Military convoy ambushed in North Waziristan 23 Apr 2010

[Mujahid]

MIRAMSHAH: Seven soldiers and at least sixteen were injured as militants ambushed an army convoy in North Waziristan on Friday.

Two officers were among the dead in the ambush in Dattakhel, a Taliban stronghold and recent target of US drone missile strikes, about 20 kilometres (10 miles) from North Waziristan's main town Miramshah.

“It was a pre-planned attack. Dozens of militants first fired several rockets and then used other weapons and guns,” an intelligence official based in Miranshah said, adding that four military vehicles were destroyed.

A military statement said the convoy was on a routine mission from Miramshah to Dattakhel.

“In the ambush, seven soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom), including an officer and a junior commissioned officer, while 16 soldiers were injured,” the statement said. Two of the wounded are in a critical condition.

This is the first major attack against the military in North Waziristan this year, as so far the major attacks and fighting has taken place in South waziristan which was the focus of Operation Rah-e-Nijat, which was aimed at breaking the hold of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

According to local sources, many of the Taliban groups had fled South Waziristan to North waziristan, and many of these groups include Chechen and Arab fighter a well.

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Military convoy ambushed in North Waziristan

 

[Prometheus]

Seven soldiers embrace martyrdom in militant ambush

PESHAWAR: Seven soldiers embraced martyrdom and 16 wounded after militants armed with guns and rocket launchers ambushed their convoy in the northwest tribal belt, officials said Friday.

Dozens of insurgents on Thursday attacked the troops in North Waziristan.

"In the ambush, seven soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom), including an officer and a junior commissioned officer, while 16 soldiers were injured.

"It was a pre-planned attack. Dozens of militants first fired several rockets and then used other weapons and guns," an intelligence official based in Miranshah said, adding that four military vehicles were destroyed.

A military statement said the convoy on a routine mission from Miranshah to Dattakhel when they were ambushed.

 

[Prometheus]

RIP the soldiers

 

[TaimiKhan]

It seems someone is interested to bring the war to NW.

May the martyred souls rest in peace and Allah give courage to their families to bear this tragic loss.

 

[hillman32]

Its Price for Peace

Peace for Pakistan and Peace for Globe

Pakistan Army is prepared to pay the price

I salute those who laid lives for us......

 

[air marshal]

May rest all in peace, ameen!

 

[iPhone]

This is it. Operation in North Waziristaan.

Rest in peace brave soldiers.

 

[karan.1970]

RIP .. Brave souls...

 

[air marshal]

 

[mehru]

RIP...our brave soldiers

 

[fatman17]

WE FIGHT
LAST MAN
LAST BULLET

THEY WILL BE AVENGED!

 

[nakodo]

It seems someone is interested to bring the war to NW.

I dont know how you mean but if it surprised you, then the feeling is mutual. I thought NW was where PA had done deals to protect assets that will define its presence in Afghanistan post US withdrawal.

Can't fathom why PA would go after NW

 

[TaimiKhan]

I dont know how you mean but if it surprised you, then the feeling is mutual. I thought NW was where PA had done deals to protect assets that will define its presence in Afghanistan post US withdrawal.

Can't fathom why PA would go after NW

There is no surprise in this, as last year also, under the disguise of peace the militants attacked a convoy and did heavy damage.

And the deal is not to protect assets, the deal is to cover one flank, while the other one is being routed as we can't simultaneously take on all of them. So get this misconception right.

Issue is, the militants who ran away from SW to NW are gonna do such acts, as they would be hoping that in retaliation army will start an operation here also, thus they will get these militants in the conflict also who have done the peace deal. And these militants are the ones who are in greater numbers and much more equipped and have the advantage of the Afghan border from where they can then do hit and run attacks as across the border the Afghans and US forces provide them full protection.

 

[Marxist]

Taliban commander vows to honour truce after army convoy ambush

Islamabad - A Taliban commander whose men ambushed an army convoy two days ago in a Pakistan tribal district has vowed to uphold a seven-month-old peace deal with the government in a bid to a avert military offensive, a media report said Saturday.

Warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur has directed his fighters to refrain from attacking security forces and government installations in North Waziristan, English-language daily The News reported.

The statement was published two days after Taliban militants attacked a security convoy in the district, killing eight troops and injuring 15 more.

The strike, which violated a September peace agreement between the government and Bahadur, raised the prospects of a fully fledged conflict in North Waziristan. The district has so far escaped the brunt of Pakistan's ongoing assault on the Islamist insurgency in the tribal region.

A team of local clerics brokered a ceasefire after military helicopter gunships pounded several militant positions after Thursday's ambush.

The truce allowed the military to recover dead and wounded soldiers, the report said.

Bahadur described the clash as a "sad incident" which he claimed occurred when the troops opened fire at schoolchildren and farmers working at roadside farms.

He urged the military to notify him and his commanders prior to any troop movement in the areas under his control. "I promise to protect the troops," Bahadur was cited as saying by The News.

Bahadur, believed to be in his late 40s, is considered apro-government warlord whose men spare Pakistani security personnel and focus on raids against NATO forces in Afghanistan, unlike Islamist insurgents in other Pakistani tribal districts.

The United States have pressed Pakistan for an offensive in North Waziristan.

But Islamabad says it lacks the resources to expand military action when thousands of its troops are fighting the Taliban in other tribal districts and the adjoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, formerly known as North-West Frontier Province.

Taliban commander vows to honour truce after army convoy ambush | Earth Times News

 

[mehru]

According to The Urdu newspaper Jung, Local tribesman joined Taliban to attack military convoy.Later tribal elders issued a statement that it was some misunderstanding and the peace deal is still intact. I have a bad feeling that army strategy in N.Waziristan is not working and eventually they have to do operation there.

Taliban kill 7 troops in North Waziristan ambush

MIRANSHAH: Taliban ambushed a security forces convoy in North Waziristan on Friday, killing seven soldiers and injuring 16 others.

The convoy was going from Miranshah to Datta Khel tehsil when the assailants fired rockets at it in Zoni area of Boya, 10 kilometres west of the agency headquarters.

An army statement said the convoy was “carrying out a routine movement” to the area from Miranshah, AP reported.

The statement did not give many details. However, two intelligence officials in the northwest said tribesmen joined local Taliban fighters to stage the ambush after a 15-year-old boy in the area was allegedly shot to death by an earlier group of traveling soldiers.

The boy was killed when troops opened fire after a roadside bomb exploded near the convoy, the officials said on condition on anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Two officers were among the dead in the ambush in Datta Khel, AFP reported.

“It was a pre-planned attack. Dozens of militants first fired several rockets and then used other weapons and guns,” an intelligence official based in Miranshah said, adding that four military vehicles were destroyed.

In retaliation, helicopter gunships shelled the terrorists’ hideouts, killing six terrorists.

The attack could raise pressure on Islamabad to wage an offensive in North Waziristan, which has largely escaped army action in recent years despite US pressure for a crackdown. Taliban attacks on troops in the region have also been rare.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan