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Operation Tirah Valley | News & Updates

Operation Update - Two important hideouts of miscreants destroyed. Areas of Kata Kanra & Sniper Morcha in Sipah area captured

Thanks for the update.....

and they got snipers?
 
By Muhammad Tahir ISLAMABAD, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces are using fighter jets and
gunship helicopters to flush out the Taliban fighters and other armed insurgents from a
strategically located valley in the Khyber tribal region. The aerial assault on Tirah Valley was launched last month after the Taliban took control
of the area and expelled members of a pro-government armed group. Fighters of another group, "Lashkar-e-Islam" or the Army of Islam,have been helping the
Taliban in fighting the Pakistani forces. The military said that at least 15 militants were killed in the assault on Tirah Valley
Thursday morning. One soldier was killed on the Pakistani side, an Army statement said. On Tuesday, the military said that several days of intense clashes left 23 Pakistani
soldiers and more than 110 militants dead. Tirah Valley, which is bordering Afghanistan, is very important for the Taliban because
of its strategic location, having three entry points,one to the nearby Orakzai tribal
region, the second to the northwestern Peshawar city, and third to the famous town
Landi Kotal, which lies on the Khyber Pass, the main supply route for NATO troops in
Afghanistan. Although the Pakistan Army has no ground forces in Tirah Valley, their forces control
the hilltops overlooking the rugged mountainous region from where they can monitor
any movement of the Taliban militants and fighters of Lashkar-e-Islam. Both groups routinely fire rockets into Hayat Abad, a posh area in the outskirts of
Peshawar, located at the edge of the Khyber Pass.Twelve people were injured when the
militants fired rockets into Hayat Abad on Tuesday evening. Since there are no roads leading to the Tirah Valley, the Pakistani forces are now
depending mainly on airpower to bomb the Taliban in efforts to clear the way for
ground forces to advance into the region and eliminate the Taliban once and for all. The military said that it will be using special commando units in driving the Taliban from
the valley. But the Taliban and armed militant groups are showing stiff resistance since they do not
want to lose control of such a strategic position, the valley being its major hideout for
their fighters who have fled from some areas after they were attacked by the Pakistani
military. Earlier, the Taliban expelled the fighters of the pro- government group "Ansar-ul-Islam,"
from the valley. The pro- government guerrillas retreated after suffering heavy
casualties from the Taliban offensive. The Pakistani military believes that total control of the Tirah Valley by the Taliban would
destabilize the situation in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban presence in Tirah could also make the NATO supply route vulnerable at a
time when the foreign forces in Afghanistan are packing up and the United States has
already started withdrawing heavy equipment through Khyber's key route. The Americans wanted Pakistani forces to take full control of the area to ensure the
safety of the NATO trucks. The United States has in the past carried out drone strikes in
Tirah Valley and killed important Taliban commanders and fighters.
 
Is this the correct way to fight this enemy? The issues of competence on our side must be resolved if we are to succeed.
Counter insurgency is dynamic warfare against an unseen enemy having no fixed positions. This is not conventional warfare. You can only make an initial plan of action and make the necessary changes as and when the situation demands, or according to the progress of battle.

The ratio required for fighting a CI Op successfully is 17:1, ie, 17 personnel for every militant. But knowing how many militants are up against you is pretty difficult. Gathering intelligence about their strength, weapons, locations and escape routes over treacherous terrain is easier said than done.

So this is not about the competence of the Army. Counter insurgency ops is the most difficult type of warfare. Remember what happened to super power America in Vietnam? An almost rag tag circus made them head back home, defeated!
 
Long story short, we completely underestimated the numbers of the enemy...the other issues have been present since long, no border reinforcement on the other side, civilian rehabilitation, all is now part and parcel of this counter insurgency.

A lack of planning is inexcusable. We have lost a good 30-40 soldiers because of this. What the hell is wrong with our military top brass? Why can't they get figure out a way to strike at the opportune time? I don't understand where was the army when their proxy AI was fighting LI/TTP combine. Only when AI got overrun, and apparently the LI/TTP rats dug in, our military swings into action. Of course, its going to be a harder fight now!

The same thing happened in Swat! The military allowed Fazlullah and his thugs to take over the valley and unleash a wave of rape and mayhem. Once action was finaly taken, 2 million Swatis were displaced! How about nipping these assholes in the bud? Why does our military keep making the mistake of giving these thugs any room to maneuver?

And lets not talk about popular consensus. Most people right now don't even know whats happening in Tirah. The fact is the military swings into action when it decides to. I just wish our generals would stop vacillating about finally taking down the TTP with a wrecking ball. Wake up General Kiyani! The days of proxy mercenary assets are over - you need to kill these dogs you called your own once upon a time. Enough is enough - no mercy for TTP or its affiliated Salafi militant groups, the Mangal Baghs, the Haqqqanis...the good, the bad the ugly!.

Does the military top brass even care about our soldiers getting killed? Or is this merely part of a strategic depth bullshit game? A game that is being played with the real lives and real blood of our soldiers.

General Kayani, if you have any regard for the lives of our soldiers, Take off the gloves.

Tell our soldiers that they are fighting for the very survival of our state. Tell them that they need to fight militants we spawned years ago - pseudo religious jihadis who don't give a **** about our country and would much rather establish a salafi fiefdom. Tell them that the top military brass made a huge strategic mistake by allowing, and then giving more space in the 90s, to an insidious tribal ideology imported from Saudi to infect our national security narrative. Unfortunately the imported ideology trumped nation-state agenda and the rest is history. Tell them it is time to fix that mistake.

As things stand, Kashmir agenda is dead and buried as these Salafi militants eye a much bigger prize - Pakistan - or will it be Salafistan? The battle for NWA will decide the outcome. Tirah Valley is just the beginning.
 
Lions are in actions!
Remember Wounded lions are more dangerous, so TTP+LI you are domed.
 
Some Pics from Tirah Valley.
pakitalis_afp543.jpg


military_orakzai_670.jpg


Tirah-Valley.jpg


r-PAKISTAN-SOLDIERS-KILLED-TIRAH-VALLEY-large570.jpg


Tirah-valley-clashes.jpg


3-2-2012_37821_l.jpg
 
A lack of planning is inexcusable. We have lost a good 30-40 soldiers because of this. What the hell is wrong with our military top brass? Why can't they get figure out a way to strike at the opportune time? I don't understand where was the army when their proxy AI was fighting LI/TTP combine. Only when AI got overrun, and apparently the LI/TTP rats dug in, our military swings into action. Of course, its going to be a harder fight now!

The same thing happened in Swat! The military allowed Fazlullah and his thugs to take over the valley and unleash a wave of rape and mayhem. Once action was finaly taken, 2 million Swatis were displaced! How about nipping these assholes in the bud? Why does our military keep making the mistake of giving these thugs any room to maneuver?

And lets not talk about popular consensus. Most people right now don't even know whats happening in Tirah. The fact is the military swings into action when it decides to. I just wish our generals would stop vacillating about finally taking down the TTP with a wrecking ball. Wake up General Kiyani! The days of proxy mercenary assets are over - you need to kill these dogs you called your own once upon a time. Enough is enough - no mercy for TTP or its affiliated Salafi militant groups, the Mangal Baghs, the Haqqqanis...the good, the bad the ugly!.

Does the military top brass even care about our soldiers getting killed? Or is this merely part of a strategic depth bullshit game? A game that is being played with the real lives and real blood of our soldiers.

General Kayani, if you have any regard for the lives of our soldiers, Take off the gloves.

Tell our soldiers that they are fighting for the very survival of our state. Tell them that they need to fight militants we spawned years ago - pseudo religious jihadis who don't give a **** about our country and would much rather establish a salafi fiefdom. Tell them that the top military brass made a huge strategic mistake by allowing, and then giving more space in the 90s, to an insidious tribal ideology imported from Saudi to infect our national security narrative. Unfortunately the imported ideology trumped nation-state agenda and the rest is history. Tell them it is time to fix that mistake.

As things stand, Kashmir agenda is dead and buried as these Salafi militants eye a much bigger prize - Pakistan - or will it be Salafistan? The battle for NWA will decide the outcome. Tirah Valley is just the beginning.
Wow! You hit the nail on the head regarding the cause of extremism/terrorism in Pakistan. But that part is in the domain of policy. The actual war is being fought on ground against a band of yahoos many of whom have been trained by the Establishment itself and therefore know the tricks of the trade! And you can't put all the blame on the Army for tactical setbacks.

The bottom line is that Counter Insurgency ops isn't child's play. It's a different form of warfare altogether against an unseen enemy having no fixed deployment on ground, making the task of planning operations all the more difficult and frustrating!
 
food for thought.... who possibly can supply huge arms to terrorists? and what possibly could be the shipping route?
 
American Pakistan- The pictures aren't from Tirah. I am not sure about first and third pictures, but others aren't.
BATMAN- Who else? 'ISI's double game.'
 
American Pakistan- The pictures aren't from Tirah. I am not sure about first and third pictures, but others aren't.
BATMAN- Who else? 'ISI's double game.'

Not quite clear yet.. what was the message?
 

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