a helicopter gunship attack in Mohmand two months ago while Ibn-i-Amin is also believed to have moved to the tribal region after fleeing his last sanctuary in Bajaur.
The official said that militants fired at security forces and kept them at bay for quite some time, before soldiers managed to go near the house and cause a breach in the wall for action.
One of the militants, he said, blew himself up, while two others were killed as they came out of the house firing at the security forces, while one was captured in wounded position. The official also attributed the recent incidents of target killings to the group hiding in Kanju.
Meanwhile, military sources said a militant commander Anwar and his deputy Sadiq were killed in exchange of fire with security forces in Ghaligi Darra of tehsil Barikot. They belonged to Odigram area. Arms were also recovered from their possession.
KOHAT:
Two militants were killed and a security person was injured during a clash in Zarghun Khel area of Darra Adamkhel on Monday.
Sources said that militants launched a major attack at the security checkpost in Noor Ali Kalay in Zarghun Khel and injured Frontier Corps naib subedar Zaheer.
The FC repulsed the attack and killed two fleeing militants identified as Ayub and Samiullah of Tariq Afridi group of Taliban. Security forces also arrested 11 suspected militants in the area. Helicopter gunships also targeted militants’ hideouts in the mountains of Darra Adamkhel.
LANDI KOTAL:
The political administration of Khyber Agency imposed curfew in parts of Tirah in anticipation of a military operation in the valley.
Officials said that curfew was imposed from Chamkani to Lakar Bara areas. They said that at least 25 suspects were also arrested during a search operation in those areas. Officials, however, did not provide any timeframe of the operation in Tirah. They said that a large number of Taliban had entered Tirah after fleeing Orakzai Agency.
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