Pakistani Forces against Militants.

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Numaish killing: Over 100 ASWJ, LeJ activists detained in surprise night-time raids

KARACHI: About 100 suspects from two religious organisations, one of them banned, were apprehended in a surprise overnight crackdown, following the killings of two scouts at Numaish Chowrangi on Sunday afternoon.

Azhar Hussain and Zain Ali were killed while Ayaz was injured when armed motorcyclists opened fire at a scouts camp at Numaish Chowrangi. It is believed that activists of the banned organisation were behind the attack since they held their annual Yaum-e-Omar rally at Tibet Centre earlier in the day.

Later, the Rangers and police cracked down on the SSP – that works under the new name Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ), and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) activists.

The first stop was the ASWJ central office, Jama Masjid Siddiq-e-Akbar, at Nagan Chowrangi. Four suspects were arrested, including, two sons of slain central leader, Maulana Abdul Ghaffoor Nadeem.

The father and son of the president of ASWJ’s Karachi division, Maulana Rab Nawaz, were apprehended from Old Golimar. Maulana Allah Wasaya’s two sons were caught from Jama Masjid Gulzar-e-Habib in Korangi, the president of district East, Maulana Saeed Akbar, from Ameer Mavia Masjid in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Maulana Habibur Rehman from Shershah and Hafiz Ramzan was taken into custody from Jama Masjid Noor in Jubilee area.

Mosques, madrassahs and homes were also raided in North Karachi, Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony, Landhi, Malir, Nazimabad and New Karachi.

Around 42 suspects, arrested from Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Masjid, remained in police custody while the remaining 28, which included women and children, were released. Four others, who were involved in violence, are also in police custody. The ASWJ condemned the crackdown and claimed it was a conspiracy against the organisation by the government, law enforcement agencies and their rival groups. Their spokesman, Maulana Taj Hanafi, said that two workers, Omar Farooq and Munir, were attacked and injured by a rival group near Imambargah Ali Raza on MA Jinnah Road when they were returning from the party’s rally. The scouts were targeted later by unidentified men.

“When our people were shot at, they ran for their lives and took refuge in a mosque,” he said. “That is when unidentified culprits shot and killed the scouts.”

He confirmed that his party’s workers were detained. He warned of a protest on MA Jinnah Road on Ashura if they were not released till Monday night. “Over 100 of our innocent workers were arrested without any reason,” Hanafi said. “When we tried to find out the reason, the government told us that they were pressured politically and by our rival groups, and they had to do it.”

Investigations

According to investigators, the scouts were shot dead after they had an argument with four ASWJ men. The police went through the footage from the 18 closed-circuit cameras installed at Numaish Chowrangi. It showed that four men with an ASWJ flag and riding two motorcycles were stopped by the boy scouts for checking when they were returning from the Yaum-e-Omar rally.

“The boys stopped them for checking and they exchanged hot words,” said a source. “During the argument, an ASWJ flag fell down, after which they opened fire.”

Karachi AIG Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh confirmed this but declined to share more details. A special team was set up for investigating the killings and the violence that followed. However, the cases, for murder and violence still have to be registered at Soldier Bazaar and Brigade police stations. The police were waiting for the families to register the murder cases and an order from the government for lodging a case for the violence.

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan visited Numaish Chowrangi after he met with the Shia leaders. He assured them of strict action against the miscreants. He said that around 51 suspects involved in the attack were caught and they will be exposed soon in the FIR.

Funeral prayers

The funeral prayers of the scouts were offered in Khairul Aman Imambargah at Ancholi on Sunday night. Azhar Hussain was laid to rest at Wadi-e-Hussain Graveyard while Zain Ali was later buried in Chakwal, his hometown. Scores of people who came to attend the funeral also staged a protest at Shara-e-Pakistan.

Numaish killing: Over 100 ASWJ, LeJ activists detained in surprise night-time raids – The Express Tribune

 

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Key terrorist commander arrested in Swat:

SWAT: Police have arrested a key terrorist commander, Baacha Zada for his alleged involvement in several terrorist activities in the region, reported Express 24/7 on Monday.

According to sources, Baacha Zada was arrested from the Chaprial area of Swat during a raid.

The arrested terrorist commander is reportedly involved in the killing of religious leader Pir Samiullah and other important personalities.

Baacha Zada also exhumed the body of Samiullah and hung it in public.

Samiullah was the first tribal leader in Swat to raise a tribal army to oppose the Taliban. He claimed to have organised more than 10,000 tribesmen to oppose the Taliban and to protect 20 villages.

The security forces in Swat claim to have conducted more than 1,300 intelligence operations in the area arresting several militants after the military onslaught in 2009.

On Saturday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in a rare public appearance, visited several areas of Swat and said that every culprit (terrorist) involved in the Taliban occupation of Swat should be tried.

Key terrorist commander arrested in Swat – The Express Tribune

 

[Devil Soul]

Militant commander arrested from Nowshera
DAWN.COM | DawnNews (28 minutes ago) Today


PESHAWAR: Police carried out an operation on Tuesday and arrested a high-ranking militant leader from the Dir area, DawnNews reported.

According to sources, a raid was carried out Tuesday in District Nowshera’s Jahangirabad town from where the wanted militant leader Ameer Ullah was arrested.

Ameer Ullah, who was known to be was a high-ranking militant belonging to Dir, was later shifted to an undisclosed location for further investigation.
Militant commander arrested from Nowshera | Provinces | DAWN.COM

 

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14 militants, one security official dead in Orakzai operation

ORAKZAI: Security forces killed 14 militants on Tuesday while one security official was also killed in an operation in the Upper Orakzai Agency.

Militant hideouts were targeted during the operation, as security forces shelled the area and destroyed two buildings where militants were taking shelter. Sources said six militants were killed in the incident.

Eight more militants were killed in a firefight with security personnel in the Eidgah area of Khadezai.

On Monday, police in Swat arrested a key terrorist commander, Baacha Zada for his alleged involvement in several terrorist activities in the region.

According to sources, Baacha Zada was arrested from the Chaprial area of Swat during a raid. Security forces in Swat claim to have conducted more than 1,300 intelligence operations in the area arresting several militants after the military onslaught in 2009.

14 militants, one security official dead in Orakzai operation – The Express Tribune

 

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Suspected suicide bomber killed near Kuchlak:

QUETTA: A suspected suicide bomber was killed near the Kuchlak area of Quetta, on Tuesday when his explosive-laden jacket detonated.

“The bomber hired a taxi cab and wanted to go to Chaman, a town bordering Afghanistan, with intention to target someone but his suicide vest exploded,” Superintendent of Police (SP), Malik Arshid told the media.

According to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), about 2.5kg of explosive material was used in the explosion.

Quoting the taxi driver, SP Arshid said that the bomber hired a cab near Kuchlak and wanted to go Chaman. “The taxi driver stopped by a village near Kuchlak, to pick someone who also wanted to go to Chaman. However, the bomber got out of the cab and lay down on the road after which the explosion took place.” he said.

SP Arshid said that it appears that the bomber wanted to target someone in Chaman or somewhere in the district Qila Abdullah.

Police took the driver into custody for questioning and barred the media from interviewing him, for security reasons.

SP Arshid also showed the body of the suspected suicide bomber to journalists.

Suspected suicide bomber killed near Kuchlak – The Express Tribune

 

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5 hardened militants of banned outfit held

By Atif Raza

KARACHI: Five militants of a banned outfit have been arrested by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) along with a huge cache of weapons.

AIG Ghulam Shabbir, accompanied by SSP Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Raja Umer Khattab, made this announcement here at the Central Police Office on Tuesday. He said that the SIU, on a tip-off intercepted a taxi near Kamal Hospital, located within Artillery Maidan police precincts, and arrested five members of banned Jundullah

The AIG said that the militants reached Karachi from Waziristan and interior Punjab via Khyber Mail. The accused were identified as Syed Kamran alias Salar, Muhammad alias Khalid alias Danish, Amjad Khan alias Kargil alias Ahmad alias Shah Jee, Farhan Khan alias Hussain and Muhammad Munir alias Azeem. He said that the SIU team also has recovered five TT pistols, a map of central jail and a hit list of prominent personalities from their possession.

AIG Shabbir further said that the culprits were involved in a firing incident which took place outside the City Court on June 19, 2009. It may be mentioned here that the accused had freed their outfit’s members, including Shokaib Farooqui, Murtaza Enayat, Wazir Muhammad and Murad Shah in the same incident. All freed militants were said to have been involved in the 2009 Ashura blast.

AIG Shabbir said the same members of Jundullah were also involved in the Chehlum blast, Jinnah Hospital blast and other heinous crimes. He further said that raids were being conducted to nab their other accomplices and a person involved in Numaish violence has already been arrested.

Meanwhile, the LEAs conducted a raid at Mominabad graveyard and recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition stuffed in three bags. Sources said that the action was taken on an information that hinted some unscrupulous persons had concealed a heavy cache of weapons and in a grave. A raid was conducted which led to the recovery of three bags full of arms and ammunition. The weapons were most likely to be used in Muharram to flare up ethnic violence, sources added.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

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Live hand grenade recovered from Lyari

KARACHI: Police on Tuesday claimed to have recovered a live hand grenade from Kalakot police limits. The hand grenade was lying near Al-Fateh School situated in Lyari’s Jhat Pat Market area. All concerned authorities, including Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), police and other investigation agencies were called at the site. According to police, the hand grenade was taken away by the BDS experts for further examination. They said that it was locally made and had been placed at the said location to create panic. staff report

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

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Five ‘Jundullah militants’ arrested:

KARACHI, Nov 29: The Karachi police claimed to have arrested five suspected militants belonging to proscribed outfit Jundullah on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Additional Inspector-General of Police Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh said that the suspects arrived in the city from Wazirstan and Punjab aboard Khyber Mail to carry out a terrorist attack in the city.

He said that the Special Investigation Unit carried out a raid within the remit of the Artillery Maidan police station on Tuesday and arrested the five suspects — Syed Kamran alias Waqar, Salar Mohammad alias Khalid, Amjad Khan alias Kargil, Farhan Khan alias Husain and Mohammad Munir alias Azeem.

The police also claimed that maps of the Karachi central prison and an alleged ‘hit list’ were recovered from the suspects.

The city police chief said that the suspects had attacked the police on the city courts premises on July 19, 2010, killed a police constable and got freed their arrested accomplices, who had been involved in the 2009 Ashura bombing on main M.A. Jinnah Road.

He said that the held suspects were involved in many terrorist activities and they were also behind the 2010 twin bomb attacks on a bus carrying mourners and outside the emergency section of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on the occasion of chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain.

Besides, he said, the suspects were also involved in the 2004 attack on the then Karachi corps commander and several bank heists.

He said that the suspects disclosed to the police that one of their accomplices, Fasihur Rehman, had devised a new method to conceal bombs in cement blocks.

The cement bombs were used in the 8th, 9th and 10th Muharram blasts in 2009, he added.

The city police chief informed the media that many members of the Jundullah including Hamza Jofi alias Haji Mumtaz, Ghulam Mustafa alias Ansar Bhai, Arif alias Haider Shuja, Karachi chief Abu Bakar alias Arsalan, Israfel alias Javed, Ajab Khan alias Zakir were killed in drone strikes in Waziristan over the past few years.

Fasihur Rehman alias Hamad, the Karachi chief of the outfit, Mehmood alias Talha, Saqib alias Shahab, Rasheed Khan Pathan, Shakib Farooqi, Murtaza Inyat, Dilawar, Baba, Wazir Mohammad and Ishaq Gul were among those who were still on the run, he added.

Five

 

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Twelve militants killed in Kurram clash:

PESHAWAR: Twelve suspected militants were killed during a clash with security forces in the Kurram tribal region’s Masozai area on Wednesday, DawnNews quoted security sources as saying.

Seven security personnel were also wounded in the clash, sources said.

The sources claimed that Kurram’s areas of Marghan and Matano had been cleared of militants.

Moreover, an operation was carried out in Masozai due to the suspected presence of militants in that area, sources said.

Twelve militants killed in Kurram clash | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

 

[Devil Soul]

8 militants killed in Upper Orakzai
By Iftikhar Firdous
Published: December 1, 2011
Security forces killed 8 militants and destroyed 3 hideouts early on Thursday in the Mamozai area of Upper Orakzai, sources said.
Security forces claimed to have killed 120 militants in this area during the past week alone. They also maintained to have regained control of Akhund Kot, Chapar and Dapar Killay areas.
An operation was launched in Orakzai Agency in March last year and in Kurram this summer. Security forces also launched a massive crackdown against militants in Upper Orakzai Agency some two weeks ago to clear the remaining parts of the agency from Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) militants.
During the last few days, security forces have increased their advances in both Orakzai and Kurram agencies.
8 militants killed in Upper Orakzai – The Express Tribune

 

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Muharram security: CID arrest 4 TTP members in graveyard raid

KARACHI: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested four alleged Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) members along with weapons and suicide jackets in a raid conducted at Moachgoth graveyard on Thursday.

Talking to the media at the CID headquarters, Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam Khan said that during a raid at Moachgoth graveyard in Mohammed Khan colony, four TTP members were arrested along with a cache of weapons and ammunition.
Aslam said that they had come from Punjab to carry out suicide attacks on majalis and processions during Muharram, particularly in Soldier Bazaar and Nishter Park.

The four were identified as Abdul Sattar alias Sheikh s/o Abdullah, Shoaib s/o Mohammed Hanif, Shah Fahad s/o Mohammed Ismail and Nasrullah Mujahid s/o Abdul Aziz.

The cache of weapons seized included three suicide jackets, 22 kilograms of explosive material, grenades, a 9mm pistol, detonating cable and three AK47s.

Security has been tightened around the country for Muharram, including Karachi where earlier last week, an attack on an Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat rally at Numaish left three dead, including two scouts deployed at a camp to help organise Muharram proceedings at the Shah-e-Khurasan Imambargah.

(Read: Occupy Numaish Chowrangi: Death of two scouts sparks 4-hour riot)

Earlier in November, a foiled suicide attack killed two police constables and at least four suspected terrorists under mysterious circumstances in Karachi’s posh Sea View locality near the Village restaurant. A suicide jacket, grenades and Kalashnikov rifles all believed to be with the terrorists were also recovered from the crime scene.

Muharram security: CID arrest 4 TTP members in graveyard raid – The Express Tribune

 

[Jango]

CID SSP is the same person whose house was bombed in DHA Karachi, and he said 'kisi ko bhi nhn chorun ga'.

 

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Tirah clash leaves 3 Taliban dead:

LANDI KOTAL/KOHAT, Nov 30: At least three militants including an important commander were killed and four others received injuries in a clash between rival armed outfits in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Wednesday.

Sources said that members of banned militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islam and volunteers of Kukikhel tribal lashkar attacked the Maylo base of Tariq Afridi-led Taliban when the latter abducted two activists of the former.

They said that both sides used heavy weapons against each other during the clashes, which continued till Wednesday evening.

Local sources said that besides killing three Taliban including one of their important commanders Abu Atif, the Lashkar-i-Islam and Kukikhel volunteers destroyed a hideout of militants in the area.

Lashkar-i-Islam sources in Bara claimed to have captured at least five Taliban during the clash. They said that their four activists were injured in the fighting.

The Tariq Afridi group had forcibly evicted some of the Kukikhel families from their houses in Tirah valley few months ago to establish its bases in the area. Since then, Kukikhel tribe had been at loggerheads with Tariq Afridi group of Taliban. A number of people had been killed from both sides during sporadic clashes between the two sides.

Tariq Afridi group had also claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on a Friday congregation in Jamrud on August 19 this year that killed at least 54 tribesmen, mostly Kukikhels.

Taliban said that the attack was a reaction to the formation of a Kukikhel lashkar in Tirah and killing of their two members by the lashkar men.

The Lashkar-i-Islam, having a strong presence in neighbouring Sipah area, was also not happy with the growing influence of Taliban in Tirah valley. The two groups had traded gunfire on a number of occasions besides targeting each other sympathisers with bomb attacks.

Also, the head of a local peace committee was killed when a time bomb planted at his car went off in Hangu city on Wednesday.

Officials said that Haji Hashim Khan, the head of the peace body, had come to Hangu city from his hometown Darband to appear before a court. A bomb planted at his Land Cruiser exploded near the office of the district coordination officer, killing him on the spot, they added.

They said that his driver Shah Habib and gunman Shah Nawaz were seriously injured in the blast. They were taken to Hangu civil hospital for treatment.

The bomb disposal squad said that about one kilogram explosives were used in the blast. “It was a magnetic devise, fixed with a timer,” they added.

Haji Hashim Khan was buried in his ancestral graveyard in Darband area of Hangu in the presence of thousands of people.

The Hangu city police registered a case against unidentified terrorists and launched investigations.

In is pertinent to mention here that militants had killed several anti-Taliban political leaders in Hangu as they were trying to broker a peace deal between Shia and Sunni sects and restore peace in the area. They include former provincial minister Ghaniur Rehman, district chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Fida Sadi and former district nazim Khan Afzal.

Tirah clash leaves 3 Taliban dead | Provinces | DAWN.COM

 

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Eight terrorists killed in Orakzai operation:

KALAYA: At least eight terrorists were killed and three of their hideouts destroyed as armed forces continued forward movement in different areas of Orakzai Agency on Thursday. According to details, security forces engaged suspected hideouts of terrorists in Mamozai, Khadazai, Shigerpingi and other areas of Upper Orakzai Agency with heavy artillery fire. During security force’s shelling eight terrorists were killed and three hideouts were destroyed. More than 170 terrorists have been killed during an operation which is continuing for the last 18-day. At least 15 soldiers, including three officers, have been martyred and more than two dozen others injured. inp

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Last Hope]

December 02, 2011. Friday.

Seven Afghan militants were killed and five Pakistani security forces injured in a cross-border skirmish Friday, officials said.

It was the latest in a series of recent cross-border assaults from Afghanistan's Pech Valley and the provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, all areas from which U.S. troops began pulling out earlier this year as part of a strategy designed to bolster security in more populated areas of Afghanistan.

The five injured Pakistani security personnel were airlifted by military helicopters to a base in northwest Pakistan, Col. Nasir Jadoon, commander of a border security force in Chitral, Pakistan, said.

The Pakistani forces returned fired into Afghanistan, killing seven militants, Jadoon said.

In the same border region in August, at least 25 Pakistani security personnel were killed when between 200 and 300 militants attacked border posts along Pakistan's border with Agfhanistan. Those who died included Pakistani soldiers and police.