Operation Rah-e-Nijat

[Xeric]

FACTBOX-Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud alive or dead? | Reuters

FACTBOX-Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud alive or dead?
Thu Aug 6, 2009 2:17am EDT

By Simon Cameron-Moore

ISLAMABAD, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pakistani intelligence agents were scrambling on Thursday to determine whether Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed along with his wife in a U.S. missile strike a day earlier.

A relative of the dead woman, Mehsud's second wife, said the chieftain was not present when the U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at the house of his father-in-law in Makeen, a village in South Waziristan -- in northwest Pakistan.

But rumours swirl that he may have been wounded or killed.

Following are some details about Mehsud.

-- In late 2007, Mehsud proclaimed himself leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Movement of Taliban of Pakistan, grouping 13 factions. Pakistani Taliban leaders have sworn allegiance to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

-- Mehsud became Public Enemy Number One after launching suicide attacks in 2007 against the military and politicians.

-- The government of ex-president Pervez Musharraf and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency both saw Mehsud as chief suspect in the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Mehsud denied it.

-- The United States had offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to Mehsud's location or arrest. The Pakistan government has put a $615,000 bounty on his head.

-- Regarded as an ally of al Qaeda, Mehsud has assembled militants from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Punjabi based group that has provided al Qaeda's foot soldiers in Pakistan, along with Uzbeks and other Central Asian fighters within al Qaeda's network. Together with his own men, Mehsud is reckoned to have 10,000 to over 20,000 fighters with him in mountainous South Waziristan.

-- Pakistani officials say Mehsud is helped by arch-rival India, but diplomats in Islamabad are skeptical and see that as an attempt to dislodge Indian influence in Afghanistan.

-- Critics say Pakistan's army tolerated Mehsud for too long, and deride a 2005 peace deal, saying militants were paid off.

-- In June, U.S. drones began attacking Mehsud territory more frequently after Pakistan's government ordered its army to pursue Mehsud. Pakistani forces have bombarded Taliban positions and sealed off roads, but there has been no all-out assault. -- Diplomats say Mehsud's elimination would mark a major coup for Pakistan, but doubt it will help Western forces fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. -- Mehsud was born in 1974 in Bannu in North West Frontier Province. His ancestral village of Shaga is in South Waziristan, the poorest of seven Federally Administered Tribal Areas from the ethnic Pashtun belt straddling the border with Afghanistan.

-- Mehsud belongs to the Bromikhel, a traditional sub-clan of the fiercely independent Mehsuds. The son of a minor cleric, Mehsud was educated to the age of 12 in a madrasa, or religious school, is barely literate and worked as a truck driver. -- Journalists who have met Mehsud describe him as physically unimposing, round-faced beneath a beard. He also suffered from diabetes. He has two brothers among his followers. (Editing by Ron Popeski)

 

[fatman17]

^hope he gets it soon!

 

[moha199]

^^^ I hope that too

 

[TaimiKhan]

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who led a violent campaign of suicide attacks and assassinations against the Pakistani government, has been killed in a US missile strike, a Taliban commander and aide to Mehsud said Friday.


‘I confirm that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan,’ Kafayatullah told The Associated Press by telephone. He would not give any further details.

 

[fatman17]

Good Riddance !!!

 

[Awesome]

I wonder if this would speed up Rah-e-Nijat or delay it.

If they hit them now, they'll catch the whole group unprepared, whoever comes in next would take his sweet time consolidating his power base all across Waziristan, earning alliances, securing a weapons supply from perhaps Indian agencies, etc. None of that would happen.

Then again, the army now has time to build up their offensive, the government can work to handle the impending refugee crisis better than what they did with Swat. Starting a fight right now would probably go into the winter and the providing for the refugees in winter would be tougher.

 

[Khalids]

I think PA should cement and enhance their intelligence network now and try to plant its men in TTP, a full scale campaign can be started in spring next year, after a thorough ground work.

 

[fatman17]

^the army will not go in the hills chasing the militants, they want them to come down to the plains and the advent of severe winter coupled with all the enterance/exits closed off by the army, they will have no choice but to come down to the warmer climes and then get "slaughtered"!

best-case-scenario!

 

[fatman17]

Editorial: Another chapter of terrorism closed

Baitullah Mehsud, the fearsome top leader of the self-styled Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, is reportedly dead, killed in last Tuesday’s Predator strike. Earlier reports had suggested that the attack had claimed his wife. There is need for further confirmation but if the report is correct then the hit is a big positive for the ongoing counterinsurgency and terrorism operations. Consider.

Mehsud had emerged as the biggest menace for Pakistan attacking soft and hard targets in the tribal areas as well as across Pakistan. He had become the main plank between Al Qaeda and the several sectarian and terrorist groups within Pakistan drawing cadres from all of them and forging them into a well-knit terrorist force. He considered himself safe in the craggy mountain redoubts of South Waziristan and so far all attempts to get to him through ground extraction operations had failed. In the final analysis, he had become the centre of gravity which needed to be hit because he managed from that central position to expand the zone of irregular war, a combination of insurgency and terrorism, and forced the security forces to fight several small wars on the periphery.

His death therefore sends a clear signal to the Taliban, and whoever his successor might be, that the heat and din of war can reach their headquarters. Also, that no matter how rough and difficult the terrain, superior technology will be used to blunt the terrorists’ advantage. Wherever it is difficult to execute ground operations, air power can be used to take out even mobile targets.

The other setback would be the need for the Taliban to find someone to replace Mehsud. That they will be able to do but it will take time and it will be some time before that person will be able to get a handle on things. Going by reports of how Mehsud dealt with his second-string leaders, we know that he never allowed any of his lieutenants to grow too big. Qari Hussain, who trained and prepared suicide bombers for the TTP, had to mend fences with Mehsud when the Qari overstepped his brief and attacked the house of Khyber Agency’s political agent in Tank. Mehsud knew that in the game that he was playing, he could not afford to let anyone grow beyond a certain point. But now that he is reported dead, this could prove a problem for his successor. In fact, this could even lead to a battle for succession and a splintering of TTP. If the TTP falls apart into various factions, its ability to mount coordinated attacks could suffer. That would make it easier for the security forces to pre-empt future insurgent and terrorist attacks.

Having said this, however, we should not consider this as the beginning of the end of this menace. There is every possibility that the Taliban and their sleeper cells will mount a string of attacks across Pakistan to avenge Mehsud’s killing. So, before it begins to get better, it could get worse. The government should be alive to this fact. Secondly, Mehsud became big in the way that he did because Al Qaeda needed to prop up someone to act as go-between itself and the several extremist groups. With Mehsud gone, Al Qaeda will be looking for the right person to replace him and is very likely to throw its weight and resources behind that person. Similarly, given that Mehsud did get taken out by a drone despite much precaution, the Taliban are likely to become more cautious in avoiding a similar fate for their next leader.

Nonetheless, the operation has notched a big success and it must be looked at as such. It also disproves the thesis in Pakistan that Mehsud was operating at the behest of a US-India combine because those countries want to dismember Pakistan. If anything, it now points to greater intelligence and military cooperation between Pakistan and the US which is the only way the two sides can fight this war. Also, Pakistan had long insisted that it cannot take care of groups that are sustaining the insurgency in Afghanistan because it has to deal with the menace of Mehsud. Islamabad will now have to revisit that argument. With elections coming up in Afghanistan, the US would want Pakistan to help it maintain security in Afghanistan by ensuring, as far as Pakistan can, that groups operating from the Pakistani soil are neutralised.

http://www.thedailytimes.com.pk

 

[fatman17]

Govt to pay CIA for Baitullah’s killing?

PESHAWAR: With the news of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud’s death all over the national and international media, an interesting question has arisen as to whether the government will pay the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for killing the Taliban leader. Islamabad had announced a reward of Rs 50 million for information leading to the capture, dead or alive, of Baitullah. The government has also offered rewards for the arrest or killing of 10 other Taliban leaders. The US government had also announced a head money of $5 million for Baitullah. Other most wanted militants on Islamabad’s list are Faqir Muhammad of Bajaur, Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid and Qari Shakeel of Mohmand, Tariq Afridi from Darra Adamkhel and Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain from South Waziristan Agency. Apart from whom the US would pay their reward money for the information leading to Mehsud’s death, the question now is that whether Islamabad would pay their announced head money of Rs 5 million to the CIA, which coordinated, planned and executed the attack that targeted the Taliban chief.

manzoor ali shah

 

[Awesome]

Govt to pay CIA for Baitullah’s killing?

PESHAWAR: With the news of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud’s death all over the national and international media, an interesting question has arisen as to whether the government will pay the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for killing the Taliban leader. Islamabad had announced a reward of Rs 50 million for information leading to the capture, dead or alive, of Baitullah. The government has also offered rewards for the arrest or killing of 10 other Taliban leaders. The US government had also announced a head money of $5 million for Baitullah. Other most wanted militants on Islamabad’s list are Faqir Muhammad of Bajaur, Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid and Qari Shakeel of Mohmand, Tariq Afridi from Darra Adamkhel and Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain from South Waziristan Agency. Apart from whom the US would pay their reward money for the information leading to Mehsud’s death, the question now is that whether Islamabad would pay their announced head money of Rs 5 million to the CIA, which coordinated, planned and executed the attack that targeted the Taliban chief.

manzoor ali shah

The story emerging is that it was a coordinated effort. Probably the intel was supplied by the Pakistanis while the attack was carried out by CIA.

 

[fatman17]

The story emerging is that it was a coordinated effort. Probably the intel was supplied by the Pakistanis while the attack was carried out by CIA.

so they split the bounty and live happily ever after!

 

[fatman17]

Non-Subscriber Extract

Baitullah's death unlikely to ease militancy in Pakistan

07 August 2009

Baitullah personified, particularly in the West, the extremist threat to Pakistan. While some observers credited his rapid rise to his charismatic leadership and skills as a military commander, others saw him as a violent thug who eliminated anyone who stood in his way.

Between 4 and 5 August, a United States drone reportedly fired two missiles at Baitullah's father-in-law's house in Zangara village of Ladha subdivision in South Waziristan, killing the tribal commander's wife. Pakistani and US officials suspect that the commander was in the house and killed in the attack.

 

[fatman17]

ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 07-Aug-2009


Jane's Defence Weekly


Pakistani Taliban leader killed by US airstrike

Trefor Moss JDW Asia-Pacific Editor - London

Key Points
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud is believed to have been killed by a US airstrike

If confirmed, Baitullah's death would mark a significant victory for Islamabad in its attempts to quash domestic militancy


Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is believed to have been killed in an airstrike, a senior Pakistani official said on 7 August.

Reports initially suggested that Baitullah's wife had been killed in the strike, which was carried out by a US unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in South Waziristan on 5 August. However, by the end of the week US and Pakistani officials were increasingly confident that Baitullah himself had also died during the attack.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Pakistani television on 7 August: "We suspect he was killed in the missile strike. We have some information, but we don't have material evidence." Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi added shortly afterwards that the TTP leader "has been taken out" and that his death was "almost confirmed".

A military spokesman told Jane's on the same day that the army "could not yet confirm that he is dead, but there was a drone attack and there are strong reports" that Baitullah was killed. The spokesman added: "It's difficult for us to investigate, as this is an area where we don't have troops on the ground, but we are using our sources to check whether this is correct."

The Pakistani government effectively declared war on the Pakistani Taliban leader in mid-June, having blamed him for a series of terrorist attacks across the country, and it ordered the army to target Baitullah in his stronghold of South Waziristan. Having successfully regained control of the Swat valley, the army has since been preparing for a potentially more difficult campaign against Baitullah's fighters in the tribal areas.

Meanwhile, the US has stepped up its controversial tactic of using UAVs to strike targets in Pakistan throughout the year - with Islamabad's tacit approval, according to most analysts.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-operated UAVs have staged over 30 attacks inside Pakistan so far this year, about half of them in South Waziristan.

The elimination of Baitullah, which had become one of the primary objectives of a Pakistani government increasingly determined to check the spread of militancy, would arguably vindicate Washington and Islamabad's decision not just to persist with, but also to step up, the UAV strikes.

The US had also made Baitullah a high-priority target by a putting a USD5 million bounty on his head in March.

It was unclear how Baitullah's death, if confirmed, would affect the Pakistan Army's South Waziristan campaign. The military spokesman said that troops were now arriving on the ground in the tribal agency and that, for the time being, the operation against militants there would continue as before.

At the beginning of the Waziristan campaign in June, Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia centre at the Atlantic Council, told Jane's that the TTP had become a "brand name" and a "franchise" and that eliminating Baitullah would not "solve things".

Late on 7 August a TTP spokesman admitted that Baitullah had been killed, adding that his senior lieutenants were discussing who would assume leadership of his estimated 20,000 fighters.

 

[seekers]

I think this is best time for Pakistan Army to destroy the whole Taliban terrorist of Pakistan and never let them to be organize again.