Another AQ Leader Targeted In Pakistan Tribal Areas!

Strata Sphere ^ | Jun 10 2008 1:52 pm | AJStrata

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

As I noted in the earlier post below, al-Qaeda has been retreating from a range of defeats in Iraq, Lebanon (and I forgot to mention Afghanistan which is over 75% pacified) and is being surrounded by allied forces. This has allowed allied forces to use intelligence to take out 3 key leaders in surgical strikes within Pakistan’s FATA region, with the permission of the Pakistan government.

Well today it seems we targeted another AQ Leader in the area:

A pilotless U.S. drone was suspected to have fired a missile into a Pakistani area on the Afghan border on Tuesday, but there was no word on the target or casualties, a government official said.

The missile was thought to have been fired into the Mohmand ethnic Pashtun tribal area in northwest Pakistan where this year, U.S.-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least four sites used by al Qaeda operatives, killing dozens of suspected militants.

“There was an attack by a spy plane close to the Afghan border but we don’t have information about casualties or damage,” said the government official based in the region. He declined to be identified.

Mohmand has not been a hotbed of support for al Qaeda and the Taliban but militants are known to operate there.

Emphasis mine. The perfect place for AQ leaders to hide out is outside area known to be rampant with extremists. But the telltale security forces around these leaders would be a sign that militants might be ‘operating’ in the area. Only time will tell which, if any, leader we took out today. As usual, fingers crossed its one of the top two masterminds of 9-11. More here.

Update:  I have posts from months past on the agreement between the US and Pakistan for targeted air strikes (see here and here for some examples).  In addition I noted there were plans for increased CIA presence in Pakistan.  These hints are being confirmed in the Iranian press - which tells me there is more going on behind the scenes than meets the public eye:

The Pakistani President had permitted the CIA to establish a base in northern Pakistan to launch strikes on the militants, an analyst says. 

“On Jan 9, 2008, Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence, and Gen. Michael Hayden, director of CIA, visited Islamabad where they discussed a plan to make operational a secret CIA base that could mount attacks on militants by drones armed with missiles,” Ahmed Rashid wrote in his book “Descent into Chaos”. 

The base was located in the restive Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, a region considered a safe haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda cadres, The News Tuesday reported, quoting from the book. 

Pervez Musharraf, the book says, accepted help from the US Special Forces to train and mentor Pakistani counterterrorism units. 

The fact is these secret arrangements represent the latest, hidden actions to decapitate al-Qaeda.  We have two very courageous and determined leaders to thank for this, leaders who have been unfairly maligned in the media because these actions remain classified to maximize their results.

Update:  Reader Kathie notes a detail in the second Reuters link above I missed:

The missile was thought to have been fired into the Mohmand ethnic Pashtun tribal area in northwest Pakistan where this year, U.S.-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least four sites used by al Qaeda operatives, killing dozens of suspected militants.

Woohoo!  Justice is being served in Pakistan today.

 

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

No names as yet!

[Edgar3]

Hell yeah!

[Clint N. Suhks]

Oh goody!

I hope it’s OBL.

[Parmenio]

Isn’t there a successor to the Predator called The Reaper? Cool name.

[Liberty 275]

I’ve noticed we kill off the #2 man in alquaida about as often as liberals say we hit peak oil. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to listen to some moonbat whine about oil tomorrow.

[Dr.Deth]

The #2 man in al-Qaeda is roughly the equivalent to the drummer for Spinal Tap.

[Dog]

Thanks Ernest.

[Jeff Head]

Hehehe...sounds like the grim Reaper at work again!

Keep your heads down you sons of goats Jihadists, the Reaper is waiting for you whenever you come out of your holes.

[reagan_fanatic]

Heh - those al-quaeda militants seem to have the lifespan of a mayfly.

[Dog]

Zawahiri is married to a member of the tribe...we watch this one...it might have scored BIG!

4. Mohmand Agency: The agency takes its name from the Mohmand tribe who resides there and numbers about 350,000. Mohmands are a very powerful and influential tribe and are known as natural guerrilla fighters. One of the important themes among Mohmands is the description and details of the wars in which they have fought. Indeed, they are widely known to have given more trouble to the British than any other tribe. Another distinguishing mark is the importance that they give to their clerics and divine leaders—they fought most of their wars under the leadership of their mullahs. They are also known for practicing certain primitive customs. In reference to the political scenario, Mohmand tribal leaders challenged the idea of joint combing of the area by Pakistani and U.S. forces in 2003, and later the NWFP government (led by the MMA) came forward to support the stance of the Mohmand tribe (Asia Times, July 15, 2003). Despite that, Pakistani army units conducted various search operations in the area and tribal leaders decided not to opt for a head on collision with them. It is pertinent to mention, however, that al-Zawahiri is reportedly married to a woman from the Mohmand tribe who lives with her father in the border area between Bajaur and Mohmand agencies (Dawn, January 15).

[Jeff Head]

I hope they nailed him.

They fear the Predators and the newer, more heavily armed Reapers.

But...mind you, Obama says we are less safe because Bush took the war to them. Seems like they are getting the job done...there in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

THE AUDACITY OF TRUTH ABOUT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

[G8 Diplomat]

Pakistan ۋﮧ۱م

FReepmail if you want on or off>

[Mr. Jazzy]

Fan of the Blue Oyster Cult?
HA!

[Straight Vermonter]

This is not too far from where the special ops guys got someone in the Tagab Valley last week. I'd like to think there was some conection.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

This is what I was talking about on a thread a few days ago. We need to keep the pressure on heavy this summer and keep the Hellfire raining from the sky. AQ and Taliban are getting the message “You get on that Sat phone-you DIE”

These guys talk all that glorious shahid nonsense but in reality they are scared out of their minds.

[ConservativeMan55]

And with it getting hotter they aren’t going to be staying in the caves all day long either.

They’re gonna have to get out and about....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Roggio reviews this and previous action:

Report: US strikes inside Mohmand tribal agency

[Dog]

James Robbins at NRO... speculates we are hunting someone big..

Are we Hunting Him?

[maine-iac7]

Media Report: “Osama Bin Laden Hiding In Area Along Pakistan’s Borders”

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=616241

“Despite official efforts to spotlight improvement, the spring offensive thus far is worse than last year’s spring offensive. The security situation has deteriorated again.
At no prior time has the Taliban managed to stage attacks in over 100 of the 398 districts. The previous highs were 86 in April 2008 and 83 in May 2007. Fighting has been heavy in Garmser District in Helmand Province but it has been significantly higher in Zormat District in Paktia Province; Andar District in Ghazni Province and Asadabad District in Konar, all across from the tribal areas of northern and central Pakistan. If Taliban fighters are heading to Pakistan, they are going back to base to rest and to get more ammunition and supplies.

Now, it is notable that the worst fighting has actually not been in the south, but in Paktya, Ghazni, and Kunar,

Cdr. Dwyer’s base was rocked, every minute or so all day, by the terrifying shock of its line of 155-mm howitzers firing their village-destroying shells over the hills and into the Korengal Valley.”

http://www.registan.net/index.php/2008/06/04/fundamentals-relatively-measuring-success/

[maine-iac7]

“Pakistan's government has previously denied bin Laden is hiding in its tribal regions, and said he is in Kunar province in neighboring Afghanistan, according to the report. “

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=616241

The Korengal Valley of the Kunar Province, on the border of this hot spot in Pakistan, is a valley OBL considers his territory = he trained the 9/11 bombers there.

That is why the 173rd AIRBORNE is there - and Battle Co. is the spear =

It seemed the spring offensive wouldn't be as bad this year - but now seems it may have just come a little later that other years...

I pray not. These troops have had the heaviest fighting in those God forsaken, isolated mountains - they need a breather

[Marine_Uncle]

Yet another goody goody gum drop. Surely many more clowns shall be targeted and taken out in the months to come. At least the Pakistani government understand we can easily take out people that they would rather not be alive, and they can keep their hands relatively clean in the process.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Flopping Aces kind of a summary..but tal;ks about some fierce clashes.:

Strike Five! Fifth Airstrike in Pakistani Tribal Areas This Year - Update: Zawahiri The Target?

AND

Dozens feared dead in Afghan border clash

*************************************

Arif Yousafzai

PESHAWAR: Taliban and Afghan National Army backed by American forces have traded severe firing in Sooran Dara area of Mehmand and Bajaur Agencies on Afghan border late Tuesday evening.

Sources told this correspondent that Afghan National Army backed by American forces and gunship helicopters clashed with Taliban when the former on a tip-off attacked a Taliban hideout in the Sooran Dara area.

Unconfirmed reports receiving from the Dara revealed that dozens of Taliban and Afghan National Army are feared dead in the clashes.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umer talking to this correspondent via phone from an undisclosed location said that clashes erupted in Sooran Dara area when American and Afghan National Army backed by gunship helicopters and jets attacked Taliban on the Afghan border.

He said that Afghan National Army and American forces and their jets also violated the territorial limits of Pakistan and continued to fly over Mehmand and Bajaur Agencies for few minutes.

Asked about the casualties, he said that though jets had been seen pouring bombs on Taliban but the number of casualties could not be ascertained immediately. He said that Sooran Dara was one of the strongholds of Taliban and Pakistan army had no presence in this area. It was the responsibility of Pakistan army to protect its boundaries but the job is being done by Taliban, he added.

Meanwhile, a foreign news agency quoted a government official saying that a pilotless US drone was suspected to have fired a missile into a Pakistani area on the Afghan border, but there was no word on the target or casualties.

"There was an attack by a spy plane close to the Afghan border but we don't have information about casualties or damage," said the government official based in the region. He declined to be identified.

Govt officials can perform duties freely: Mehsud

ISLAMABAD: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan head Baitullah Mehsud has said that the government officials can perform their duties in Mehsud without any fear and hindrance while complete protection would be provided to them. Pamphlets were distributed in Southern Waziristan on behalf of Tehreek-e-Taliban assuring complete protection to government officials and government teams working in Mehsud, a private TV channel reported on Tuesday. However, according to pamphlets, strict action would be taken against any guilty official.

Online

[MediaMole]

Anyone involved with al qaeda is number 2.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the Strata Sphere blog:

Another AQ Leader Targeted In Pakistan Tribal Areas - Updated!

**********************EXCERPT*********************

Published by AJStrata at 1:52 pm under All General Discussions, Bin Laden/GWOT, Pakistan

Major Update At The End

As I noted in the earlier post below, al-Qaeda has been retreating from a range of defeats in Iraq, Lebanon (and I forgot to mention Afghanistan which is over 75% pacified) and is being surrounded by allied forces. This has allowed allied forces to use intelligence to take out 3 key leaders in surgical strikes within Pakistan’s FATA region, with the permission of the Pakistan government.

Well today it seems we targeted another AQ Leader in the area:

***********************************snip***************************

Now some late breaking news regarding the fighting in the region of the missile attacks today:

Taliban and Afghan National Army backed by American forces have traded severe firing in Sooran Dara area of Mehmand and Bajaur Agencies on Afghan border late Tuesday evening.

Sources told this correspondent that Afghan National Army backed by American forces and gunship helicopters clashed with Taliban when the former on a tip-off attacked a Taliban hideout in the Sooran Dara area.

Unconfirmed reports receiving from the Dara revealed that dozens of Taliban and Afghan National Army are feared dead in the clashes.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umer talking to this correspondent via phone from an undisclosed location said that clashes erupted in Sooran Dara area when American and Afghan National Army backed by gunship helicopters and jets attacked Taliban on the Afghan border.

He said that Afghan National Army and American forces and their jets also violated the territorial limits of Pakistan and continued to fly over Mehmand and Bajaur Agencies for few minutes.

Clearly US and Afghan forces were operating on a tip and caught a large group of militants on the Afghan side of the border> Then they traced the militants back to their rats’ nest as they fled back into Pakistan, bringing on the missile strikes. This is the kind of pressure I was predicting just this morning we would be seeing through out the summer, and I sincerely hope we do see more if it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And one more blog to watch...the JAWA Report:

June 10, 2008 [UPDATE: Zawahiri Killed?] U.S. Missile Hits Pakistani Target,/b>

*********************************

I'm not nearly as optimistic as AJ Strata about what's going on in Pakistan, but I am happy to report that we've taken out another Taliban/al Qaeda target inside the territory of our "ally" in the region. Whoever designed the Predator drone should be given a medal and a big hefty bonus.

UPDATE: I've gotten a few memos from some insiders that this could be a big fish. How big?

Check out the comments section for some of the public speculation as to why this may be Zawahiri. The gist of which is a) contrary to Pakistani sources, this area is a hotbed of AQ activity b) Zawahiri is said to have married a wife from the Mohmand tribe in order to get their protection c) hence the rumors that Zawahiri is in the area and the speculation that the target was Zawahiri.

And, as long as we're talking about Zawahiri, I wasn't around when his newest audio message was released. I hope someone around here covered it in my absence and duly noted that it was not released with English subtitles, as was the custom when American Adam Gadahn was running al Qaeda's propaganda arm.

Which only leads me to further muse that Gadahn is probably dead. If not, how about some proof of life?
By Dr. Rusty Shackleford at June 10, 2008 04:23 PM | |

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of the jihadists will make him sit by himself on the far end of the tent.

thanks Ernest.

[Straight Vermonter]

Taliban and Afghan National Army backed by American forces have traded severe firing in Sooran Dara area of Mehmand and Bajaur Agencies on Afghan border late Tuesday evening.

Mehmand (Mohmand) and Bajaur are in Pakistan. Are our guys fighting in Pakistan?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Hal9000 posted this last night...

Ten Pakistani soldiers killed by a missile at Afghan border

Not sure what is going on......and now this from AJStrata :

Was Missile Attack In Pakistan Actually A Clash With Pakistani Troops?

*************EXCERPT**********

I posted yesterday on a missile attack (maybe up to four missiles) that hit Pakistan.  There also was some fighting which broke out on the ground in the region between Taliban and Afghan and NATO forces.  That was the impression yesterday.

Today there are now reports that give a totally different story.  By these accounts what happened is Pakistan forces challenged Afghan forces and initiated a fire fight between the two groups, which led to the air strikes:

Pakistan has condemned a “cowardly and unprovoked” Nato airstrike which killed 11 of its soldiers last night, threatening relations between the West and Islamabad.

Afghan and Western forces called in the deadly attack after clashing with Pakistani forces in the disputed border region between the two countries. 

…

“The spokesman condemned this completely unprovoked and cowardly act on the FC (Frontier Corps) post and regretted the loss of precious lives of our soldiers,” the statement said.

…

According to senior Pakistan army sources, the incident began when its soldiers noticed that Nato forces and the Afghan National Army were constructing a military outpost on a mountaintop inside what Pakistan regards as its own territory.

“I am told the Afghan troops were actually building a kind of new outpost, were challenged by the Pakistan army and then the firing started,” said Zahid Hussein, Times correspondent in Islamabad.

Emphasis mine.  Why do I get the feeling this story is not completely accurate?  How many times have terrorists donned Pakistani uniforms and went on a rampage?  And I seriously doubt the well trained NATO forces allowed things to escalate out of control.  It seems much of this is based on the statements of the Times correspondent (probably a stringer and not an employee).   I am curious to see how this plays out, but I will note one thing - this story is a one-sided account rushed to print:

There has been no official confirmation from Afghan or Nato military spokespeople of exactly what happened in the far-flung border area known as Speena Sooka, or White Peak.

Moreover, there was Taliban action taking place in the area:

Reporting of the incident has been confused by the fact that, at the same moment, the Pakistani Taleban was launching an attack of its own in the same rugged, mountainous area. Some reports from the scene say that the Pakistani troops died in a general firefight as Afghan and Nato forces were repelling the Taleban insurgents.

A senior Pakistan officer said: “The militants launched a cross-border attack into Afghanistan. At least 10 of our soldiers were killed in a counter-offensive by forces in Afghanistan.”

Or was it Pakistani troops fighting along side the Taliban?

Damagh Khan Mohmand, a local tribesman who witnessed the fighting, said that it lasted for four hours, with Afghan and foreign forces trading fire with the Pakistani militants and with the Pakistan troops.

We may have another case of the media being duped by enemy propagandists.

3 Responses to “Was Missile Attack In Pakistan Actually A Clash With Pakistani Troops?”

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More updates from Strata Sphere:

Did We Get Zawahiri?

**********************EXCERPTS**************************

Published by AJStrata at 8:03 am under All General Discussions, Bin Laden/GWOT, Pakistan

OK, now we have completely conflicting ‘reports’ on those multiple missile strikes in Pakistan.  I noted the strikes here initially.  Then today I noted a Times UK story on how this was some sort of border clash with Taliban, Pakistani soldiers, Afghan forces and NATO (US) forces.  The fact so many forces were involved raised a red flag with me.  Now Rusty Shackleford over at the Jawa Report is hearing we may have gotten a top al-Qaeda leader!

*************************snip*************************

Update.  More here on the story line that the US might have hit a Pakistani outpost in the region.

The US military has killed at least 11 Pakistani soldiers in an air strike close to the Afghan border.

The soldiers were manning a border post that was hit by a US missile in the Mohmand region last night. Officials say the incident happened during a cross-border skirmish between the US military and Taliban militants.

State-run Pakistan Television said eight civilians were also killed during the raid. It reported that foreign forces tried to establish a military post and were resisted by tribesmen. An airstrike then struck a Pakistani military post, PTV said.

Security officials confirmed that troops had crossed the frontier and tried to occupy the strategic Pakistani post in the mountainous Gora Prai area.

OK, that is as clear as mud.  There was on-going action between the US and Taliban forces.  But beyond that it seems really mirky.  One report from Australia has the US admitting to the strikes - OK.  But that may not be the full story.

Update:  I have to wonder if the Taliban forces had run for cover to the Pakistani outpost, drawing the US fire to the Pakistani forces:

A U.S. official with knowledge of the reports acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. planes launched an airstrike in the area on Tuesday but did so in “hot pursuit” of suspected militants who had conducted an ambush on the Afghan side of the border.

The official, speaking in Washington, said that the U.S. knew people were killed on the ground and would investigate whether Pakistani soldiers were among those killed in that location or nearby.

As I noted in the previous post there were witnesses that the Pakistanis were fighting alongside the Taliban:

Damagh Khan Mohmand, a local tribesman who witnessed the fighting, said that it lasted for four hours, with Afghan and foreign forces trading fire with the Pakistani militants and with the Pakistan troops.

Was this such a well defended area that Pakistani forces were secretly aligned with the terrorists in their locale?  I am not buying the initial news media reports.  Their anti-American, anti-Bush biases are starting to come forth again, making assumptions and suspending their skepticism regarding their sources.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thread on Washington Post Report:

Pakistan Blames US Coalition for Troops' Deaths (37 minutes ago)

[Straight Vermonter]

I’ve been trying (without success) to find a map of this precise area. Can anyone help?

[F-117A]

Then there's this report from a Pakistani site!

When reached by telephone, military spokesman and Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said there was no truth to the reports that Nato forces moved into the Pak border area.

"Actually, some Afghan soldiers came to the border on Tuesday morning and wanted to build a post there. Our troops explained to them that the area was disputed between the two countries. Our troops did not allow them to set up the post there." He said the troops did not exchange any fire. Gen Abbas also denied reports that Nato soldiers had come to the border and targe-ted positions of the Pakistani troops.

The International News (PK)

[Marine_Uncle]

Good follow up articles.