AF/PAK – SWEEP
PAKISTAN
1.) Security forces demolished six houses of militant commanders associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Islam and arrested eight suspected persons in Speen Qabar area of Bara Tehsil in Khyber Agency on Monday, official sources said. - The News
2.) The Timergara District Police Officer said the police launched a search against the criminals and anti-social elements in various parts of the district and arrested 102 outlaws, including seven militants. He said two militants arrested from Adenzai area were involved in the killing of the DPO Khurshid Khan while five were nabbed from the Maidan area. Seventy-seven rifles, 43 guns, 52 pistols and drugs were seized from their possession. - The News
3.) Security forces claimed to have arrested 10 militants and recovered a large number of arms and ammunition from their possession during a pre-dawn operation in Katlang tehsil on Monday. The pre-dawn operation, which continued the whole day, was carried out in Sawaldair, Matha, Shamozai, Babozai, Kadao, Chora, Bashakhale, Jamal Gari, Speenkai, Jabbar and Guli Bagh areas of Katlang. Sources said that curfew was imposed in those areas before the launch of the operation. Security forces said that they arrested several suspected militants and recovered a large number of arms, explosive materials and other ammunitions during the operation. Military helicopters also took part in the operation by providing air over to security forces. - Dawn
4.) At least four extremists were killed in a clash with the security forces in Mardan area of Katling amid continued search operation in the area. According to the security sources, the security forces commenced search operation in the suburbs and Katling area of Mardan, which ensued in the exchange of fire with the extremists. According to the security sources, the search operation is still underway in the area. - Geo
5.) A police vehicle was destroyed in an ambush Tuesday morning in Hazar Ganji area in the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta in the southwest Balochistan province, local police said. No casualties were reported in the hand grenade attack on the police van, police sources added. - Xinhua
6.) Unidentified militants destroyed another girls school Tuesday morning by detonating explosive material in the Mohmand tribal area of northwest Pakistan, local media reported citing official sources. The number of schools destroyed by insurgent militants in Mohmand tribal area bordering Afghanistan has risen to 57 so far. - Xinhua
7.) 10.11 - The Pakistani government has engaged top leaders of the Haqqani militant network to initiate negotiations between rival rebel factions in the Kurram tribal region in order to usher in peace and normalcy in the region affected by sectarian strife, sources said Monday. The Haqqanis have conditionally agreed to broker the talks between the rival groups. The sources said parliamentarian Sajid Turi, who represented the Shi'i group Ahle Tashih, and lawmaker Munir Orakzai, who represented the Sunni group Ahl-e-Sunnat, participated in three-day peace talks held in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The jirga, after detailed deliberations, has now reached Islamabad and the draft of a possible peace agreement is expected to be finalized in the next few days. The Haqqani brothers agreed to get the local Taleban to stop their subversive activities in Kurram agency to pave the way for lasting peace in the area. – PTI
AFGHANISTAN
1.) The Afghan Taliban on Monday took control of several important checkposts near the border with Pakistan after Nato forces and Afghan National Army abandoned them, tribal sources said. Reports from across the border suggested that Afghan Taliban fighters occupied the strategically important key border checkpoints at Ghakhi Pass soon after the Nato forces and the Afghan National Army vacated these checkposts following a spate of attacks and subsequently suffering heavy material and human losses. The sources said, the Taliban started patrolling the area and strengthened their position. According to sources, Nato forces and Afghan National Army had earlier deserted seven checkposts due to the Taliban offensive. - The News
2.) Four civilians were killed and two others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck civilian car in Zabul province south of Afghanistan, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, the spokesman for provincial administration, said Tuesday. "A civilian car ran over a mine in Shahjoy district Monday evening as a result four travelers were killed and two others injured, all innocent civilians," Rasoulyar told Xinhua. He blamed Taliban militants for planting the mine, saying the insurgents often organize roadside bombings to harm both civilians and security personnel. - Xinhua
3.) Six Taliban fighters including shadowy district governor were killed in separate operations in western Herat province Monday, a statement released by police department here Tuesday said. In the first operation, according to the statement, carried out in Qosh Asia village of Kushk-e-Rubatsangi district as a result four Taliban insurgents including shadow district governor Mullah Zabihullah were killed. The second operation conducted in Shorab Dahandarzak village of Kushk-e-Kohna district, which left two Taliban militants dead, the statement emphasized. Taliban militants have yet to make comment. Afghan and NATO-led forces were involved in the operations during which two motorbikes and two assault rifles were also seized, the statement further said. - Xinhua
4.) Eight Taliban insurgents were killed in an air attack Monday in Afghanistan's western Herat province, police spokesman in the province Noor Khan Nikzad said Tuesday. "The Taliban rebels were in meeting inside a house in Tagab-e- Yari village of Aoba district Monday evening when aircraft targeted their hideout killing eight rebels including their commander Mullah Ghousuding on the spot," Nikzad told. - Xinhua
5.) Six civilians were killed Tuesday as a rocket fired by insurgents struck their vehicle in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, a statement of Interior Ministry said. "Today, insurgents fired a rocket on Ghibi Khil area, Ghani Khil district of Paktika province which hit a civilian vehicle as a result six innocent travelers including a woman, two children and three men were killed," the statement further said. - Xinhua
6.) An explosion on board a US helicopter killed one person and wounded eight others shortly after it landed on a small military base in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a military spokesman said. The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the cause of the explosion was unclear, but the Taliban claimed its fighters in Kunar province shot down the helicopter. An AFP correspondent in Marawar district said he saw three helicopters flying over the Ghash area and then heard the sound of rocket fire, after which two helicopters flew off and an exchange of small arms fire broke out. ISAF said seven troops were wounded and one person killed, but a spokesman later raised the number of injured to eight. There were 26 people on board the helicopter, which an ISAF spokesman identified as a US Chinook. "We're working very hard to have a read through and sort out. We think right now it's one dead and eight injured. It's fair to say that some of the wounded were ISAF service members," the spokesman said. The military said that the landing site had been secured by Afghan and NATO soldiers, and that the cause of the explosion was under investigation. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed Tuesday that his militia shot down the helicopter. "We shot down a NATO helicopter with rocket fire. All the soldiers on board were killed," he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. - AFP
FULL ARTICLE
PAKISTAN
1.)
Houses of Bara militants demolished
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
BARA: Security forces demolished six houses of militant commanders associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Islam and arrested eight suspected persons in Speen Qabar area of Bara Tehsil in Khyber Agency on Monday, official sources said. The sources said security forces carried out a search operation in Speen Qabar area of Bara and demolished six houses of militant commanders Usman Shah, Jahangir, Muhammad Khan, Hindustan, Mehmood and former line officer of Bara Noor Muhammad, who is the cousin of Mangal Bagh, the head of LI. Meanwhile, militants shot dead an unidentified person in Speen Qabar Chowk, eyewitnesses said. They said the militants were four in number who left a paper beside the body before leaving the area. The letter stated the deceased was spying for the government and such people would face the same fate, they added. “Four motorcyclists forced the man to disembark from the bike and sprayed him with bullets,” one of the witnesses added.
2.)
Seven militants held in Timergara
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
CHAKDARRA: Police on Monday claimed to have arrested 102 outlaws including seven militants in a search operation in different areas of Timergara, Lower Dir. Talking to The News, the District Police Officer (DPO), Mumtaz Zareen Khan, said the police launched a search against the criminals and anti-social elements in various parts of the district and arrested 102 outlaws, including seven militants. He said two militants arrested from Adenzai area were involved in the killing of the DPO Khurshid Khan while five were nabbed from the Maidan area. The DPO claimed the arrest of Umar Khan, most wanted criminal and drug-peddler Syed Alam Shah and Sulaiman was an achievement of the police. Seventy-seven rifles, 43 guns, 52 pistols and drugs were seized from their possession.
3.)
10 militants held in Mardan operation
Tuesday, 12 Oct, 2010
MARDAN, Oct 11: Security forces claimed to have arrested 10 militants and recovered a large number of arms and ammunition from their possession during a pre-dawn operation in Katlang tehsil on Monday.
Sources said that the operation was launched after the assassination of Dr Mohammad Farooq Khan, attacks on the Ahmadi’s mosque and Christian church besides other growing incidents of terrorist activities by suspected militants in different parts of Mardan city.
The pre-dawn operation, which continued the whole day, was carried out in Sawaldair, Matha, Shamozai, Babozai, Kadao, Chora, Bashakhale, Jamal Gari, Speenkai, Jabbar and Guli Bagh areas of Katlang.
Sources said that curfew was imposed in those areas before the launch of the operation. Security forces said that they arrested several suspected militants and recovered a large number of arms, explosive materials and other ammunitions during the operation. Military helicopters also took part in the operation by providing air over to security forces.
Some locals said that presence of military helicopters spread a wave of fear among the residents of Mardan city.
Meanwhile, the Amn Jirga expressed satisfaction over the operation against suspected militants in Katlang.
The convener of Amn Jirga, Syed Kamal Shah, said on Monday that people would extend all possible support to security forces to eliminate kidnappers and militants.
He said that assassination of Dr Farooq and killing of Habib Bank manager Masri Khan had spread a wave of fear among the people of Mardan.
MINGORA: Police claimed to have arrested a militant during a raid in Mingora city on Monday.
They said that a police team raided the house of militant, identified as Iqbal, after getting information about his presence there. He was arrested during the raid, they added.
Police said the militant was wanted in many cases of violence. He had fled Swat when a military operation was launched in the region.
Meanwhile, security forces defused a 10-kilogram bomb, planted on Kalam Road near Golibagh. Security forces found the bomb during a search operation.
4.)
4 extremists killed in Mardan
Updated at: 0958 PST, Tuesday, October 12, 2010
4 extremists killed in Mardan MARDAN: At least four extremists were killed in a clash with the security forces in Mardan area of Katling amid continued search operation in the area, Geo News reported Tuesday.
According to the security sources, the security forces commenced search operation in the suburbs and Katling area of Mardan, which ensued in the exchange of fire with the extremists.
At least four extremists were killed in the scuffle.
According to the security sources, the search operation is still underway in the area.
5.)
Police van destroyed in ambush in SW Pakistan
2010-10-12 14:06:00
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- A police vehicle was destroyed in an ambush Tuesday morning in Hazar Ganji area in the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta in the southwest Balochistan province, local police said.
No casualties were reported in the hand grenade attack on the police van, police sources added.
The frequency of attacks on law enforcement personnel has increased many folds during this year. Over a dozen policemen were killed and several others were injured in different attacks on police and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel in Quetta and its suburbs.
Different ethnic Baloch separatist groups often choose sabotage as favorite means of demonstrating their unhappiness over policy issues and to press their demands.
6.)
Militants destroy girls school in NW Pakistan
2010-10-12 13:50:46
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified militants destroyed another girls school Tuesday morning by detonating explosive material in the Mohmand tribal area of northwest Pakistan, local media reported citing official sources.
The number of schools destroyed by insurgent militants in Mohmand tribal area bordering Afghanistan has risen to 57 so far.
Earlier, two girls schools and a boys school were destroyed in bomb blasts Sunday morning.
Certain groups of Taliban militants believe that modern education is allegedly not in line with the Islamic scriptures, with female education being their main target. The ultra orthodox Taliban have been trying to implement their own distorted version of "Shariah" or Islamic jurisprudence in the insurgency-plagued northwest tribal areas of Pakistan.
Over 200 schools have been destroyed by militants in the adjacent Malakand area during the past couple of years. Analysts believed that one of the hidden motives behind sabotaging schools is to keep attendance level high in seminaries. Some seminaries have allegedly been involved in brainwashing young boys to take up militancy as a way of life, local media reported.
Reports suggested that young boys are lured to take up suicide bombing as an ultimate aim in life for seeking a guaranteed entry into heaven in the afterlife. It exhibits an alarmingly rising trend among teenagers in the insurgency-plagued northwest of Pakistan, which is the frontline in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. Most of the suicide bombers, if not all, were teenagers in suicide bombing attacks in Pakistan.
7.)
Pakistan said engages militant network for tribal area peace - PTI
Text of report by Press Trust of India news agency
Peshawar, 11 October: The Pakistani government has engaged top leaders of the Haqqani militant network to initiate negotiations between rival rebel factions in the Kurram tribal region in order to usher in peace and normalcy in the region affected by sectarian strife, sources said Monday [11 October].
An important personality from North Waziristan Agency played a key role in getting Ibrahim Haqqani and Khalil Haqqani, brothers of militant warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, to agree to play the role of peace mediators between rival factions in Kurram Agency, the sources said.
The Haqqanis have conditionally agreed to broker the talks between the rival groups.
The sources said parliamentarian Sajid Turi, who represented the Shi'i group Ahle Tashih, and lawmaker Munir Orakzai, who represented the Sunni group Ahl-e-Sunnat, participated in three-day peace talks held in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The jirga, after detailed deliberations, has now reached Islamabad and the draft of a possible peace agreement is expected to be finalized in the next few days.
The sources said that both Shi'is and Sunnis have agreed to deposit a surety bond of 6 crore [one crore equals 10m] rupees to prevent further violence and bloodshed.
The Haqqani brothers agreed to get the local Taleban to stop their subversive activities in Kurram agency to pave the way for lasting peace in the area.
Hundreds of people have died in fighting between heavily armed Shia and Sunni tribesmen in Kurram Agency over the past three years.
The situation was exacerbated after Taleban fighters infiltrated the area and began backing the Sunnis.
Roads connecting most parts of Kurram to the rest of Pakistan have been closed for over a year and local residents have to been forced to travel to Pakistani cities like Peshawar via Afghanistan.
Source: PTI
AFGHANISTAN
1.)
Afghan Taliban take control of abandoned checkposts