TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012
Apparently, the Taliban want anyone in Pakistan that is thinking of joining the Army there that if they are captured by the Taliban, they will be beheaded as this happened just the past couple of days - 3 soldiers to be exact were captured in a convoy attacked and later beheaded...a total of 12 troops were killed by the Taliban.
From the story at DAWN:
This is exactly why Pakistan has been so resistant to conduct any kind of operation in North Waziristan - first off, the countryside is literally teeming with Taliban and al Qaeda and secondly, the Taliban are willing to go to any length to intimidate the government troops from coming into the agency. Needless to say, there was no announcement of an apology by the Taliban for the civilians killed.
North Waziristan clashes ‘killed 19, injured 71’ in two days
From the story at DAWN:
Clashes between troops and militants in North Waziristan killed 19 soldiers and civilians, and wounded nearly 100 others, officials said Tuesday.
Violence flared Sunday when gunmen armed with rockets attacked a military convoy near Miranshah, the main town in the tribal district on the Afghan border.
Among the dead were 12 Pakistani soldiers, three of whom were captured and beheaded, a local intelligence official told AFP.
“Seven civilians, including two children and three women, were killed and 71 others were injured during two days of violence,” the official added.
At least 20 soldiers were also wounded, he said.
This is exactly why Pakistan has been so resistant to conduct any kind of operation in North Waziristan - first off, the countryside is literally teeming with Taliban and al Qaeda and secondly, the Taliban are willing to go to any length to intimidate the government troops from coming into the agency. Needless to say, there was no announcement of an apology by the Taliban for the civilians killed.
North Waziristan clashes ‘killed 19, injured 71’ in two days
MIRANSHAH: Clashes between troops and militants in North Waziristan killed 19 soldiers and civilians, and wounded nearly 100 others, officials said Tuesday.
Violence flared Sunday when gunmen armed with rockets attacked a military convoy near Miranshah, the main town in the tribal district on the Afghan border.
Among the dead were 12 Pakistani soldiers, three of whom were captured and beheaded, a local intelligence official told AFP.
“Seven civilians, including two children and three women, were killed and 71 others were injured during two days of violence,” the official added.
At least 20 soldiers were also wounded, he said.
On Monday, helicopter gun-ships attacked a three-storey building housing weapons shops in Miranshah’s main bazaar, causing a huge fire, witnesses said.
Two other intelligence officials in the area confirmed the death toll of 19.
Officials on Monday had put the overall death toll at 15.
Intelligence officials also said 17 militants were killed in the clashes.
An AFP reporter saw the bodies of 12 militants.
Calm has since returned, after local tribal elders interceded between the political administration and militants, officials said.
Shops and the main bazaar in Miranshah re-opened on Tuesday, an AFP reporter said.
