Pakistan army: Intel on bomb sites was wrong

[SpArK]

Pakistan army: Intel on bomb sites was wrong​

By Nahal Toosi - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 17, 2011

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s army said Friday that its attempts to destroy four militant bomb-making factories only partly succeeded because intelligence on two of the sites was wrong.

But the army also disputed media reports that security forces had tipped off insurgents after getting U.S. intelligence on the factories, calling those assertions of collusion “totally false and malicious.”

The carefully worded, two-paragraph army statement never says the U.S. shared intelligence on the sites in question. It also was unclear about their exact location and does not say when the raids occurred.

Nonetheless, it’s likely to further add to tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, which have been unusually high since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

American officials told The Associated Press in early June that they’d shared satellite information with Pakistan about two militant bomb-making factories and that within 24 hours, they watched the militants clear out the sites, raising suspicions that the Pakistanis shared the information.

Various media accounts said the factories were in the Waziristan stretch of Pakistan’s tribal belt, where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long proliferated.

The intelligence sharing was part of a U.S. attempt to improve the relationship with Pakistan.

The alliance has been especially weakened since the May 2 killing of the al-Qaida chief in the northwest Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Bin Laden’s presence there has only added to U.S. suspicions that elements within Pakistan’s powerful security establishment were playing a “double game” by colluding with some militants while going after others.

Pakistani leaders have denied knowing that bin Laden was in Abbottabad — and U.S. officials have said there’s no evidence yet that the upper ranks of the Pakistani military or civilian leadership helped hide him. But Pakistanis are furious that the U.S. staged the raid without any warning or Islamabad’s consent.

They also are angry over a series of recent media reports that seem to cast more doubt on their activities, including the one about the factories.

The statement says the army launched attacks on four compounds suspected to be where militants built “improvised explosive devices” — which typically come in the form of roadside bombs. Two were found to match that description and were destroyed, but the information on the others was “incorrect.”

“Some persons have been arrested and they are under investigation,” the statement adds.

Also Friday in Pakistan’s northwest, security forces backed by artillery killed 12 Islamist militants in a tribal region where insurgents have been mounting cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, a government administrator said.

The attacks have upset Pakistan, which says they are happening because U.S. and NATO forces are not doing enough to protect the territory on the Afghan side. Western forces have had the same complaints about Pakistan’s activities on its side of the boundary.

The search operation Friday took place in the Mamund area of the Bajur tribal region. It came a day after more than 200 militants launched a cross-border attack on a village in the same area. Government official Tariq Khan said Friday’s search came after fresh intelligence reports on militants coming from Afghanistan to the area to target tribal militiamen and troops stationed there.

“We are deploying additional security forces in our villages and towns located near the Afghan border to protect our areas,” he said, adding that tribal elders were asked to remain vigilant and alert authorities of any militant movement.

The information could not be verified independently because access to the area is restricted.

Pakistan’s military has launched offensives aimed at clearing Bajur of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, but the militants there still retain the ability to strike. The U.S. has supported Pakistan’s efforts to clear Bajur, but it has also pushed it to go after militants in North Waziristan. Many of the militant groups in that region are focused on attacking Western forces in Afghanistan.

However, Pakistan has resisted the appeals to go into North Waziristan. It says it is too stretched fighting militant groups that have staged attacks on its soil to open up a new front. Some critics believe Pakistan wants to remain on good or at least neutral terms with the North Waziristan militants so that it has allies in Afghanistan once the U.S. withdraws from the region.

———

Associated Press writers Matiullah Achakzai in Chaman and Anwarullah Khan in Khar contributed to this report.

Pakistan army denies colluding with insurgents - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

 

[jbond197]

what a shame!! and then they spread misinformation with in Awam.. Hope these cleared out bomb making factories does not cost civilians lives..
Wish better sense prevail among few so that they can work towards cleaning the mess..

 

[gOtHmOG]

You're saying US intelligence is foolproof or have you forgotten how the Iraq war was started

 

[nwmalik]

very easily they could have tipped off the terrorists and blamed it on pak army.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

what a shame!! and then they spread misinformation with in Awam.. Hope these cleared out bomb making factories does not cost civilians lives..
Wish better sense prevail among few so that they can work towards cleaning the mess..

Indeed - what a shame that the US Establishment is manipulating the media through erroneous 'leaked' reports that are nothing more than propaganda maligning Pakistan to further its Foreign Policy agenda.

Since the claims by the US have been plastered all over the media, I am sure that would not mind actually providing the evidence supporting their claims 'Officially' to the media and to Pakistani authorities, instead of publishing unsubstantiated propaganda in the press.

---------- Post added at 03:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------

very easily they could have tipped off the terrorists and blamed it on pak army.

Absolutely - or there are a number of ways in which the terrorists could have been alerted once the military operation was launched. These terrorists are operating in a war zone - they know they can be raided and attacked at any time.

 

[Oldman1]

AP sources: Pakistanis tip off militants again - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials say Pakistan has apparently tipped off militants at two more bomb-building factories in its tribal areas, giving the terror suspects time to flee, after U.S. intelligence shared the locations with the Pakistani government.

Those officials believe Pakistan's insistence on seeking local tribal elders' permission before raiding the areas may have most directly contributed to the militants' flight, though they also suspect low-level security officials may have tipped the militants off.

U.S. officials have pushed for Pakistan to keep the location of such targets secret prior to the operations, but the Pakistanis say their troops cannot enter the lawless regions without giving the locals notice.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

The latest incidents bring to a total of four bomb-making sites that the U.S. has shared with Pakistan only to have the terrorist suspects flee before the Pakistani military arrived much later. The report does not bode well for attempts by both sides to mend relations and rebuild trust after the U.S. raid on May 2 that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a Pakistani army town only 35 miles from the capital Islamabad.

The Pakistanis believe the Americans violated their sovereignty by keeping them in the dark about the raid. American officials believe bin Laden's location proves some elements of the Pakistani army or intelligence service helped hide the al-Qaida mastermind, bolstering their argument that the raid had to be done solo.

The U.S. officials explained Saturday how they first offered the location of the third, and then the fourth site, in order to give Pakistan another chance to prove it could be trusted to go after the militants.

In the tradition of `trust but verify,' the Americans carefully monitored the area with satellite and unmanned drones, to see what would happen, after sharing the information a third and fourth time, the officials said.

In each case, they watched the militants depart within 24 hours, taking any weapons or bomb-making materials with them, just as militants had done the first two times. Only then, did they watch the Pakistani military visit each site, when the terror suspects and their wares were long gone, the officials said.



Had the Pakistanis were informed that the U.S. found where Osama was, Pakistan would scramble to get Osama safely somewhere else. Good thing the U.S. learn not to trust them. And this update info tells me that it was worth not informing them if they are tipping off militants on bomb making facilities.

 

[Hulk]

The incidence just proves that Pakistan cannot handle operations because the way they operate. Also, proves why it is taking longer to get militancy under control in Pakistan.

 

[Safriz]

what US offifials say is no more authentic . Most pakistanis dont beleive them anyway.

 

[VelocuR]

Pakistan army: Intel on bomb sites was wrong


By Nahal Toosi - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 17, 2011

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s army said Friday that its attempts to destroy four militant bomb-making factories only partly succeeded because intelligence on two of the sites was wrong.

But the army also disputed media reports that security forces had tipped off insurgents after getting U.S. intelligence on the factories, calling those assertions of collusion “totally false and malicious.”

The carefully worded, two-paragraph army statement never says the U.S. shared intelligence on the sites in question. It also was unclear about their exact location and does not say when the raids occurred.

Nonetheless, it’s likely to further add to tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, which have been unusually high since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

American officials told The Associated Press in early June that they’d shared satellite information with Pakistan about two militant bomb-making factories and that within 24 hours, they watched the militants clear out the sites, raising suspicions that the Pakistanis shared the information.

Various media accounts said the factories were in the Waziristan stretch of Pakistan’s tribal belt, where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long proliferated.

The intelligence sharing was part of a U.S. attempt to improve the relationship with Pakistan.

The alliance has been especially weakened since the May 2 killing of the al-Qaida chief in the northwest Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Bin Laden’s presence there has only added to U.S. suspicions that elements within Pakistan’s powerful security establishment were playing a “double game” by colluding with some militants while going after others.

Pakistani leaders have denied knowing that bin Laden was in Abbottabad — and U.S. officials have said there’s no evidence yet that the upper ranks of the Pakistani military or civilian leadership helped hide him. But Pakistanis are furious that the U.S. staged the raid without any warning or Islamabad’s consent.

They also are angry over a series of recent media reports that seem to cast more doubt on their activities, including the one about the factories.

The statement says the army launched attacks on four compounds suspected to be where militants built “improvised explosive devices” — which typically come in the form of roadside bombs. Two were found to match that description and were destroyed, but the information on the others was “incorrect.”

“Some persons have been arrested and they are under investigation,” the statement adds.

Also Friday in Pakistan’s northwest, security forces backed by artillery killed 12 Islamist militants in a tribal region where insurgents have been mounting cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, a government administrator said.

The attacks have upset Pakistan, which says they are happening because U.S. and NATO forces are not doing enough to protect the territory on the Afghan side. Western forces have had the same complaints about Pakistan’s activities on its side of the boundary.

The search operation Friday took place in the Mamund area of the Bajur tribal region. It came a day after more than 200 militants launched a cross-border attack on a village in the same area. Government official Tariq Khan said Friday’s search came after fresh intelligence reports on militants coming from Afghanistan to the area to target tribal militiamen and troops stationed there.

“We are deploying additional security forces in our villages and towns located near the Afghan border to protect our areas,” he said, adding that tribal elders were asked to remain vigilant and alert authorities of any militant movement.

The information could not be verified independently because access to the area is restricted.

Pakistan’s military has launched offensives aimed at clearing Bajur of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, but the militants there still retain the ability to strike. The U.S. has supported Pakistan’s efforts to clear Bajur, but it has also pushed it to go after militants in North Waziristan. Many of the militant groups in that region are focused on attacking Western forces in Afghanistan.

However, Pakistan has resisted the appeals to go into North Waziristan. It says it is too stretched fighting militant groups that have staged attacks on its soil to open up a new front. Some critics believe Pakistan wants to remain on good or at least neutral terms with the North Waziristan militants so that it has allies in Afghanistan once the U.S. withdraws from the region.

———

Associated Press writers Matiullah Achakzai in Chaman and Anwarullah Khan in Khar contributed to this report.

Anyone believes Iraq WMD found in Iraq, now believe US's propaganda version stories.

 

[Last Hope]

I wont fall for this.
How can we be so sure?

Hey wait for a sec.. More US men are present in the area than Pakistani Peronnel.
Proves it.

 

[Hulk]

what US offifials say is no more authentic . Most pakistanis dont beleive them anyway.

You are right, but the problem is most Pakistani's do not even believe your own government and army. So if something has to discussed, he has discuss on unofficial news only.

 

[wmdisinfo]

i think its a wrong story a propaganda and even if its true thumbs up to the army nice work

 

[Cheetah786]

American officials told The Associated Press in early June that they’d shared satellite information with Pakistan about two militant bomb-making factories and that within 24 hours, they watched the militants clear out the sites, raising suspicions that the Pakistanis shared the information.

So the Americans shared this info with us and then Told the Talibans they are coming for you Run Because usually they don't share this info they simply blow it up with Missile.

 

[Bossman]

The incidence just proves that Pakistan cannot handle operations because the way they operate. Also, proves why it is taking longer to get militancy under control in Pakistan.

They have to look after their own interest not that of the US

 

[iPhone]

AP sources: Pakistanis tip off militants again - Yahoo! News




Had the Pakistanis were informed that the U.S. found where Osama was, Pakistan would scramble to get Osama safely somewhere else. Good thing the U.S. learn not to trust them. And this update info tells me that it was worth not informing them if they are tipping off militants on bomb making facilities.

first of all, american officials even weren't 100% sure osama was in there, just that it's a high profile target, and this has been made publically clear by them. Second, how can anyone be sure it wasn't CIA that tipped the militants off? there's a lot of CIA and it's spies presence in waziristan.

inform Pak army about militants, then tip militants off, then blame it on Pak and then release it in media. whatever policy they are following they are doing a great job pushing Pakistan away.