FATA Timeline - 2009

January 1

A suspected United States missile strike killed at least five Taliban militants in South Waziristan Agency. A local security official told that a US drone had fired three missiles in the Karikot area of Wana in the agency - the same spot where eight suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike 10 days ago. One of the missiles struck a vehicle, killing all five passengers, another security official said, adding those killed were known Taliban militants. The other two missiles hit a hilltop house that was a known Taliban hideout, but was empty at the time of the strike, the officials said. One militant was injured in the strike, they added.

Four civilians were killed in Bajaur Agency when Taliban militants fired rockets at local Government offices. At least four rockets landed near a court and the Government complex in Khar, the main town in Bajaur, local administration chief Israr Khan told. "The attack left four civilians dead and 16 injured," Khan added. Officials said that at least six rockets were fired on Civil Colony, where Government offices and residential quarters for officials are located. One of the rockets, the officials said, hit the office of FATA Rural Development Programme.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said that the writ of the Government had already been established in four sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency, and Charmang and Mamoond sub-divisions would be under the complete control of the Government by the end of this month.

One soldier was killed and two others sustained injuries as clashes between the Security Forces (SFs) and militants continued in the Safi tehsil (revenue division) and adjoining areas of the Mohmand Agency for the second consecutive day. The SFs also claimed to have killed several militants when their hideouts were dynamited besides arresting 10 suspects and recovering explosives and suicide vests from them during the operation in different areas of the agency.

Militants attacked the SFs’ check-posts in Darwazgai-II and Lakaro with mortar guns and rocket launchers after which a fierce clash started. Sources added that a mortar shell fired by the militants hit the Darwazgai-II checkpoint in which a soldier, Niaz Muhammad Jan, was killed and two others wounded. A spokesman for the Mohmand Rifles, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in Ghallanai, told the media that they targeted different areas of Safi, Lakaro and Utmanzai with artillery and mortar guns, killing several militants. "We have also arrested 10 suspects in Qandaro area who were transporting arms and ammunition to their associates engaged in clashes with the security forces in Darwazgai-II and Lakaro checkpoints. A vehicle laden with explosive devices, Kalashnikovs, bombs, suicide jackets and masks was captured," the spokesman claimed while showing the seized items to journalists. He said SFs targeted several suspected hideouts with artillery and dynamited 25 houses of those helping the militants in the Qandaro, Habibzai, Haider Koroona, Malakana and Sandokhel areas.

The Taliban publicly executed an alleged ring leader of a gang of kidnappers in the Kurram Agency. The militants had charged Mohammad Yaqoot Khan with kidnapping two Sikh men in the Tora Warai area of Central Kurram. A large crowd reportedly watched the hanging of the man in the main Sadda bazaar. Later the militants sprayed his body with bullets. It is the first incident of public execution in Lower Kurram.

Claiming a major breakthrough on the third day of the ongoing operation against the militants and outlaws in Khyber Agency, the political authorities indicated at reopening the Pakistan-Afghan Highway by January 3. Authorities said 80 per cent of the targets were achieved as several notorious criminals were either arrested or surrendered to the administration. Some 13 houses, used for anti-social activities, were also demolished. The encroachments along the Jamrud Bazaar and the adjoining areas were removed. Sources said 15 more wanted criminals were arrested on January 1, bringing the tally of those arrested during the last three days of the operation to 43. A total of 33 structures, including houses and guest houses, were demolished in the operation. The NATO supplies snatched earlier were also recovered during the operation. The looted items were recovered from the house of Adam Jee in Wazir Dhand area, prompting the troops to demolish the house after retrieving the snatched goods. Briefing the media, Political Agent of the Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat said that on the third day of the operation, militants’ hideouts and criminal dens in Ghundi, Shahkas and Wazir Dhand area were targeted with artillery shells before the troops moved in.

January 02

Four militants were killed and three others injured when a CIA-operated spy plane fired two Hellfire missiles at a Government-run girls’ school in the Ladha sub-division of South Waziristan Agency, the second attack in as many days. Tribal sources told that two pilotless spy planes were seen hovering over the Mehsud-inhabited areas before the air strikes on the school and a nearby-parked car. The drone reportedly fired two Hellfire missiles, one of them hitting the building of the Government Girls’ Primary School, Maidan Naray, and the other destroying the car owned by the militants. According to sources, four militants reportedly belonging to the Punjab, died and three others sustained injuries in the attack.

In the Khisoor area of South Waziristan, a remote-controlled roadside bomb killed a Baitullah Mehsud supporter and injured three others when it hit their vehicle.

Unidentified gunmen killed an elder of the Mamoond tribe in Kalan village of Bajaur Agency. 46-year old Malik Stana Khan was shot dead when he was on his way to Kalan, a political administration official said.

Militants attacked a Security Forces’ checkpoint in the Safi-inhabited areas of Lakaro sub-division of Mohmand Agency, prompting retaliation by the paramilitary forces. However, no casualty from either side was reported in the incident. Sources said militants used heavy weapons, including mortar guns, to attack the Lakaro checkpoint. In response, the SFs targeted suspected positions of the militants with heavy artillery and other sophisticated weapons. The paramilitary forces targeted suspected hideouts of militants with heavy artillery from their bases at the agency headquarters of Ghallanai. However, no casualty or material loss in the fresh offensive in Lakaro could be ascertained because of faulty communication system in the area.

Traffic on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway resumed after the political authorities relaxed the curfew on the fourth day of the military operation against the militants and criminals in Khyber Agency. Curfew was relaxed for five hours shortly after 11 am (PST), paving the way for hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying goods for NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan, to cross over to the neighbouring country.

The political administration displayed a large quantity of arms and ammunition and truckloads of looted goods, including that of the NATO supplies at the Jamrud Fort. These goods were recovered during the operation. The weapons included five mortar guns, a heavy and a light anti-aircraft gun, three light machineguns, 10 rocket launchers and 15 AK-47 rifles and thousands of rounds of various denominations. Political Agent Tariq Hayat claimed to have achieved 80 percent of the targets set for the operation. He said while many were arrested under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations, Security Forces also detained 43 proclaimed offenders. He stated the Government’s resolve to continue the operation until all the six groups that the authorities claimed operating in the Khyber Agency were neutralised.

SFs carried out limited action against militant hideouts in Ali Masjid area of the Jamrud sub-division, where an office of the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam was also demolished. Some 25 structures, including houses and shops, were also demolished in the adjacent Wazeer Dhand area.

The Taliban in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) banned the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), co-education and sale and consumption of narcotics and alcohol in the tribal region, warning violators of death sentence after a January 5 deadline. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the central Shura (council of consultation) of the pro-Government Taliban, led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, at Miranshah. The decisions of the Shura were later announced in several mosques of the tribal region whereas pamphlets inscribed with the verdict were also distributed. Announcements were made through loudspeakers in mosques and prayer leaders informed the faithful about the new laws through the Friday sermons. The militant leaders, while criticising the BISP, argued that widows and other poor deserving women from the NWA were forced to visit offices of political administration which, they said, was against the tribal customs and traditions. "The women of the NWA will then be persuaded to visit Peshawar and Islamabad for the collection of the BISP," the Shura anticipated, adding initiation of such a programme in the tribal region was meant to morally corrupt the poor tribal women.

The Shura also announced a ban on co-education in NWA from January 5. In Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, despite militancy and unrest, some private schools are reportedly still imparting co-education. The drug pushers and owners of compact disc (CDs) shops were also warned to wind up their businesses or face the consequences. The Taliban militants warned of capital punishment for possession of drugs, especially alcohol. "Anyone found in possession of alcohol will be awarded death sentence," said the announcements made from various mosques of the NWA after the Shura meeting. The militants also warned violators of the Shura decisions of severe punishment. In addition, pamphlets were issued at Mirali in which the militants warned kidnappers of strict action.

January 04

The Orakzai chapter of the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has established Sharia (Islamic law) courts and complaint centres in most parts of the agency, directing people to resolve their disputes in accordance with the Islamic laws. Following the enforcement of Sharia in Mamozai, Akhonkot, Tor Samat, Baghbani Killay, Jabah, Mirkalamkhel, Farid Garhi, Ghaljo, Kundi Sheikhan, Ghundako Killay, Saifal Darra, Yakh Kando, Tor Kani and Takht areas of the upper Orakzai Agency, the local TTP established two complaint centres and Sharia courts in Kundi Sheikhan and Ghaljo. The local Taliban also set up complaint centres and courts in the Mushti area after they announced imposition of Sharia in Ferozkhel, Toi, Mushti, Sangrah, Mandaki Killay, Mushti bazaar, Mushti Maila, Kasha and Sheikhan areas of the lower Orakzai Agency. "The announcements about enforcement of Sharia have been made on loudspeakers from several mosques in the area, urging the people to contact Islamic courts for settlement of their disputes in accordance with Sharia," sources said, adding that Taliban had also banned cutting of forest. The Taliban also reportedly announced ‘ban’ on women to go out of their homes and visit bazaars or do work at fields and hills. However, they announced that women seeking medical treatment could go out but a male member of the family must accompany them.

January 5

Suspected Taliban militants in North Waziristan shot dead two Afghan nationals and a resident of the Bannu District of NWFP and hanged bodies of the Afghans from a tree on the Bannu-Miramshah Road at Naurak village. A hand-written Pashto language letter left with the bodies accused them of spying on ‘Mujahideen’ in North Waziristan for the US forces stationed in Afghanistan. The letter also termed the killing of the two Afghans and the Pakistani a "gift" to US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher. Naurak villagers said the two Afghans were identified as Omar Siddique and Muhammad Qasim, both hailing from the Khost province of Afghanistan, and were living along with their families in a village near Miranshah. The other slain person was identified as Azizur Rahman, a contractor, of the Bannu District.

Militants kidnapped 11 members of the Mandel tribe of Bajaur Agency in Mohmand Agency and took them to an unspecified location. The tribesmen had gone to Mohmand Agency’s Anbar sub-division three days ago to persuade militants to stop rocket attacks on villages near Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency. "The jirga members visited Anbar on a peace mission. We have reports that they have been kidnapped by unidentified militants," said official Ahsanullah Khan.

January 6

Suspected militants killed four more alleged US spies in North Waziristan on the night between January 5 and January 6 and threw their bodies on main roads in various parts of the tribal region. Two of the alleged US spies were said to be Afghan nationals and the other two were identified as local tribesmen. Tribal sources said bullet-riddled bodies of the two Afghans were found on the road in Sarobi village near Spalga. Body of one tribesman was recovered from Miranshah Bazaar and the other body was found from the Razmak Road.

Two militants were killed and four others sustained injuries when Security Force (SF) personnel and militants clashed in the Pandyalai sub-division and Bhai Dag area of the Baizai sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. Sources said that a group of militants attacked the SFs checkpoint in Targhakhi with rockets and mortars. However, the troops retaliated with artillery and rockets, killing two militants on the spot and injuring four others. The slain militants, whose names could not be ascertained, belonged to the Dawaizai area.

SFs are reported to have heavily shelled Sheikhan, Spinkay Tangay and Kashmir Koor in Pandyalai in Mohmand Agency. The houses of Malang and Sarwaiz Khan were partially damaged when several shells landed in the area. However, no casualty was reported. Meanwhile, unidentified miscreants blew up the building of Baizai subdivision headquarters in the Bhai Dag area with explosives. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

Two US choppers, carrying American troops, reportedly intruded into the Pakistani tribal territory and landed at the Bange Dar village of North Waziristan Agency, bordering the Khost province in Afghanistan, and abducted three nomads in the night of January 5. However, Government officials and security authorities based in Miranshah denied violation of Pakistan’s airspace by the coalition forces. "We have our troops deployed along the border with Afghanistan but none of them reported any such violation by the foreign forces," a military officer said.

Following the announcement of imposing Sharia (Islamic law) in Orakzai Agency, the Taliban occupied the Political Rest House in the agency. A political administration official told Daily Times that the Taliban captured the rest house late on January 5. He said political authorities had already vacated the premises due to the growing Taliban presence in the area, adding the Taliban had little difficulty in overpowering two soldiers deployed to guard the rest house. Taliban sources said they would use the building as their office.

January 7

Three Taliban militants were killed and six others sustained injuries as jet fighters targeted their hideouts in various areas of Bajaur Agency. Six trenches and some underground bunkers built by the Taliban had also been destroyed in the operation. Fighter jets targeted Taliban hideouts in Dama Dola and Khaza Pahar areas in Mamoond, Salarzai and Chargo Kandaw sub-divisions of Bajaur.

The Taliban in Mirali sub-division of North Waziristan Agency killed two Afghan nationals after accusing them of spying for the United States. Locals found the body of Habibullah at Khadi, 15 kilometers west of Mirali near the Mirali-Miranshah Road. The body of the second Afghan, identified as Khan Muhammad Babar, was found in Shera Talla area, 20 kilometers from Mirali on the Mirali-Tall Road. Notes found near the bodies said the people spying for the US would be dealt with in the same manner.

A couple was wounded when a mortar shell hit a house in the Koz Gandhab area of Haleemzai tehsil (revenue division) in Mohmand Agency. Sources said that SFs fired a series of mortar shells on Koz Gandhab after their camp was attacked in Ghallanai. One of the shells hit the house of Niaz Wali, injuring him and his wife. The house was also partially damaged in the incident.

Helicopter gunships targeting Taliban hideouts accidentally hit two civilian houses in Orakzai Agency. The houses were partially damaged, but no loss of life was reported, said officials. They said the gunships targeted Taliban hideouts in Kalaya village of Lower Orakzai Agency, but no Taliban casualties were reported.

January 8

The head of al Qaeda in Pakistan and his lieutenant were killed in the past few days, a US counter-terrorism official told AFP. They were reportedly struck by a missile fired from an unmanned drone. The men are believed to be Kenyan national Usama al-Kini, described as al Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan and his lieutenant Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. "There is every reason to believe that these two top terrorist figures are dead," said an unnamed source, adding that the duo was killed "within the last week." The counterintelligence source did not say how the men died, but according to Washington Post, which first reported the story, the duo was killed in a January 1 missile attack near Karikot in South Waziristan. The militants died after being struck with 45 kilo Hellfire missile fired from a pilot-less Predator drone operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, Washington Post reported.

Suspected militants shot dead two Government employees in North Waziristan Agency. The ambush took place in Asadkhel village, around 35 kilometers south of agency headquarters Miranshah. Amanullah Jan, a junior administrator in Razmak town, and his security guard were killed, while Jan’s deputy and another guard were injured after gunmen hiding on a roadside shot at their car, a local official told AFP.

January 11

At least 49 Taliban militants were killed and an unspecified number of them wounded in Mohmand Agency as paramilitary troops repulsed a pre-dawn attack by about 600 militants coming from the Afghan border. The attackers – mostly foreigners, and supported by local Taliban – attacked Frontier Corps (FC) positions in Mamad Gatt at about 2am (PST). "Frontier Corps troops repulsed a massive attack by militants on one of its locations in the area," the military said in a statement, adding that "severe fighting continued through the night". Six soldiers were also killed and seven sustained injuries in the fighting. The Taliban fired mortars and rockets at an FC camp and subsequently used small arms to fire on a nearby checkpoint, an unnamed military official told AP. The attackers were eventually driven off, but scattered skirmishes continued, he said. Most of the attackers fled under heavy military fire, a security official told AFP. Some of the Taliban militants surrendered, a military spokesman claimed later, without giving a specific figure.

The Taliban chopped off ears of four private security guards in Bajaur Agency. An official told a private TV channel that the incident took place in Danana Khar area of Khar District late on January 10. He said the victims told him they were sitting in their tents at night when the Taliban took them hostage. They said the militants abducted around 18 security guards from various parts of the city and took them to an unidentified location. Later, they chopped off one ear each of Sheerin, Muhammad, Behram and Jehangir, considering them the guards’ leaders, they said. The Taliban also seized arms from the 18 men and left them in the Shalimar Cheena area. The Taliban, however, had not claimed responsibility for the incident so far, the channel said.

Five armed men kidnapped the Additional Political Agent Amir Latif of South Waziristan along with his driver in the presence of more than 20 Security Force personnel. Political Agent Shahab Ali Shah who was in the same vehicle was unharmed, because the armed men reportedly didn’t recognise him. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Shah and the Additional Political Agent, escorted by more then 20 heavily-armed soldiers, were proceeding from Wana to their office in the adjacent Tank district when five masked men intercepted their vehicle near Kerkena which is the area of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.

January 12

Taliban militants killed two men in North Waziristan after accusing them of spying for the United States, said a local official. The incident was the latest in a series of at least 10 similar killings during the past two weeks in the region. The bullet-riddled bodies of two brothers, 25-year-old Rehman Rauf Khattak and 30-year-old Asfandyar Khattak, were found in a market in the Mir Ali town, the unnamed official told AFP. He said the two brothers had been kidnapped a week ago from Miranshah. "The killers left a note with the bodies saying, "The two men were spying for the US," the official added.

SFs attacked suspected militant hideous in the Qandaharo area of Mohmand Agency with mortar and cannon shells. One shell hit a house, killing Rozi Khan and his wife and injuring a child.

January 13

The Taliban in North Waziristan Agency shot dead an Afghan national, accusing him of spying for the United States. The bullet-riddled body of Bahadur Khan was found early on January 13 in a market in Miranshah, the agency’s main town, the unnamed official told AFP, adding Khan was abducted from the same place the previous day.

January 14

Unidentified armed men killed a tribal elder in the Orakzai Agency. Malak Noor Akbar of the Aakhel sub-tribe was shot dead outside his house in the Ghaljo area of the agency.

In North Waziristan, the Taliban released a senior Government official who was abducted in December 2008 from Mir Ali District, said officials. "Asmatullah Wazir was freed unconditionally last night," a local official said, adding that his release had followed official pressure on his abductors.

January 15

Two Security Force (SF) personnel were killed and four others injured in a remote-controlled bomb explosion in the Machan Baba Ziarat area of South Waziristan Agency. Officials said a vehicle of the SFs was on a routine patrol when it was hit by a remote-controlled bomb near the agency headquarters, Wana.

In North Waziristan, Taliban militants shot dead a man accused of spying for the US forces across the border in Afghanistan. Officials said the 30-year-old was abducted from Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, in December 2008 after a suspected US drone attack on a militant hideout in the area. "He was gunned down before dawn and his body was dumped on a roadside near Miranshah," said an unnamed official. A note placed near the body described him as a ‘US spy’.

January 16

Two militants and a soldier were killed and another sustained injuries in a clash in the Sandokhel area of Mohmand Agency. Sources said SFs, backed by artillery and tanks, continued demolishing houses of militants in the Habibzai area of Safi sub-division for the second consecutive day. However, the militants opened fire on the troops in Sandokhel, which triggered a clash, leaving two militants and a soldier dead.

Owais Ahmad Ghani, the NWFP Governor, is reported to have told a delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in Peshawar that there are approximately 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition and equipment. The Governor said that a militant was normally given PKR 6,000 to PKR 8,000 per month while their leaders got PKR 20,000 to 30,000 per month.

January 17

Taliban militants in North Waziristan Agency killed an Afghan national, Asadullah, accusing him of spying for the United States. His dead body was found in Miranshah’s Nariwala area, near the Miranshah-Razmak road. A note found near the body said that anyone spying for the US would be treated in the same manner.

January 18

At least 15 Taliban militants and a soldier were killed when clashes broke out between the Taliban and SFs in Mohmand Agency. The clashes, which broke out late on January 17, occurred as the SFs cleared a road linking Bajaur Agency with Peshawar, an unnamed official said. "Fifteen militants were killed in a successful raid by security forces on their stronghold in Darwazgai area of Mohmand Agency… One security force personnel embraced martyrdom in the encounter," he stated.

January 19

Supplies to western forces in Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass were briefly suspended after the Taliban attacked an army camp in Landikotal in the Khyber Agency, killing a soldier and injuring 10 others. A Government official in Khyber had said early on January 19 that supplies through the pass had been suspended indefinitely after the Taliban attacked a military camp with rocket-propelled grenades. But he later said the route had been reopened after Security Forces arrested 10 men suspected of carrying out the attack. An unnamed official told AFP that the Taliban launched the pre-dawn attack on the Security Forces’ camp close to the Torkham border crossing. "The rebels fired eight rockets on the camp," the official said.

January 20

Troops backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships killed at least 38 Taliban militants in an ongoing military operation in the Mohmand Agency - raising the Taliban death toll to 60 over 24 hours. A statement said the FC troops had advanced and secured Darwazgai-Lakaro-Mamad Ghat Road in the operation and "militant strongholds of Habibzai and Mulakhel were destroyed." It also said that ‘leading commanders’, Umar Khitab, Qari Mumtaz, Haroon Rashid, Bilal, Yaqub, Yar Syed, Yousuf and Hamza, were among the dead. Troops have also "engaged Taliban strongholds of Krair and Chingai", it added. The Security Forces reportedly launched the crackdown in Mohmand Agency as early as the weekend, but a paramilitary official told that ‘hardcore militants’ were killed in the last 24 hours. A paramilitary official said the FC and Mohmand Rifles, backed by warplanes, helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery, targeted suspected hideouts of militants in five villages of Lakaro and Pandyali sub-divisions, said to be stronghold of the Taliban’s Mohmand chapter. Three civilians, including the owner of a restaurant and his two sons, were killed in Danish Kol, residents said. 12 civilians were reportedly injured in the air strike and mortar attacks. According to a press release issued by the Frontier Corps headquarters in Peshawar late on January 20-night, 60 militants, including several key local commanders, were killed in the operation since the previous night. It said 22 militants had been killed on January 19 and 38 on January 20.

Taliban militants in the North Waziristan Agency shot dead six more people on charges of spying for the US forces stationed in Afghanistan. Tribal sources in agency headquarters Miranshah said that two of the six slain spies were Afghan nationals. One of them, whose bullet-riddled body was dumped near the Miranshah Bazaar, was identified as Guldar Ali, hailing from Afghanistan’s Khost province. Similarly, four more bodies were recovered from the Tehsil Road near Mirali. They were identified as Shah Madeen Khattak, a barber hailing from Karak district, 65-year-old electrician Shahi Haider Khan, teenager Nisar Ali and an Afghan citizen, whose name could not be ascertained. A handwritten letter placed near the bodies blamed all the four persons for spying for the US forces on the Mujahideen. With the recent killings, the number of alleged spies killed by the Taliban rose to 24 since last month.

A senior Government official was released, nine days after being kidnapped at gunpoint in South Waziristan. Additional Political Agent (APA) Aamir Latif was abducted near the Speen area, east of Wana, by armed people. "APA Aamir is back and he is ok," an unnamed official told. The Government, however, declined to comment on which group had kidnapped the official and the ransom paid for his release.

January 21

Several militants, including top commanders of the banned TTP, Mohmand chapter, were killed, as the military intensified its operation against the militants in Mohmand Agency. Sources said SFs targeted the hideouts of the militants in the Lakaro and Pindyali sub-divisions and elsewhere in the tribal agency with gunship helicopters, killing several militants and destroying their hideouts. Sources said the house of Omar Khalid, the TTP Mohmand Agency chief, was also destroyed in the aerial raids. More than 15 militants, including some important commanders, are reported to have died in the attack, while approximately 40 shops in the Qayyumabad and Askarabad bazaars on the Peshawar-Bajaur Road and 33 houses were also destroyed. Sources added that the SFs occupied the militant hideout after killing six militants in Ghaziabad area.

Severe fighting and shelling was also reported from the Kamardin, Amarai Kor, Karair, Chingai, Palosai and Habibzai areas. Unconfirmed reports said Omar Khalid and a number of his fighters were staying in a hideout on the hilltop near Haji Sahib Tarangzai shrine when SFs attacked the place with heavy weapons in the evening. A fierce encounter took place between the troops and militants in which Omar Khalid and TTP Halimzai sub-division chief Wajihullah were reportedly killed and several others, including the TTP deputy chief in Mohmand, Qari Shakeel, injured. However, neither SFs nor the Taliban confirmed the killing of Khalid.

Seven suspected militants were arrested in a pre-dawn operation in the Bara Qadeem area of Khyber Agency. A senior al Qaeda operative alleged to be involved in the 2005 bombings of London transport system was among the seven arrested men. Officials said some foreigners were among the seven arrested by Mehsud Scouts during a raid on the house of a local militant. Identified as Bakhshi, the owner of the house, Rustam, Khalid, Ayaz, Riaz, Nisar and Zahir, the militants were reportedly taken to Peshawar, the NWFP capital, for interrogation. Officials said the arrested men were al Qaeda militants believed to have planned attacks on trucks taking supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan. An unnamed security official said the arrested militants included a senior al Qaeda operative allegedly wanted in connection with the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London. He identified the man as Zabi ul Taifi, an Arab.

January 22

Gunship helicopters attacked several suspected Taliban positions, killing seven persons, including four women and two children, in the Mohmand Agency. According to local people, a bomb hit the house of tribesman Zain Khan in Shekhan area, killing two women. Two more houses were hit in Ghunget Choher village of Lakaro sub-division, killing two women, two children and a man.

The body of an alleged US spy was found in the Derpakhel area of North Waziristan Agency. The deceased was identified as Noor Farid, who had been kidnapped from Miranshah a few days ago.

The Taliban in South Waziristan Agency fired three rockets at the Wana Scouts Camp. However, no loss of life or property was reported. SFs retaliated against the militants, forcing them to flee.

The volunteers of a tribal Lashkar (militia) in the Salarzai area of Bajaur Agency have claimed to have seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from Taliban hideouts.

January 23

20 people, majority of them local tribesmen, were killed and several others were wounded in two different missile strikes by US drones in North and South Waziristan agencies.

In the first incident, 10 persons were killed and several others injured when a US drone fired three Hellfire missiles on a Hujra (male guest house) of Khalil Dawar in Zyaraki village of North Waziristan. According to sources, two spy planes were seen flying over Mirali town during the strike. The guest house adjacent to Khalil’s house in Zyaraki, five kilometers west of Mirali, was razed to the ground in the attack. Sources close to the militants told The News the drone fired missiles after some guests, probably foreign militants, entered the Hujra of Khalil Dawar. They said besides Khalil, his two sons, brother Mansoor, a nephew and six other people were killed in the attack. However, a senior Government official in Miranshah said six among the dead were hardcore militants, including four Arabs and a Punjabi Taliban militant. It was the first missile attack by US spy planes in North Waziristan in 2009.

In the second incident, 10 more persons were killed in the adjoining South Waziristan Agency when a US drone fired two Hellfire missiles on the house of a local tribesman, Dil Faraz Gangikhel Wazir, in Gangikhel village, near Wana. Official and tribal sources said all those killed were local tribesmen. They said Dil Faraz, his three sons, two nephews and some guests were killed in the attack. A Wana-based official of the political administration said the drone had probably missed the target and killed only innocent people. He said four children also lost their lives in the attack. It was the third attack by the US drones in South Waziristan in January 2009 and the first after Barack Obama became the US President.

January 26

The Taliban in North Waziristan killed a local tribesman, accusing him for spying for the United States. The body of Muhammad Hussain, resident of village Madda Khel in Datta Khel tehsil (revenue division), was found by the roadside, 30 kilometers west of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. The Taliban had also chopped off the right hand of Hussain, who was abducted a week ago. A note found nearby said Hussain was a US spy and those spying for the US would meet the same fate.

SFs continued their operation in Bajaur Agency, targeting several Taliban hideouts in various areas of the agency. However, no reports of casualties to the Taliban were received. Troops targeted Taliban positions in the Charmang, Banda, Bhai Cheena and Kausar areas using artillery and mortars, with officials claiming to have destroyed several militant hideouts.

The Taliban abducted a person from the agency headquarters Khar. The political administration has reportedly strengthened security measures in the agency by deploying additional law enforcement personnel in various areas of Bajaur. Residents complained they were facing problems in obtaining basic commodities because of the closure of business centres in the area for the last two months.

A local militant commander and his 14 associates surrendered to the political administration in the Yakaghund sub-division of lower Mohmand Agency. Sources said that a jirga (council) of Tarakzai elders and officials of the political administration was held at Yakaghund headquarters where a commander and 14 militants were handed over to the authorities. However, the administration freed the militants after the jirga furnished personal surety bonds that the wanted persons would not indulge in militant or criminal activities in future.

Unidentified men blew up a girls' school in the Bajaur Agency. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. The school was located in Nangolai sub-division. The incident was the first of its kind in Bajaur.

Five American CIA-operated spy planes intruded into the North Waziristan Agency and flew over various villages of the border area. Official and tribal sources said five drones, three white and two of black colour, intruded into the tribal region from across the border in Afghanistan. In the evening, the spy planes were seen hovering over various villages at a low altitude.

The SFs demolished the main bazaar of Lakaro sub-division while three persons, including two children, were injured in air raids and a bomb blast in the Mohmand Agency.

Around 25 projects operated by USAID in the FATA and settled areas of the NWFP have been temporarily closed over security concerns. The staff members working on several projects in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and North and South Waziristan agencies have been called back due to worsening security in those areas. USAID was working on a comprehensive programme to support short, medium and long-term objectives of the government of Pakistan's FATA Sustainable Development Plan (FSDP) 2006-2015.

Taliban militants beheaded a Policeman and kidnapped four Shiites in Tal, a town 45 kilometers northeast of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. The five victims were traveling in a private vehicle to Parachinar, the main district in Kurram Agency, when they were ambushed by a group of 15-20 militants, said a security official. "Militants slit the throat of a policeman and kidnapped four Shiites," said the unnamed official. The attackers later dumped the body of the slain Police official, also a Shiite, in a vehicle at the roadside and took away their captives to an unknown location.

The Taliban in North Waziristan killed a local tribesman, accusing him of spying for the United States. The body of Ameer Khoon was found dumped in a drain in Baigaan area, 30 kilometers west of Miranshah. A note found nearby declared Khoon a US spy and said anyone spying for the US would meet the same fate.

The Taliban in the Orakzai Agency took over two check-posts vacated by the SFs, official sources said. The locals said there was no writ of the Government in Orakzai, as SF personnel have vacated check-posts for fear of the Taliban. The Taliban announced the imposition of Sharia (Islamic law) in the agency in December 2008, barring women to visit bazaars and banning all modes of audio and video entertainment.

SFs continued dismantling hideouts of militants with heavy artillery besides blowing up the house of a militant commander in the Nawagai area of Bajaur Agency. Sources said SFs continued targeting positions of militants with heavy weapons in the Momand sub-division. However, there was no report of causalities inflicted on the militants in the targeted areas. Meanwhile, search and cordon operations continued in the Nawagai area and the house of a militant commander, Imtiaz alias Sheikh, was destroyed with explosives.

The Taliban distributed leaflets in Miranshah and Mir Ali in the North Waziristan Agency warning the Pakistan Army not to set up medical camps, open schools or hospitals in the area. The Taliban warned the army and the NGOs to stop their activities in the agency as 'through these activities they were misleading the tribal people'. "We warn the army and NGOs to refrain from mischief and carrying out such work otherwise they will be responsible for any losses," said the leaflet in Urdu, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

Six personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps were injured when their vehicle was hit by an explosives device planted by militants on a road in the Mulakhel area of Lakaro sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. Sources said the vehicles of an official of the Thall Scouts and troops were passing through the Qayyumabad area and moving towards the Bajaur Agency when a roadside bomb exploded.

The militants attacked the Mamad Gat camp with rockets and mortars from the Chamarkand, Chinari and Alingar areas. However, the SFs in the Bhai Dag and Nawagai camps retaliated and targeted the suspected hideouts of the militants with artillery shelling. There was, however, no report of any casualties from either side.

SFs targeted suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of Mamond sub-division in Bajaur Agency. Official sources said that several hideouts were destroyed. However, there was no report of any casualty.

The militants are reported to have blown up a filling station in the Nawagai area. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

An Army soldier was killed and five others sustained injuries when unidentified militants attacked a military convoy near Khamrang area of South Waziristan. Sources said the military convoy was on its way to Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, from Angoor Adda along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border when it was attacked. An explosive device, which the miscreants had planted, went off soon after the military convoy passed through the area. It caused damage to one of the vehicles, resulting in death to a soldier and injuries to five others.

In Bara, headquarters of Khyber Agency, leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), Mangal Bagh, has banned shaving of beards and asked women to wear proper veils. Addressing on his private FM radio station, Mangal Bagh said: "From now on, the men are warned to grow breads according to Islam's teachings and women should be properly veiled while leaving homes". Last week, the LI enforced Sharia (Islamic law) in the Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency.

February 3

Unidentified militants blew up two boys' schools in the Salarzai sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Sources said militants blew up the Government High School, Pusht, and a primary school in the Salarzai area with explosives. However, no loss of life was reported as both the schools were closed. The militants have so far destroyed 27 schools in the Bajaur Agency.

The SFs targeted hideouts of militants in the Mamond sub-division and Nawagai with heavy artillery and mortar guns. SFs claimed to have dismantled the hideouts of several militants. However, no casualty was reported in the attacks.

Supplies to the NATO troops in Afghanistan were halted temporarily when militants blew up a 110-year-old bridge on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway in the Katakashta area of the Khyber Agency. Sources said explosives were planted beneath the bridge that went off early in the day, damaging the bridge partially. However, the structure collapsed later in the day when the driver of a cement-laden truck tried to cross it, the sources added. The political administration, while terming the incident an act of sabotage, decided to serve notices on Jhandakhel tribesmen under the collective responsibility section of the Frontier Crimes Regulation to hand over those involved in the incident to the Government.

February 4

Eight local Taliban militants were killed in a clash between two rival factions in the Orakzai Agency. Sources in the political administration said the militants were killed in fighting between Taliban commanders Gul Bahadar and Tariq's factions in Shan Khel area. They said that all of the casualties were from Bahadar's faction. The sources also claimed that a power struggle between Taliban factions was underway in Orakzai.

Army engineers built a temporary alternate route for traffic, including NATO trucks bound for Afghanistan - a day after the Taliban blew up a key bridge in Khyber Agency - as suspected Taliban torched 10 containers they thought were loaded with NATO supplies near Landikotal.

In Landikotal, suspected Taliban militants doused with petrol 10 containers they thought were carrying NATO supplies, and set them ablaze. With most of the containers reportedly empty and only two loaded - four were completely destroyed and the remaining was partially damaged. The containers were torched as a security camp and bunkers in the mountains nearby came under attack. However, no casualty has been reported. According to an intelligence official, more than ten rockets, missiles and mortars were fired at the camp and outside the cantonment.

February 5

Seven soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb exploded near a military convoy in a remote town in the Mohmand Agency. The remote-controlled device was planted in Kandaro town and it exploded while paramilitary soldiers conducted a routine patrolling mission, a security official said.

A bomb planted by the Taliban damaged a girl's primary school in the Landikotal sub-division of Khyber Agency. The militants are reported to have planted the explosives near the outer wall of the girl's school on the Kam Shalman Road. Meanwhile, the Bomb Disposal Squad defused another bomb planted near the Baacha Khan Education Centre and three others in Gagra.

February 6

Army helicopter gunships killed 52 Taliban militants when they targeted hideouts in the Chapri and Feroz Khel areas along the border of Orakzai and Khyber Agencies. "Fifty-two militants were killed and a huge ammunition depot and eight vehicles were destroyed in an attack by army helicopters," Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat told Reuters.

A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division. Eyewitnesses told that the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signaled him to stop. They said that he rammed his car into the trailer instead of stopping. Fida Bangash, a senior political administration official, said the bomber's likely target were the army engineers repairing a bridge in Landikotal that was blown up on February 2. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility for the attack. "It was our man who martyred himself in Jamrud… We warned the government to stop military operations in Khyber, Swat and other tribal areas, otherwise we will completely shut down the NATO supply line… We have shown that we can do that," Omar told.

The Taliban killed two tribesmen for allegedly spying for the US in North Waziristan. The bullet-ridden bodies of Alam Pir and Muhammad Khan were found at Razmak Ada in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. Separate notes found near the bodies claimed both men had been 'US spies' and anyone spying for the US would meet a similar fate. Alam belonged to North Waziristan while Khan was a resident of Bannu in the NWFP. Both were reportedly kidnapped 15 days ago.

Three US drones were reportedly seen flying over Miranshah.

The militants blew up a Government high school in the Salarzai sub-division of Bajaur Agency, raising the number of destroyed schools to 28. Sources said that the Government High School Batwar was completely destroyed in the blast.

SFs claimed to have arrested a suspect and seized a cache of arms and ammunition during a search operation in different areas of the Safi revenue division of Mohmand Agency. Sources said the SFs launched search operations in the Karair, Garhai and Mansoor Kor areas of Safi and arrested a suspected militant, identified as Shahzada.

February 7

Eight Taliban militants were killed as shelling by helicopter gun ships continued in the Bajaur Agency. The troops were targeting Taliban hideouts in the Dama Dola, Mataro Sha, Umrai and Shinkot areas of Mamoond tehsil (revenue division). Residents said the troops advanced from the agency headquarters in Khar and gained control of Siddiqabad, Rehmanabad and Anayat Qalay. They said the Taliban posed no resistance during the army deployment.

February 8

SFs killed 22 Taliban militants during a military operation in the Bajaur Agency. SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in the Inayat Qilay area of Khar sub-division on a tip-off, killing the 22 men. Four men were killed as the SFs targeted suspected hideouts using artillery and mortar shells, locals said, adding a security guard of a girls' primary school was also killed. Three more deaths were reported from other areas of the agency, locals said.

February 9

10 people were killed while an unspecified number of them were wounded during clashes between two rival religious groups in the Terra valley of Khyber Agency. The groups, Ansar-ul-Islam and Lashkar-e-Islam, were reportedly using mortar guns, small missiles, rockets and other arms in the clashes.

SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the Taliban, killing six suspected militants and injuring several others, including women, in different parts of the Bajaur Agency. Military gunship helicopters targeted hideouts in the Inayat Killay, Bade Samo, Bhai Cheena and Omari villages of the Khar sub-division. An official said six militants were killed in the shelling and several others sustained injuries.

Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan near Miranshah, accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said. The bullet-riddled body of 30-year-old Islamud Din was found dumped by the road in Sheratalla area, 40 kilometers north of Miranshah. "Islam, who was kidnapped two weeks ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body," local police official Mehboob Khan told. A note found on the body said he was "spying for the US", the official said.

A Taliban 'commander' and key aide to Baitullah Mehsud was injured in a bomb attack that killed his driver near the Afghan border. A remote-controlled bomb exploded by the side of a road in the Tanga area of South Waziristan when Noor Syed Mehsud was passing in a vehicle en route to Jandola village. "According to reports received here Mehsud was slightly injured, while his driver died in the bomb blast," an unnamed security official in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, told. Preliminary reports attributed the bombing to factional fighting between Baitullah Mehsud's men and loyalists of slain militant leader Abdullah Mehsud, he said.

February 10

SFs backed by helicopter gunships, killed 11 Taliban militants and destroyed many of their hideouts in the Bajaur Agency. The operation was launched on February 9 in the Inayat Qillay town, a suspected stronghold of the Taliban and al Qaeda-linked terrorists, after a rocket attack by the militants, military official Mustaqim Shah told. The rocket attack destroyed a shop but caused no casualties, he said. "Troops backed by helicopters retaliated with artillery and mortar fire, and destroyed several suspected locations. At least seven militants were killed," the official said. In addition, four militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs in Inayat Qilay town.

Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar said they had killed five security officials in a multi-pronged attack on Inayat Qillay. One tank was also destroyed in the attack, he claimed. Security officials, however, denied the claims.

Two US spy planes violated the Pakistani airspace and entered the limits of Landikotal sub-division of Khyber Agency. Eyewitnesses said two drones were seen hovering over Landikotal at about 7 pm, which continued flying for about half an hour.

US President Barack Obama asserted that his administration would not allow 'safe havens' for al Qaeda and the Taliban operating with 'impunity' in the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan. "My bottom line is that we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region," said Obama at his first press conference after assuming office. "You've got the Taliban and Al Qaeda operating in the FATA and these border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan… What we haven't seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that would ultimately make our mission successful," he added. The President also noted that "It's not acceptable for Pakistan or for us to have folks who, with impunity, will kill innocent men, women and children. And you know, I believe that the new government of Pakistan ... cares deeply about getting control of this situation, and we want to be effective partners with them on that issue."

February 11

Five suspected militants and a soldier were killed and several persons sustained injuries in clashes and bombing by the Pakistan Air Force fighter planes in Bajaur Agency. Military sources said warplanes targeted positions of militants in Inayat Killay, Bhai Cheena and Mamond subdivision, a stronghold of the militants led by TTP deputy chief Maulvi Faqir Muhammad. Sources said the troops had also cleared major parts of Inayat Killay and Bhai Cheena towns of militants. Independent sources reported fierce fighting between the militants and SFs around Inayat Killay in which officials said five militants and a soldier were killed. Militant positions in the Mamond sub-division were also targeted with artillery and mortar guns from the agency's regional headquarters, Khar.

Suspected militants reportedly fired rockets at Khar sub-division, where a mortar fell in a residential area, killing a woman and a child.

The chief of the banned outfit Ansar-ul-Islam (AI), Qazi Mehboobul Haq, claimed to have taken complete control of Bar Qambar Khel after burning several houses of the opponents at the remote Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency. Addressing on his private FM radio, he said the flag of AI was hoisted on Tortoot in the Bara sub-division, as the area of Qambarkhel came under the control of his group. He also said a cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition left by the opponents at Toray seminary was seized. He also said the houses of the people who voluntarily migrated from Tirah Qambarkhel would not be demolished.

A New Zealander was arrested at the Manzai Fort check-post in South Waziristan. Investigators suspect that Mark Taylor may have links with al Qaeda and Taliban. Tank District Coordination Officer Barkatullah said the foreigner possessed valid documents and informed them he was going to Wana. According to Barkatullah, Taylor told Police he was going to Waziristan to get married. However, an official of the New Zealand High Commission in Islamabad said that nobody by the name of Mark Taylor had got himself registered with the High Commission.

February 12

The SFs claimed to have killed four militants during a clash following an attack on a check-post in the Shandai Mor area of Bajaur Agency. Military sources said the militants attacked the check-post with rocket launchers and other heavy weapons. The SFs deployed at the check-post repulsed the attack and the ensuing clashes between Taliban militants and troops left four militants dead.

SFs continued targeting suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of the Khar sub-division, including Inayat Kellay, Bychena and areas of Mamond sub-division. The SFs used heavy artillery and mortar guns to target the positions of militants. However, there were no reports of casualties.

A Police officer was killed and another wounded when Taliban militants fired rockets at a Police station in North Waziristan Agency early, Police official Noor Khan said. The attack targeted the Shahbazkhel Police station, 70 kilometers east of Miranshah, the North Waziristan headquarters. Taliban spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi said in a statement, "We will launch attacks in neighbouring towns if the US drone attacks are not stopped." Ahmadi also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on February 9 that killed five Policemen at Baran Pul, about 50 kilometers east of Miranshah.

Two would-be suicide bombers were arrested by the SFs in the main bazaar of Yakaghund sub-division in Mohmand Agency. Sources said the Levies forces were on routine patrol in the main bazaar of Yakaghund when they intercepted two suspected persons. On thorough search, the SF personnel recovered 24 kilograms of explosive materials and vests from their possession. The duo was identified as Shaukat and Shahidullah, residents of Sagi area of Lakaro sub-division.

February 13

A bomb exploded near a helipad in Landikotal in the Khyber Agency. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. The powerful bomb blast made a large hole near one of the helipads in Landikotal, near the army camp. While a Police officer said no arrests had been made, unidentified sources said the Taliban carried out the blast to make the helipads unsafe.

February 15

Eight persons, including six Taliban militants, were killed and four injured during an operation launched by the SFs in the Mamond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. The SFs bombed the Taliban hideouts with jet fighters and destroyed several hideouts during the operation.

The Bajaur chapter of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) demanded immediate implementation of the Sharia (Islamic law) in the Agency and in return assured the Government of its co-operation to establish a complete writ of the state, demanding the Army to stay in the region till reconstruction work was completed. TNSM Bajaur chief Ismail Muhammadi made this demand while reacting to the finalisation of a five-point agreement for enforcement of Sharia in the Malakand division after successful talks between the NWFP Government and TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. "We assure the Government of complete cooperation for a lasting peace and for establishing writ of the state in the troubled agency if people's demand of enforcement of Shariah is met," Ilyas told. "After people's major demand of the enforcement of Shariah is met, the restoration of peace and purging the area of miscreants will become easier and the TNSM will be in a position to help establish writ of the government," he added.

The Taliban killed an Afghan man in North Waziristan Agency, after accusing him of spying for the United States. The body of Imdad Khan, 35, was dumped on a roadside in Karamkot village, 20 kilometers east of Miranshah, the agency's main town, a local administration official told. A security official said the victim was an Afghan refugee. A note near the bullet-riddled body said Khan was 'spying for the US', the official added. Residents said the note also warned local people not remove the body until late afternoon so that a maximum number of people could see that 'this is the fate of spies'.

Eight students were injured when a remote-controlled device planted on roadside near a school playground exploded in Rustam Adda in South Waziristan Agency. Sources said the explosion occurred minutes before a convoy of the SFs passed through the area. The SFs subsequently fired at the suspected hideouts of the militants after the blast but there were no reports of casualties. They are alos reported to have arrested a number of students, who were playing in the school ground after the incident.

February 16

30 suspected militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in a missile strike on a refugee camp in the Kurram Agency. The three missiles believed to have been fired from a US unmanned aircraft destroyed a house used by a local Taliban commander. It was the first known drone strike in Kurram. An unnamed intelligence official said field informants reported that Taliban showed up at the village bazaar and ordered 30 caskets. However, political authorities have only confirmed 18 deaths from four missiles fired by two unmanned aircraft, while the local Taliban have claimed a death toll of 12. "Afghan Taliban were holding an important meeting there when the missiles were fired," an intelligence official in the area told Reuters.

SFs are reported to have killed five militants and injured several others during shelling by jetfighters in various parts of the Bajaur Agency. Five suspected militants were killed and several others injured when jetfighters of the Pakistan Air Force targeted hideouts in the Khar and Mamond sub-divisions. Several underground bunkers of the militants were also destroyed in the attack. SFs and militants continued to exchange fire in various parts of Khar, including in Inayat Kellay, Rehmanabad, Shinkot and Byecheena. However, there were no reports about any causality.

Curfew remained imposed in different parts of Bajaur Agency for the twelfth consecutive day.

Four rockets fired from across the border in Afghanistan's Khost province landed at Ghulam Khan, a border town of North Waziristan Agency. Residents of the border village told that the rockets fired from Khost caused heavy explosions without leading to any loss of life or damage to property.

The centre has released PKR 623 million to the NWFP and FATA administration to provide compensation to the victims of militancy, an official announcement said. President Asif Zardari is reported to have termed the victims of militancy as national heroes and advised the NWFP Government to immediately undertake payment of compensation to their families. PKR 283 million have been released for the FATA and another PKR 340 million for the NWFP Government to compensate the families of the victims of suicide bombings and acts of terror. Under the compensation programme, PKR 300,000 will be paid for every fatality and PKR 100,000 for the injured.

February 17

SFs killed six Taliban militants during their ongoing operation to target suspected hideouts in Bajaur Agency. "Six militants were killed and scores injured during shelling by gunship helicopters in Inayat Qilay, Bhaicheena and Umerey areas in Mamoond tehsil," an unnamed official said.

The Taliban fired several rockets on the Bajaur Agency headquarters Khar, killing one woman and injuring four other people. Three more civilians, in addition to the woman, were also killed after Taliban rockets hit houses, paramilitary barracks and a school.

February 18

SFs claimed killing nine Taliban militants by bombing their suspected hideouts in the Mamoond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Another militant was killed and three more injured in a separate clash with the SFs in the Shandai area of Khar, official sources said.

Suspected Taliban militants blew up two boys’ primary schools in the Salarzai sub-division of Bajaur Agency.

Unidentified men blew up the building of the Wana Press Club (WPC) in South Waziristan Agency. The WPC Chairman Hafiz Wazir said the attackers had planted explosives around the building, which destroyed the structure completely. Hover, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

A North Waziristan Agency Taliban ‘commander’ ordered the Taliban to halt sabotage activities in the settled districts of the NWFP to facilitate a religious congregation in the Bannu District of the province. Taliban commander Gul Bahadar’s spokesman, Ahmedullah Ahmadi, announced the directive in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan. "All Taliban have been directed to stop attacks on Government installations to facilitate the congregation in Bannu District," Ahmadi said in a press statement. According to the Taliban spokesman, a unilateral cease-fire would be in place until March 5.

February 19

14 militants were killed and several others injured when the SFs shelled suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said SFs targeted hideouts in the Inayat Killay, Bhai Cheena and Shinkot areas of Khar sub-division with gunship helicopters and artillery.

The militants blew up a Government school building in Bajaur Agency. Sources said that militants dynamited the building of the Government Primary School at Tali in the Salarzai sub-division, raising the number of schools destroyed so far to 31. Talking to the media, spokesman of the TTP, Bajaur chapter, Maulvi Omar, claimed responsibility for blowing up the school and threatened that their fighters would destroy all educational institutions in the Agency if SFs did not stop the ongoing operation against them. Omar said that buildings of schools and colleges were being used by the troops as their camps to launch operations against the Taliban. "We would take action and destroy all the buildings of educational institutions if security forces continued their operation against our fighters," he warned.

Suspected militants shot dead a prominent tribal elder in the Chamarkand area of Lakaro sub-division in Mohmand Agency. The Mohmand-based Taliban spokesman Ikramullah claimed that their fighters killed Malik Ameer Rahman for getting perks and facilities from the Government. "All the pro-government elements would meet the same fate", he warned.

The commandant of Mohmand Rifles warned militants and miscreants of stern action if they tried to challenge the Government’s writ in the agency. Addressing a ceremony held in connection with distribution of relief goods and free medical camp for the affected people in Darwazgai-II Camp and Lakaro, Colonel Saifullah said no one would be allowed to impose their personal agenda on the people and make them hostage. He claimed that they had achieved the set objectives in the military operation and warned that those destroying Government installations would be dealt with an iron hand.

February 20

SFs fired mortar shells at suspected hideouts of the Taliban in various areas of the Mamoond and Khar sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency. They said the firing had killed four Taliban militants, including a commander, and injured several others. They said SFs had gained control of Inayat Kalay and Bhai Cheena in Khar and were advancing.

A roadside remote-controlled bomb exploded at Tilli in the Salarzai sub-division. However, no loss of life or property was reported.

A bomb blast near a bridge in Walikhel Khyber briefly held up trucks carrying NATO supplies to Afghanistan. Sources said a timed bomb was used in the attack which slightly damaged the bridge and injured one soldier. Two other bombs failed to explode. Trailers carrying NATO supplies were reportedly forced to make a one-hour stop because of the damaged bridge.

Top Taliban leaders from North and South Waziristan met to forge an alliance. Sources said the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud and Taliban leaders Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadar met at an undisclosed location in Waziristan and agreed to form an alliance. The three Taliban leaders have reportedly formed a 13-member committee and authorised it to make ‘all decisions’. They also agreed that they would jointly defend attacks against them, and make plans in consultation with the committee.

February 21

Eight suspected Taliban militants were killed in firing by helicopter gun ships and artillery shelling by the SFs in Bajaur Agency.

In Salarzai tehsil (revenue division), rockets were fired on the house of Hazrat Gul, a close associate of Pakistan People’s Party member in the National Assembly, Akhunzada Chitan, but no casualties were reported.

February 22

Four militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in the ongoing military operation in different areas of Khar and Mamond sub-divisions of the Bajaur Agency. Sources said SFs shelled suspected hideouts of militants in the Inayat Kellay, Bad-e-Samor, Bhai Cheena and Shinkot areas of Khar sub-division and some areas of Mamond subdivision with gunship helicopters, artillery and mortar guns. At least four militants were killed and three others injured in the latest military action, the sources said.

A jirga (council of elders) formed to bring the Government and militants to the negotiating table in Bajaur Agency failed to broker a cease-fire. "Yes, the Jirga has stopped its efforts to broker a cease-fire," an unnamed source said.

Taliban have formed a new alliance, Shura Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen, in the North and South Waziristan as formal announcement to this effect came. Sources told that the new alliance would comprise the groups led by central chief of banned TTP, Baitullah Mahsud, and the two reportedly pro-government commanders Maulvi Nazir of South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur of North Waziristan. The three, according to sources, met at an undisclosed location and decided to resolve their differences to foil the external forces’ designs for dividing the multiple Taliban groups based in Pakistan. They formed a 13-member Shura (executive council) to run the affairs of the new alliance.

February 23

The LI chief Mangal Bagh escaped unhurt as the headquarters of his banned outfit came under attack from Army helicopters in the Spin Qabar area in Bara subdivision of the Khyber Agency. Sources said eight persons, including two children, were injured in the attack. The LI, however, said three persons were killed and 13 more wounded. Its spokesman Misri Gul admitted at least one of the three dead was an LI activist, while the other two were civilians. However, the paramilitary officials claimed killing 10 militants and injuring 15 others in the strike. "Security forces have destroyed the main communication centre in the Khyber Agency, used by criminal elements," said a statement issued from the Frontier Corps headquarters. The statement said they had received confirmed intelligence reports that the militants present in the compound under attack were planning to target some areas in main cities. Locals said Mangal Bagh and his Shura (executive council) members were present inside the compound when it was aerially targeted.

February 24

The SFs suspended their operations in Bajaur Agency and agreed to hold fire for four days. "Security forces have decided to observe a four-day ceasefire across Bajaur," Political Agent Safirullah Khan told reporters. He described the decision as a "goodwill gesture" made at the request of tribal elders. A source said tribal leaders wanted to hold talks with Taliban in order to negotiate a permanent peace in the area. "The security forces reserve the right to retaliate if they come under attack," Khan said. The TTP leader Maulvi Faqir Muhammad had declared a unilateral truce in Bajaur late on February 23. He said in a radio broadcast that his men had vacated Inayat Killay, a Taliban stronghold outside Bajaur’s main town of Khar.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan announced full support to the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) if the SFs started an operation against the LI in Khyber Agency. The Bara-based TTP leader Hamza Afridi told reporters by telephone from an undisclosed location that they would support the LI in the agency if the SFs launched an operation against it. He also said the Taliban would not abandon LI chief Mangal Bagh.

Two persons were killed while six others were taken hostage by militants during a clash with local residents in the Pindyali sub-division of Mohmand Agency. The clash started when militants tried to enter Milk Eilam Khan's guest house with the intention to kidnap him but the watchman offered resistance which led to a fierce clash. In the ensuing encounter, two persons, identified as Pehlawan Khan and Bacha Khan, were killed while six others were taken to an unknown location as hostages.

Taliban beheaded an Afghan in the FATA after accusing him of spying for the United States, Police said. The 35-year-old man was kidnapped a week ago and his body found in Razmak, some 65 kilometers south of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency. A note found on the body of the man, identified as Shafiq Gul, said he was "spying for the US". "Whoever spies for the US will face the same fate. This is a gift to Obama," the note said.

Two missiles, fired by a US spy plane, killed 12 people and injured three others in the South Waziristan Agency. Sources said two missiles were fired by a drone at around 4:00 pm (PST) that hit a house in Ganra Haibatkhel village of Sararogha sub-division, a stronghold of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The house was destroyed in the attack, leaving 12 people dead and three injured. The compound had underground bunkers and was in the area controlled by Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud's tribe, an unnamed official said. "It was a Taliban sanctuary," he said. Citing field informants, other intelligence officials told the Associated Press the compound was a training facility. At least four of the dead were foreigners, they said. This was the fourth missile strike by unmanned US aircraft since President Barack Obama came to power.

In North Waziristan Agency, an alleged US spy was shot dead by Taliban militants in the Razmak area. Nisar Mohammad, an Afghan national, was killed allegedly for spying on Taliban for the US, they said, adding that the 35-year-old Afghan had been abducted a week ago.

SFs shelled suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of the Mohmand Agency. After a pause of almost a month, SFs for the first time targeted the positions of militants with artillery from Ghalanai, the Agency headquarters, and the Bhai Dag camp. However, there was no report on the loss of life or damage to property.

The SFs claimed to have forced militants out of Bajaur Agency and advanced towards strongholds of the Taliban in the region. "We think that we have secured this agency," said Major General Tariq Khan, the commander of forces fighting in Bajaur. "They have lost. They have lost their cohesion out here," Khan told reporters flown by helicopters from Islamabad. Colonel Saifullah said the military had also beaten back militants in the neighbouring Mohmand Agency. "Now the people's minds are clear. They now believe in the strength of the force and the resolve of the government that this militancy is being pursued and is being finished," he told reporters in Ghalanai, headquarters of Mohmand Agency. "The influence of militants has reduced over a major proportion of the population and area," the colonel added.

General Tariq said about 50 percent of the militants were Afghans and some Sudanese and Egyptians had been killed in Bajaur in the initial stages of operation. He described a unilateral cease-fire declared by the Taliban on February 23 as "a face-saving statement". "There was no question of ceasefire, the resistance has melted, dissolved. It is not there," he said. Shafiullah, the chief of the Bajaur civil administration, said 1,600 militants were killed during the campaign and more than 2,000 injured while some 150 civilians also died and about 2,000 were injured in the fighting. He appealed for international donors to come forward with money for reconstruction and the provision of basic services such as electricity and water to 304,598 people displaced from their homes in Bajaur. The official said more than 180,000 had returned.

March 2

SFs arrested three suspicious men during a raid on a house in the Jamrud sub-division of Khyber Agency. The suspects were identified as Roohullah, Hiadayatullah and Syed Agha, all of them Afghan refugees and residents of Shakas area. Sources said the men had been arrested for their links to the Taliban and for harbouring kidnappers.

March 3

The banned TTP distributed pamphlets at Landikotal in the Khyber Agency, threatening the Khyber Khassadar Force (KKF) to vacate all the checkpoints along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway. The TTP distributed the leaflets for the second time in the current week wherein the KKF was asked to abolish all checkpoints from Jamrud to Landikotal, sources said. The pamphlets said that it was the final warning to them KKF to leave the checkpoints or they would face serious consequences. Militants attacked a checkpoint in the Jaba area of Jamrud sub-division last week and kidnapped three KKF personnel, two of whom were later killed while the third one is still missing.

March 4

Taliban blew up a primary school at Nawagai sub-division in the Bajaur Agency. However, no casualties were reported. The political administration had announced that all Government schools would reopen from March 5 in the Nawagai and Chamarkand sub-divisions. Sources told that the number of schools destroyed by the Taliban within a year had reached 35.

March 6

The Taliban in North Waziristan Agency killed two men, accusing them of spying for the United States. The bodies of Nazar Khan, a member of South Waziristan Agency’s Ahmedzai Wazir tribe, and Sher Khan, an Afghan refugee, were found from separate places in North Waziristan. "Notes found with the bodies said the men were killed for spying for the US," a local Police official Rukh Niaz Khan told.

Unidentified armed men blew up the building of a middle school in the Nawagai sub-division of Bajaur Agency, sources told. However, no casualties were reported. The explosion, which raised the number of schools destroyed in the agency to 36 in a year, completely destroyed the school building at Darbano.

The Security Forces are reported to have taken most areas in the sub-division under complete control and restored the Government’s writ, bringing the situation to normalcy in the urban areas. The political administration had re-opened all Government schools in Nawagai and Chamer Kund sub-divisions on March 5.

March 7

Five persons were killed and eight others injured when a shop in the remote Tirah area of Khyber Agency was bombed. The sources said that five cadres of the banned Ansarul Islam (AI) outfit were killed. An AI spokesman blamed rival militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Islam, for the bomb blast.

March 8

At least 15 Taliban militants and 14 soldiers were killed during clashes between Taliban and SFs at Aisha Corona and Banglo areas of the Mohmand Agency. Bodies of seven SF personnel were recovered from Aisha Corona. The Taliban had reportedly killed several soldiers after ambushing their convoy in the Banglo area and abducted others. Bodies of some of the abducted troops were recovered from Aisha Corona. The sources said other soldiers were still in Taliban’s custody. Taliban also abducted the Yakaghond Tehsildar (revenue administrative officer) Arshad Ali.

Military sources said that around 15 militants were killed and three were arrested during clashes that erupted when Taliban surrounded the house of pro-government tribal elder Malik Noorzada in a bid to kidnap him. Locals said the attack was an apparent reaction to a visit by the Mohmand Agency’s Political Agent and the Mohmand Rifles Commandant to Noorzada’s house on March 2. The TTP Mohmand Agency chief Umer Khalid confirmed the attack on SFs and said that several soldiers were still in the custody of Taliban and put forward three conditions for talks with the troops - exchange of prisoners, end of military check-posts in the agency and compensation for the demolished houses of the Taliban leaders and the tribesmen who supported them.

12 mortar shells fired from Afghanistan’s Khost province landed in the Lowara Mandi area of the North Waziristan Agency. Sources told from Lowara Mandi - a border village between the North Waziristan Agency and Afghanistan’s Khost province - that all the 12 mortar shells were fired from across the border. The shells landed at various places of Lowara Mandi. No loss of life or damage to property was reported.

Taliban militants claimed to have shot down a US drone in the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan. Militants loyal to Taliban commander Maulvi Mohammad Nazir said the unmanned aircraft had crashed in a jungle after the attack and soldiers took away the wreckage. But the security officials and political authorities disputed the Taliban’s claim, saying that teams dispatched to the area after the claim found no wreckage. Unconfirmed reports also said the drone had gone missing in an area near the Afghan border.

March 9

Taliban militants shot dead three men, including two brothers, in South Waziristan after filming them confessing to spying for the United States, officials said. "This is the first time in South Waziristan that Taliban have made confession videos. Earlier, they just used to put notes on the bodies of alleged spies," Allahbagh Khan, a local administration official told. The bullet-ridden body of local tribesman Tahir Khan was found dumped in a bazaar in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. "Khan, who was kidnapped 10 days ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body," a security official told. A DVD found with the body showed Khan confessing to spying and passing on information that led to a series of US missile attacks in the region. A note found on the body said: "All those spying for the US will suffer the same fate," according to the official. Two more bodies of alleged US spies were found an hour later with similar notes and DVDs. One was a brother of Khan and the third man was identified as Shabbir Khan, residents and officials said.

The Mamoond tribe and the authorities have signed a 28-point agreement to bring the law and order situation under control in Bajaur Agency. The agreement was signed at a jirga (council of elders) – aimed at re-establishing the writ of the Government in the agency – in agency headquarters Khar, with around 900 tribesmen, elders and clerics in attendance. Addressing the jirga, the head of the Mamoond Peace Commission, Malik Abdul Aziz, said his tribe would continue to co-operate with the Government to restore peace in the area. He said tribesmen had decided to take stern action against anti-social elements and uphold the supremacy of law. Mamond, the largest and most strategically placed tribe in Bajaur, has promised to surrender key figures of the TTP in Bajaur, lay down arms, disband militant groups and stop militant training camps. The entire TTP leadership in Bajaur comes from Mamond tribe and its leader Faqir Mohammed, who was deputy to Baitullah Mehsud, survived drone attacks in the past.

According to the agreement, terrorist groups in the area would be disbanded, and tribes would responsible for establishing Government’s writ in their areas. It was also decided that no foreigners, including Afghan refugees, would be allowed to stay in the agency. Nobody would be allowed to attack SF personnel or Government installations. Further, SFs would have the freedom of movement. According to the agreement, the Mamoond tribe would not allow its land to be used for terrorism or let anybody operate training camps for terrorists. The jirga said that clerics would not criticise the Government and SFs during Friday sermons. The tribe would deposit a PKR 10 million surety bond with the Government which could be confiscated in case of a violation of the accord.

Militants released five soldiers of the Frontier Corps who were kidnapped in August 2008. The soldiers were handed over to elders in Sewai area.

Political authorities and elders of three tribes of Bajaur Agency signed a 28-point agreement to bring peace in the area. About 1,400 tribal elders of Khar, Salarzai and Atmanzai tribes signed the agreement in a grand jirga (council of elders) in Khar. The tribes also demanded the Government carry out development work in the area after restoration of peace. According to the agreement, all Taliban organisations would stand abolished and all their members would surrender to the tribes and the Government. Militants laying down their weapons would be registered in their respective tribes and the elders would furnish a surety bond for their good behaviour to the Government. It said neither parallel courts would be set up, nor the Government's writ would be challenged; foreign elements, including Afghan nationals, would not be provided shelter, shops or houses would not be rented out to them; Government officials or SF personnel would not be targeted or abducted; Government installations, including buildings of schools, colleges and hospitals and check-posts would not be attacked. The SFs would have the freedom to move freely in the agency and if attacked, they would retaliate; people would not allow any terrorist to use their soil for sabotage activities; tribesmen would be bound to restrict cross-border movement; infiltration in or interference with the affairs of other countries. Under the agreement, interference in Government affairs would not be allowed; complete security would be provided to all foreign contractors working in the agency; Government or SFs would not tolerate any propaganda against them; no Taliban training camp would be set up and they will not be given any training.

SFs backed by helicopter gunships killed 18 Taliban militants and injured three others in the Gurgurai, Supri and Mulla Ghani Baba areas of Yakka Ghund sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. In addition, jet aircraft also bombed Shamsha, Bhaidmunai and Spin Ki Tangi areas in the Baizai and Khwaizai sub-divisions, without causing any casualties, the sources said.

The SFs demolished six houses, including the house of Taliban's Mohmand Agency spokesman Ikramullah Mohmand and defused 15 mines during a search operation in Spin Ki Tangi. Two suspects were also arrested.

The troops destroyed a Taliban centre at Shamsha and defused 20 mines. In Akram Baig Kor, an area in the Safi sub-division, the SFs blew up a boys' school the Taliban were using as a hideout.

The troops demolished five houses belonging to the Taliban in Qandaro.

A suspected US missile strike destroyed a Taliban training camp in Kurram Agency, killing at least 15 Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists, as well as injuring another 50, security officials said. "Fifteen militants were killed and 50 wounded," a senior security official told. No high-value targets were believed to have died, the unnamed official added. Another security official said most of the dead were Afghan Taliban militants. "The training centre was run by local Taliban commander Fazal Saeed and training was underway at the time of the strike," the official added. The Taliban sealed off the area and retrieved bodies from the rubble of the building after the strike.

Two civilians and a security official were injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a fort in Landi Kotal in the Khyber Agency. Khyber Rifles Commandant Colonel Furqanullah Khan Tarin told that the explosion had damaged the western boundary wall of the Charbagh Fort.

The number of those killed in a suspected US missile strike in Kurram Agency increased to 24. Two missiles fired by an unmanned drone destroyed an alleged Taliban training camp in Kurram, said officials. "We have handed over 24 bodies after cleaning and wrapping them in cloth," Saidur Rehman, an official of the local charity Al-Khidmat Foundation, told. Local administration officials also confirmed that 24 bodies were found from the rubble, having earlier said that 18 bodies had been found. A senior security official told that 50 others, 'mostly Taliban', were injured, and the dead included 'foreigners'.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead three pro-government tribesmen in the Bajaur Agency. The slain tribesmen had been kidnapped from the Hilalkhel village of Chaharmang sub-division three days earlier. Residents said that the three headless bodies had been dumped in a deserted place. The victims were pro-government tribesmen, who were involved in organising a militia against militants in the area.

The political administration has reportedly launched crackdown on Afghan nationals living illegally in different parts of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the crackdown was launched after the administration received reports that the some Afghans who had been repatriated to their homeland had returned to Bajaur. The local administration directed the Afghans living in Khar sub-division to leave the area in two days otherwise an operation would be launched against them.

Two bodies were found in the Sam Paga area of Upper Orakzai Agency. A note found near the bodies said the men were spying for the United States, warning that anyone found guilty of spying would meet the same fate.

Militants fired two rockets at the camp of SFs in the Bhai Dag area of Baizai subdivision in Mohmand Agency. Sources told that two rockets fired by militants landed in Bhai Dag camp of Mohmand Rifles, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported in the attack. The security forces returned the fire and targeted with artillery fire the suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of Baizai. The Mohmand-based Taliban spokesman Ikramullah Mohmand claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 17

Four militants were killed when SFs targeted the suspected hideouts of militants with gunship helicopters in different areas of the Mohmand Agency. Reports from the agency said that four militants were killed as gunship helicopters targeted positions of militants in the Had Kor area of Ambar sub-division and Dwezai area of Pandyalai sub-division. Three vehicles were also destroyed in the attack, said an official source. However, the Mohmand-based Taliban spokesman Ikramullah rejected the troops’ claim and said gunship helicopters shelled their positions in different areas but that caused no loss of life or damage to property.

March 19

The SFs in Landikotal sub-division of Khyber Agency clashed with the Taliban militants after they attacked an army camp using short-range missiles and mortars. 15 people were reportedly killed in the missile attack. The assailants targeted the military facility near the Landikotal bazaar from their hideouts in the mountains. One of the rockets missed the target and hit a warehouse close to the bazaar, killing 15 men who used to work at the warehouse and had also been using it as a makeshift residence. Following the attack, the SFs retaliated hitting the militants’ positions in the nearby mountains. A source said a madrassa (seminary) adjacent to the army camp was also hit in the missile attack.

March 22

Two important centres of a militant group were demolished as the military operation in Bara in the Khyber Agency continued for a second day. SFs moved into Qambarkhel area and destroyed two bases of the Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkir organisation. The operation continued for nearly four hours in which two helicopter gunships were used. Officials said the bases were empty when they were hit.

The Bara Peace Committee described the operation as a violation of an agreement reached with the political administration. Peace committee leader Haji Amal Gul, whose house was demolished in the shelling on March 21, said those arrested during the operation were innocent and not involved in any criminal activity. He called for an immediate halt to the operation and release of all prisoners.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the March 19 rocket attack on an army camp in Landi Kotal. They said that 13 SF personnel had been killed in the attack, but local authorities rejected the Taliban claim.

Militants killed two men they alleged were spying for the US forces stationed across the border in Afghanistan. The bullet-riddled bodies of Afghan national Imran Khan and local tribesman Yousuf were found in different places in North Waziristan. Notes found on the bodies said they were spying for the US forces. While Yousuf's body was stuffed in a sack and dumped near the Tablighi Markaz, Imran's body was found in the main bazaar of Razmak town.

A civilian was killed and a trooper sustained injuries when SFs raided a drug market and opium processing plants in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. Sources said the SFs seized and later destroyed a huge quantity of contraband from a drug market and demolished more then a dozen drug factories during the operation. Though no details of the seizure were provided to the media, independent sources in Bara told that at least 14 opium processing plants were destroyed while thousands kilograms of contraband were either burnt or taken away by the troops. They said there were at least 50 opium processing units in the area. The operation against drug dealers at Langaro was the first of its type during the last six decades and the place was considered as one of the major drug centre in the country.

Militants killed a tribesman they alleged were spying for the US forces in Afghanistan. The body of Gollu, a resident of Wana who was kidnapped a few days ago, was found in the town. A note found on the body said he was an American spy.

83 persons, including 16 Security Force personnel, were killed and over 100 injured in a suicide attack on a mosque at Peshawar-Torkham Highway in the Jamrud sub-division of Khyber Agency in FATA during the Friday congregation. The huge explosion reduced the single-storey roadside mosque to rubble. Witnesses said they heard a huge explosion just as the Imam (prayer leader) concluded his Friday sermon and the people stood up for the Friday prayer. The dead included the prayer leader, his brother, four personnel of the Frontier Corps and 12 Khassadars (tribal police). The others were tribesmen belonging to the nearby villages, Pakistani and Afghan civilians traveling between Peshawar and Torkham, and drivers and conductors of trucks carrying goods to neighbouring Afghanistan. While the Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat has confirmed that it was a suicide attack, the Associated Press reported that a Government official has accused the Taliban of carrying out the bombing in revenge for a recent offensive aimed in part at protecting the major supply route for NATO and US troops in Afghanistan that passes in front of the mosque.

Taliban killed two Afghan nationals, accusing them of spying for the United States in North Waziristan. Bodies of Ibrahim and Noor Gul were found on Mirali-Tall Road in Toda Cheena in the Shwa District. A note left with the bodies warned that anyone found spying for the US would meet the same fate.

Suspected Taliban militants blew up a bridge on the Landikotal bypass in Khyber Agency. However, no causalities were reported. Local administrative sources said the bridge was hit with a mortar shell, damaging it partially and forcing the suspension of supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

SFs backed by helicopter gun ships killed 26 Taliban militants in the Mohmand Agency of FATA, official said. An official statement issued by the Frontier Corps, NWFP headquarters, said the SFs pounded Taliban hideouts during a search operation in the Saapri area of Yakaghund tehsil (revenue division), killing 26 Taliban, adding that the forces had secured the area around Saapri. However, local sources said 18 Taliban militants were killed in the operation.

Operation Daraghlam (Arriving)-II was launched in Khyber Agency, the Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan said. During a news briefing, Khan said orders to shoot the Taliban militants on sight had been issued. He announced that the victims of the suicide attack at a mosque on the Peshawar-Torkham Highway in the Jamrud Sub-division on March 27 would each be given PKR 300,000. Khan said a ban had been imposed on Taliban from patrolling the area, adding that they could be behind the suicide attack.

Jet fighters bombed various militant-infested areas in the Pandyali and Ambar sub-divisions of Mohmand Agency. The jets targeted hideouts of militants in Kanra, and Dwayzai areas of Pandyali and Kotathrap, Sangar, Hadkor, Gombatai and Chagali areas of Ambar. However, there was no report of casualties as the areas are situated in rugged mountainous range and communication system has been disrupted due to fighting.

Three minors and two women were among the 12 people who died in the first-ever US drone attack in Orakzai Agency. Sources told that an unmanned CIA-operated spy plane fired two Hellfire missiles on the two-storey house of a militant commander Maulvi Gul Nazeer alias Gul Mulla, in Khadeezai village, about 35 kilometers northwest of Ghiljo, Tehsil (revenue division) headquarters of the Orakzai Agency. They said the drone first fired one missile and fired another after an interval. The attack was the first of its kind in Orakzai Agency, the only tribal region out of the total seven regions of the FATA, which does not share its border with Afghanistan. Reports said the dead included four Arabs, one of them known as Kaka, reportedly a senior al Qaeda operative. The victims included two women and three children, including the wife of Gul Nazeer, his daughter-in-law, his two sons and a nephew. The children were identified as Abdullah, Abdul Latif and Mohammad Shoaib. Maulvi Gul Nazeer survived the attack. The sources said an important meeting of senior militant commanders of Baitullah Mehsud-led banned TTP was scheduled to be held at the house of Maulvi Gul Nazeer.

Three soldiers were killed and four others sustained injuries when their vehicle hit a bomb in the Safi area of Mohmand Agency. The soldiers were reportedly going to the Frontier Corps' base in Momad Gutt from Ghalanai. After the incident, Security Forces bombed positions of militants in Safi subdivision and the administration asked people living in Karier, Garhi, Palosi and Mullakhel to vacate their homes by April 2.

Eight rockets, fired from Afghanistan, landed in North Waziristan. Eight rockets were fired from Afghanistan side out of which three fell in Bangidar area and five fell near the main bazaar of Ghulam Khan, situated near the Afghan border. However, no one was hurt as the rockets landed in vacant areas.

Seven civilians, including two schoolchildren, and a soldier were killed when a suicide attacker blew up his explosives-laden vehicle after being intercepted near a security check post and an approaching military convoy at Miranshah in the North Waziristan Agency. "Five private cars were also damaged in the suicide attack. Security forces opened fire in all directions, pre-empting a possible follow-up attack by the insurgents," said a doctor at the nearby state-run hospital. 12 schoolchildren and six soldiers were among 39 persons injured in the suicide attack.

A suspected US drone fired two missiles on an alleged Taliban hideout in the North Waziristan Agency, killing 13 people. Unnamed security officials told news agencies that the dead and injured included local and foreign Taliban militants, but could not ascertain the information. The officials said the family of the man who owned the attacked house was also killed. "The missile hit a house where some guests were staying," one intelligence agency official told. Officials use the word 'guests' for foreigners linked to al Qaeda and Taliban militants. A local tribal elder, Dilawar Khan, told Associated Press that the house was in the Data Khel village very close to the Afghan border. He did not know the identities of the people killed or whether there were Taliban militants staying there.

Troops backed by helicopter gunships and jets killed at least 18 Taliban militants in the Mohmand Agency. The strikes launched continued overnight. "At least 18 Taliban were killed and 20 others wounded in a full-fledged military operation in Mohmand," an unnamed security official told. The militant death toll could not be confirmed independently as the area is sealed off under military operations. "We have also arrested two suspected militants and recovered five paramilitary soldiers who had been kidnapped by militants few days ago," the official said. The official added that troops had taken a compound used by the Taliban as their centre, forcing them to flee the area, and had also occupied the key heights on the hills ringing Anbar village.

The TTP in Bajaur Agency declared amnesty for all anti-Taliban tribal elders and appealed to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in refugee camps to return to the tribal region. The TTP also said political parties were creating hurdles in the return of IDPs. In a telephonic conversation with reporters, the TTP central spokesman Maulvi Umer said the Taliban remained committed to a cease-fire they had declared in February 2009 to improve law and order in the agency. Umer said some political parties were inciting the IDPs to demand enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in Bajaur after Swat and were using them for vested interests.

Four suspected militants were killed and five others injured in a drone attack in the Gangikhel village of South Waziristan Agency (SWA). The village is located 10 kilometers south of Wana, headquarters of the SWA, locals said. An unnamed senior official said the drone fired two missiles at a vehicle parked by the Taliban in the village graveyard. The official also said the Taliban had fitted heavy weapons on the vehicle to target the CIA-operated spy plane which, he said, was seen hovering over Wana and the adjoining villages at an extremely low altitude. "They fired several shots at the drone, but failed to hit it. The aircraft fired two missiles, blowing both the vehicles and the militants into pieces," said the official. He added a nearby house and a shop owned by a local tribesman were also partially damaged in the missile strike. Militant sources confirmed the killing of their four colleagues in the attack. They said three among the slain militants belonged to the Punjab and one was affiliated to a group of pro-government militant commander Maulvi Nazeer.

The Taliban beheaded two men they accused of spying for the United States in North Waziristan. The beheaded body of Shahid Mehsud was found along the Miranshah-Razmak Road in Dundin area, 40 kilometers south of Miranshah, while the body of Gul Mir Jan was found along the Datta Khel-Miranshah Road in Degaan area, 20 kilometers west of Miranshah. Notes found near the bodies warned that anybody found involved in spying for the US would meet the same fate.

In South Waziristan, militants fired rockets at the Frontier Corps' Scouts Camp in Wana early and also targeted the high school in Shakai area. Officials of the Political Administration said two rockets hit a high school in the Shakai area. Separately, two rockets landed in the heavily guarded Scouts Camp in Wana. However, no human or property loss was reported.

The Taliban announced the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in the Bajaur Agency of FATA and stopped women from going outside without male relatives, banned shaving of beard and warned the people against availing assistance from the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). The announcement was made by Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Taliban chief in the agency, in his 40-minute speech delivered through his group's illegal FM radio channel. Faqir, who is deputy leader of the Baitullah Mehsud-led TTP, addressed the tribesmen on the FM radio on weekly basis. He said he and his men would spare no efforts to strictly implement the Islamic laws in the region.

The Taliban dumped the beheaded body of Muhammad Islam Khan, a senior leader of the Awami National Party in Bajaur, in the agency's Ghundo area. He was abducted on his way home on April 9.

Three Taliban militants from the Mullah Nazir group were killed in clashes with the SFs in South Waziristan- marking the first intense clashes with the group since April 2007. The political administration said that Taliban attacked two security check posts in different areas of Wana with rockets and other weapons - injuring one trooper deployed at the Dargai post. The SFs retaliated using mortars and artillery shells, killing three of the attackers.

The political administration found two bullet-riddled bodies in the agency. Both were shot dead at point blank range, said Police. The dead men were reportedly residents of Kurry Haider area in Jandola. The bodies appeared to be those of pro-Mehsud fighters from a group in Jandola led by Asmatullah Shaheen. The group is opposed to a rival one led by Haji Turkistan Bhittani. Bhittani told that his men were not involved in the killings.

Tribesmen killed a Taliban leader and injured two others in Mohmand Agency. The Frontier Corps (FC) said that Taliban leader Dilbar Khan, accompanied by 17 to 18 other members of the group, went to Lundi Jawar village in Utmanzai to confront a local over opposition to the group's activities in the area. However, the villagers engaged the Taliban and killed Dilbar Khan and injured two others. The FC said that after the clash Taliban, a large number of Taliban militants surrendered in the same village.

A tribal jirga (council) handed over three Jamrud mosque bombing suspects to political authorities in Khyber Agency. On March 27, a bomber had blown himself up during the Juma (Friday prayer) congregation at a crowded mosque at Begyari in Jamrud, killing 83 people. Sources said the Khyber Agency's political administration had sought the custody of eight suspects from the Kokikhel Qaumi Jirga but only three - Khaista Khan, Taj Wali and Muhammad Rafiq - had been handed over to them. They said the jirga had promised remaining suspects' handover within the next few days. Meanwhile, Khyber Agency's Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan distributed the PKR 300,000 cheques to the families of nine dead and one injured by terrorists.

April 15

The Sikh community living in the Orakzai Agency conceded to the Taliban demand to pay them jizia – tax levied on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule – and paid PKR 20 million to Taliban in return for ‘protection’. Officials told that the Taliban also released Sikh leader Sardar Saiwang Singh and vacated the community’s houses after the Sikhs accepted the Taliban demand. The officials said the Taliban announced that the Sikhs were now free to live anywhere in Orakzai. They also announced protection for the Sikh community, saying that no one would harm them after they paid jizia. Sikhs who had left the agency would now return to their houses and resume their business in the agency, the officials said.

April 16

Two persons were injured in landmine explosions in Upper and Lower Kurram. A landmine exploded in the Piwar area, west of the Parachinar city, in which one tribesman sustained injuries. Another explosion occurred at Tangi in Lower Kurram, injuring a local.

The Karachi Police arrested a suspected militant hailing from Bajaur Agency and seized weapons, including a hand grenade, in an encounter within the jurisdiction of Sohrab Goth Police station. The arrested man was identified as Ismatullah alias Sino Mehsud. A Kalashnikov, a 0.222 rifle, two TT pistols and a hand grenade were recovered from his possession.

April 18

Four people were killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in the Tirah Shalobar area of Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency. Sources said the dead included Sadiq – a shura (executive council) member of militant outfit Ansarul Islam (AI) – and an aide. The men were on their way to Tirah Larbagh when the explosive device – planted on the side of the road – went off. The men were injured by the explosion and died later.

April 19

Fighter planes and gunship helicopters targeted suspected hideouts of militants in different areas of the Orakzai Agency, killing 16 militants, while 10 others, including a soldier and two teachers, sustained injuries. Sources told that the militants had occupied a rest house, a women’s community centre, the Government Primary School in Ghiljo sub-division and the Government High School in Dabori area. The militants had been using these places as their bases, which came under severe air attack by the Pakistan Air Force fighter planes and gunship helicopters. Suspected hideouts of militants in the Khadizai and Mamuzai areas of Ghiljo were also heavily bombed. Security Forces claimed that 16 militants were killed in the daylong shelling, while eight persons, including a soldier, two teachers and some civilians, sustained injuries.

Eight persons were killed and two others sustained injuries when a suspected US spy plane fired missiles at two houses in the Ziyari Noor area near Rustam Adda in South Waziristan Agency. Sources said the US drones continued hovering over the area for hours and one of them fired missiles at the houses of Daim Khan Wazir and Wali Khan Wazir at 10:00 am, leaving eight civilians dead and two others injured. The houses were completely destroyed in the attack and three vehicles parked inside were also damaged.

Two people were killed and another injured in a gunfight between Taliban militants and the operatives of the TNSM in the Mamond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. The reason for the clash - that occurred in the Meena area - could not be ascertained. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar confirmed the incident while talking to reporters from an undisclosed location. He said the Taliban would not allow anyone to display weapons in Mamond in accordance with their peace deal with local tribal elders, and that they had held 60 people so far for displaying weapons. Rizwan, a TNSM leader and son of the outfit’s chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad – said the incident was a result of a misunderstanding. Some differences had emerged between the TNSM and the Mamond tribe, he said, and a jirga (council of elders) is attempting to resolve them.

A two-day-old ceasefire in South Waziristan collapsed as the Taliban attacked bases of SFs hours after a drone attack targeted suspected Taliban hideouts. Three persons, including a woman and a child, were also killed in crossfire between the Taliban and SFs, said locals. The Taliban attacked at least four security check-posts. The SFs also reportedly shelled and launched air strikes against Taliban positions in Wana, killing eight suspected Taliban militants, said officials.

Helicopter gunships and jets targeted Taliban positions in the Orakzai Agency, killing at least 11 militants and injuring five others. The military operation against militants has reportedly been expanded to the Mamozai, Maidan, Jabba, Samma and Buda Khel areas. SFs launched operations on April 19 after the TTP claimed responsibility for the April 18 suicide attack in Doaba in which at least 23 soldiers and five civilians were killed. The SFs are reported to have missed an important target, the house of local TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, during the air raid in Dabori.

Two women were killed as militants blew up a house in Kalaya, headquarters of the Orakzai Agency, to punish a girl and a boy in an honour-related case. The Taliban militants had reportedly planted explosives in the house of the alleged paramour of the girl where she was also living. The boy had fled the area leaving behind the girl with his parents after the Taliban got involved in the case. The girl, who belongs to the Bezote area, sustained minor injuries in the blast. Locals told that a Sunni girl had fled with a Shia man from the Bezote area to Kalaya in the lower Orakzai Agency during March 2009. This had infuriated the Taliban who asked the tribesmen to hand over both the girl and the man for "execution under tribal customs". The tribesmen had refused after which the Taliban kidnapped a man of the Kalaya tribe and started killing passengers passing through the area.

FC troops foiled an ambush by suspected Taliban militants on its convoy at Turkama Bhattai in the Thall area of Kurram Agency, injuring two militants. According to an FC press release, heavily armed militants ambushed an FC convoy, while moving from the Alizai to the Bhattai post. It said that an intense exchange of fire occurred between FC troops and the Taliban, following which the militants fled. A vehicle in possession of the Taliban was also destroyed, the press release added.

The TTP and TNSM announced to ban political parties and politics in the Bajaur Agency after talks. Both the outfits also banned the assembly of more than three people at a place. The ban was enforced following a jirga (council of elders), after four persons were killed in a clash between the activists of the both the outfits.

Five rockets hit areas near army pickets in the Shagai mountain of Jamrud in Khyber Agency. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. Official sources confirmed that five rockets were fired from the Sheen Ghar side in Shagai mountain.

46 militants have been killed and 26 injured in the four-day military operation in the Orakzai Agency, tribal and official sources said. The sources said jet fighters and gunship helicopters targeted the militants' hideouts in Balozai area of the Kalaya Tehsil (revenue division) at 2:00 pm, killing five militants and a civilian. A number of hideouts and bunkers of the militants were reportedly destroyed on Shawazar mountain. Several Government and private installations were also damaged during the shelling by the jet fighters and gunship helicopters on April 22.

The Inter-Services Public Relations media cell said the SFs had killed 11 militants in the Orakzai Agency after striking militants' hideouts in the Chapri, Ferozkhel, Khwajakhizar and Bizoti areas. It further said that the SFs in operations on April 21 and 22 killed 27 militants in Ghiljo Tehsil.

The TTP, Orakzai chapter commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, told reporters by phone from an undisclosed location that the TTP was not responsible for the killing of civilians. "Until the government stops operations and ensures a halt to the drone attacks in the tribal areas, the TTP will continue attacking the government installations," he added. The residents of Dabori, Khadizai and Ghiljo Tehsil have started to migrate to safer locations in tractors, vans and carts. They complained that no camp had been set up in the Hangu District of NWFP for the migrating people by the political authorities. "We have no proper place to accommodate the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hangu and have requested the provincial government to allot us a place for setting up a camp for the affected people," Political Agent Orakzai Agency Abdul Baseer said, adding the political authorities had also sought funds from the central government on an emergency basis for the rehabilitation of the affected people in the District.

Nine members of a family, including two women and seven children, were killed when a house in the Storikhel area of Khyber Agency was allegedly attacked by jet fighters and gunship helicopters. Sources said jet fighters and gunship helicopters, which were busy in the operations against militants in the neighbouring Orakzai Agency, fired two missiles at a house owned by Gul Zarin, Shah Zarin and Niaz Amin in Storikhel, killing two women and seven children.

Five members of a family, including three women, were killed and four children sustained injuries when an explosive device went off inside a vehicle in the Smalkhel area of Datakhel sub-division in the North Waziristan Agency. Sources said the family members of Faizullah were on their way home in the vehicle when the explosion occurred, killing two women, driver Islahuddin and a boy on the spot and injuring a woman and four children. While the injured children admitted to the Miranshah Hospital, the wounded woman succumbed to her injuries en route to hospital. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the blast. It was unclear whether the family was carrying the explosive device or someone had placed it in the vehicle.

A survey conducted by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) with the help of the British High Commission in Islamabad reports that 56 percent respondents described Afghanistan's Taliban as "Islamic heroes fighting western occupation". A paltry 12.1 percent called them "a terrorist group". More than 54 percent respondents said they were "dissatisfied with life" in FATA in general. The number of satisfied people stood at 18.15 percent, according to the survey, and 17.5 percent said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Some 73.25 percent tribesmen referred to provision of justice as "the most important service" that the Government should provide in their areas followed by 64.6 percent voting for education, 52.1 percent for health and 47 percent for tackling terrorism. Just 2.95 percent respondents referred to the United States as a "very favorable" country, compared with 66.2 percent who called it "very unfavorable".

April 28

SFs opened fire on a suspected Taliban militant in a bazaar in the Datta Khel sub-division of North Waziristan, killing him on the spot. An army convoy was passing through the Datta Khel bazaar when they spotted Umer Nawaz and shot him dead on suspicion.

Armed militants occupied three houses and 10 shops of the Sikh community in Orakzai Agency who failed to arrange the protection money. Sources said the houses of Sikh cloth merchants were located in the Qasimkhel while the shops were in the Ferozkhel area of Kalaya Tehsil (revenue division).

April 29

Six people were killed and two injured when two missiles were fired by a suspected US drone at Kani Garam village in South Waziristan. "Six people were killed when a moving vehicle was hit by one [of the] missiles fired by a US spy plane," tribesmen told. They said that all of those killed were locals. Four people had also been injured in the strike. A local administration official and intelligence officials confirmed the missile strike.

Four militants were killed and two others sustained injuries in artillery shelling by the SFs in the Khwaizai Baizai area of Mohmand Agency. SFs targeted suspected locations of the militants in different areas early in the morning, killing four militants and wounding two others. The troops also seized a pickup truck in the area and recovered rockets, mortar shells and explosives.

Political Agent Amjad Ali Khan claimed that the situation had improved in Safi subdivision of Mohmand Agency after the military operation. He urged the elders to fulfill their territorial and collective responsibilities and not to allow miscreants to re-establish their hideouts in the area.

April 30

SFs targeted suspected positions of the militants in the remote Narai Dara area of Khyber Agency. Bombing with heavy weaponry was reportedly carried out from the bordering town of Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency. Officials said they had information of militants’ infiltration from Mohmand Agency into Loe Shalman areas of Narai Dara, Ghund Sar and Ugday Sar. Residents also confirmed movement of the Taliban militants in these areas and said they had occupied a joint hujra (guest house) in Narai Dara besides establishing hideouts in the nearby mountains. However, there were no reports of any loss of life or injuries in the military action.

The Taliban in Orakzai Agency have banished 50 Sikh families from the agency for not paying Jizia, a tax levied on non-Muslims living under Islamic law. According to a private TV channel, Taliban militants occupied houses and shops of the Sikhs and auctioned their valuables for PKR 0.8 million in the Qasim Khel and Feroz Khel areas. The Taliban had demanded PKR 12 million from the Sikh community but they had only paid PKR 6.7 million to the Taliban, the channel said.

May 01

The Taliban killed a man in North Waziristan for allegedly spying for the US. The bullet-ridden body of Muhammad Gul, a resident of Dosali sub-division, was found on the Miranshah-Razmak road, some 40 kilometers south of the agency headquarters. A note found near the body warned that anyone spying for the US would meet the same fate.

May 2

Taliban militants attacked a security post in the Mohmand Agency, triggering a gun battle that left 16 Taliban militants and two soldiers dead. About 100 Taliban militants attacked the Spinal Tangi post before dawn, the army said in a statement. "Sixteen militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Two security forces personnel embraced shahadat (martyrdom)," it added. Three troops were also wounded.

A man was killed and five women were injured in suspected Taliban rocket and missile attacks in the Pusht area of Salarzai tehsil (revenue division) of Bajaur Agency. Sources in the area said that a grand jirga (council) of tribesmen was scheduled in Pusht when the Taliban militants attacked the venue with rockets, destroying three houses. Tribesman Abdul Jabbar was killed and five women, including three of a family sustained critical injuries.

The volunteers of Salarzai Qaumi Lashkar followed the Taliban militants in the hills and exchanged fire for several hours. The Security Forces also targeted the attackers’ positions from Khar. However, no casualties were reported in both these incidents.

May 3

Two alleged US spies were killed in North Waziristan. The body of Afghan national Fazl Haq was found near a seminary in the Nowrak area of Mirali subdivision. He had been captured in Afghanistan a few months ago. Further, another body was found near a private hospital in Miranshah, the agency headquarters.

A tribesman was killed when his house was hit by a mortar shell fired by the SFs in retaliation for an early morning rocket attack on the army camp at Landi Kotal in the Khyber Agency. Security officials said unidentified militants fired rockets at the army camp from Dalkhat side which caused no damage. The SFs retaliated by indiscriminate firing in all directions using both light and heavy weapons. Officials of the local political administration said that a tribesman, Mohammad Rashid, was killed on the spot when a mortar shell hit is house in Gungi Kalay. Political authorities arrested five persons, including an Afghan, from Dalkhat locality after the rocket attack on the army camp.

In the Jamrud sub-division, Taliban commander Iftikhar Kukikhel surrendered to the local authorities, officials said. Sources said that Iftikhar was wanted by the administration in a number of sabotage activities and kidnapping of local officials before the start of military operation in December 2008. Iftikhar was made amir (chief) of Taliban in Jamrud after the arrest of Hijrat alias Mustafa Kamal in November 2008 in Peshawar. Hijrat, an Afghan, was accused of carrying out attacks on terminals of NATO supplies in Peshawar.

May 06

Suspected Baloch insurgents killed three SF personnel and injured three others when they attacked their van in the Thali area of Karmo Wadh town close to Sibi District. The insurgents are reported to have ambushed the SF personnel from their hideouts in the mountains. The slain soldiers were identified as Farman Ali, Muhammad Ramzan and Muhammad Rahim while Gohar Ali, Nehamatullah and Muhammad Ibrahim were injured. Local sources said the attack was followed by clashes between the two sides. However, the insurgents managed to escape.

May 10

Unidentified men blew up a gas pipeline in the suburbs of Quetta. Officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited said the explosion along the 16-inch diameter pipeline in Mengalabad area on Sariab Road destroyed a portion of the gas pipeline, affecting gas supply to some suburbs. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

A Taliban commander close to Baitullah Mehsud was among six people found dead from various areas of South Waziristan - two months after the men went missing. The bullet-riddled body of commander Tikka Khan Burki - the Taliban chief for Salayrogha area in upper Kaniguram region - was found in Karwanmanza area of Ladah sub-division.

The shrine of noted Pashto poet Ameer Hamza Khan Shinwari, two girls' schools and a shop were partly damaged when militants attacked the structures with rockets and explosive devices in the Landikotal subdivision of Khyber Agency. Sources said the boundary wall of the Hamza Baba Complex in Landikotal was partially damaged when explosives, planted by militants, went off. Hamza Baba mausoleum is inside the complex which had been targeted several times by militants in the recent past.

Militants fired several rockets at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Landikotal in the early hours. The science laboratory of the school was partially damaged when one of the rockets hit the building. The school building is reportedly situated adjacent to the Landikotal Army Garrison.

12 people were killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Tribal sources said six, or possibly more, missiles were fired at three to four houses at Sunrai Zyara Leeta border village at 8 am. One of the houses was destroyed and others were damaged. An unnamed senior Government official claimed the targeted compounds were being used by local militants as a training and transit camp to launch attacks in Afghanistan. He conceded there was no Government presence in the area. He also had no information about the identity of those killed and injured.

Two FC soldiers were injured when rockets fired by the militants hit the Army Garrison at Landikotal in Khyber Agency. Sources said unidentified militants fired six rockets from the nearby mountains and one of them hit the trench of the SFs while five of them fell inside the Army Garrison. Two FC men, whose identities could not be ascertained, were wounded. In retaliation, the SFs shelled the hideouts of militants in the mountains but there was no word on the casualties. The Khyber Agency Taliban commander Umar Farooq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that a number of SF personnel were killed and injured in the attack. However, the SFs denied this Taliban claim by saying that only two soldiers were injured.

An official of the Khyber Khasadar Force, who had been kidnapped by militants three months ago, was freed and reached home. He was identified as Subedar Major Fida Muhammad Afridi.

SFs killed five militants in the North Waziristan Agency after a military convoy was targeted with an IED in the Pir Killay area, in which three soldiers were killed and four others sustained injuries. Sources said the SFs convoy was on its way to Bannu in NWFP from Miranshah when it was attacked with the IED, leaving three soldiers dead and four others injured. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the explosion. The troops retaliated by resorting to artillery shelling at the militants' positions from the Miranshah Tochi Fort, killing five militants. Gunship helicopters also took part in the action against the militants.

Parliamentarians belonging to the FATA rejected the TTP ultimatum to step down as legislators within three days. These legislators contended that they would pay no heed to such warnings and continue serving people of their respective constituencies. "We are elected representatives of people, who have voted us to the legislative bodies so that we could serve them and contribute to the nation-building. Such threats have no value," said Sajid Hussain Toori, who hails from Parachinar in the Kurram Agency. Toori is part of a 10-member independent group of legislators, headed by Munir Khan Orakzai. Abbas Afridi, who is a Senator from FATA, also rejected the ultimatum. Another Senator Haji Khan Afridi, who is from Khyber Agency, said that on such warnings or demands, he would never resign.

Three soldiers were killed and four others sustained injuries when their convoy came under a bomb attack near Miranshah in North Waziristan. Troops besieged Pir Kala, about 10km north of Miranshah, and fired on suspected militants' positions. Helicopter gunships were called in to support ground forces. According to local people, militants fired back and the ensuing exchange of fire continued for over three hours. Officials said the military convoy was going to Bannu in NWFP when it was hit by the bomb detonated by remote control.

Three militants, including a local Taliban 'commander', were killed in a bomb blast in the Sheikhan area of the Khwezai subdivision of Mohmand Agency. SFs, however, claimed that they had killed the three by targeting suspected hideouts with heavy weapons. Official sources said that SFs targeted militants' positions in Spinki Tangi from a Frontier Corps post in Bhai Dag. The troops also targeted suspected positions of the militants in Shalman and Mulla Ghani Baba area, bordering the Khyber Agency, with heavy weapons.

Militants blew up a rural health centre, a boys' school in Ambar and a degree college in Lakkaro. Explosives were planted around the building that exploded in the early hours. However, no casualty was reported.

At least 25 people were killed in a suspected US drone missile attack on a seminary and a nearby vehicle in North Waziristan. They said US drones fired two missiles in Mir Ali sub-division of the North Waziristan - with one missile hitting the Anwarul Uloom Islamia seminary and the other a vehicle. "It was a drone strike on a compound where militants were staying," a security official told. Other intelligence officials put the death toll as high as 28, saying the dead were mostly local militants who had been preparing to leave for Afghanistan to carry out attacks. The officials added, however, that the bodies of most of those killed were burnt beyond recognition.

Nine Taliban militants were killed and another 13 injured when the SFs attacked Taliban hideouts in the Upper Orakzai Agency. Political administration sources told that SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in Dabori, headquarters of Upper Orakzai, using helicopter gun ships. Locals said all the dead were local Taliban and that no key Taliban commander was killed in the attack. Local Taliban, however, denied that any of their men were killed in the attack on their hideouts in the agency. Helicopter operations are being carried out as part of a larger ground and air assault against Taliban hideouts in Malakand division.

May 18

The Taliban in Mohmand Agency announced they had killed two soldiers of the paramilitary FC, who were in their custody, and threatened to execute the remaining four if the Government failed to meet their demand for an exchange of prisoners. Ikramullah, a spokesman for the banned TTP, Mohmand Agency chapter, told by phone from an undisclosed location that Sepoy Imran was executed on May 17 while Sepoy Zari Badshah was killed on May 18. He said the bodies of the two men were left on Qandaharo Road in Mohmand Agency. The spokesman said the two FC men were executed to avenge the murder of five Taliban prisoners, including commanders Yahya Hijrat and Maulana Arabistan, by Police in the limits of the Yakatoot Police station in Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on May 8. "We are still holding four more FC soldiers. We would execute one soldier every day if the government did not agree to our offer of the exchange of prisoners," the Taliban spokesman warned.

May 19

SFs claimed to have killed 13 militants and arrested five foreign combatants in an encounter near Khapakh check-post in the Halimzai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. A spokesman for the Mohmand Rifles Media Centre said SFs arrested five Burqa (veil)-clad foreign militants when they were trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan via the Pakistan-Afghanistan route. Following their arrest, the spokesman said local militants attacked the Khapakh security checkpoint with sophisticated weapons from all sides. He said SFs repulsed the attack and killed 13 militants in the ensuing three-hour encounter. He claimed that after the clash, the militants swiftly took away the bodies of their companions. However, the body of one of the alleged militants was recovered from the area. "Three of the arrested militants belong to Saudi Arabia and one each to Libya and Afghanistan," the spokesman added. Following the clash, SFs imposed a curfew and launched a search operation in the area. The sources said three local suspected militants, whose names could not be ascertained, were arrested during the search operation.

The TTP Mohmand Agency spokesman Akramullah confirmed that the TTP Khyber Agency chief Hijratullah was killed by SFs a few months ago. The spokesman told the BBC that SFs had killed Hijratullah following his arrest. He claimed that Hijratullah and his associate, Arbistan, had been tortured to death along with three others, denying reports that they had been killed in a Police encounter.

May 20

Unidentified man blew up a private dispensary in the Landikotal sub-division of Khyber Agency. Explosives were planted near the dispensary located in Wali Khel area of Landikotal. While the building was damaged in the blast no casualties were reported.

May 21

Four civilians and five SF personnel were killed and 25 persons injured in a suicide attack near a Frontier Corps (FC) fort in the Jandola area of Tank. According to a private TV channel, an explosives-laden truck rammed into the FC camp damaging several nearby shops and the fort.

Taliban commander Yar Syed alias Chakri and five of his associates surrendered to the Government at a jirga (council of elders) in Mohmand Agency. Yar Syed, a TTP commander in Mohmand Agency, also handed over weapons to the political administration. He conceded that "I was in the wrong", and assured the Political Agent that he and the five other men would remain peaceful.

May 22

SFs launched a military operation in the South Waziristan Agency (SWA). The action came a year after a secret peace deal with Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, official and tribal sources. According to sources, SFs rained artillery and mortar shells on suspected locations of the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban militants in the Mehsud inhabited areas of South Waziristan. There were no details about any loss of life in the shelling. Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas, however, denied launching any military operation in South Waziristan. He said the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) had taken some action but he had no further details. Official and tribal sources said SFs at Jandola and Manzai military camps began artillery shelling on the Taliban’s suspected positions in Srarogha, Kotkai and Spinkai Raghzai villages of Mehsud tribal people. An unnamed security official told that the artillery shelling was a reaction to the suicide attack near Jandola FC camp on May 21, in which 12 people were killed and several others injured.

May 23

Suspected Taliban militants abducted two paramilitary soldiers from Inayat Kalay at Bajaur Agency, and the local administration arrested 189 Mamoond tribesmen in retaliation, officials said. Political Agent Shafirullah Khan warned the Mamoond tribe in a jirga (council of elders) against violating the deal it had made with the Government three months ago. A television channel said he gave them a three-day deadline to stop militant activities.

May 24

Fighter jets and helicopter gunships targeted Taliban hideouts in the Orakzai Agency, with the AP news agency reporting at least 18 people killed in the offensive. AP quoted a Government official as saying that the targets were strongholds of Hakeemullah Mehsud, a deputy to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Hundreds have reportedly fled the area amid the fighting. Local sources said helicopter gunships and fighter jets attacked Jama Masjid and adjacent centres in Dabori area of Upper Orakzai, Mattani and Khawageri. A seminary near Ghalju was also targeted and another was damaged in shelling in Lower Orakzai. Three Taliban centres were also destroyed in Laddah, Atmankhel and Ferozkhel, and the death of three militants was reported from Lower Orakzai. The sources told that at least eight Taliban hideouts were destroyed.

In South Waziristan, reports stated that two security officials were killed in a Taliban attack on a security convoy.

SFs launched a military operation against the Baitullah Mehsud-led militants in South Waziristan, reportedly killing seven militants. However, the military spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, denied the operation in South Waziristan and said SFs had just consolidated their positions in the region. Official and tribal sources said that four Pakistan Army gunship helicopters targeted suspected positions of Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban militants in the Mehsud-inhabited areas of South Waziristan. Similarly, SFs from paramilitary Frontier Corps camps in Jandola, Seplatoi and Tiarza also fired artillery shells and targeted suspected locations of the militants in Chagmalai, Tiarza, Spinkai Raghzai and Seplatoi villages. Tribal sources said seven suspected militants were killed and several others sustained injuries in the shelling by gunship helicopters and artillery.

People in large numbers have reportedly started fleeing their homes due to the military operation while the Government selected Dabara area on the Tank-Dera Road to set up a camp for the tribesmen being displaced from South Waziristan Agency.

SFs arrested six persons from a seminary where a military convoy was attacked, local leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl said.

The SFs shot dead two suspected militants when they refused to surrender in the Mamad Gat area of Mohmand Agency. Sources said two unidentified militants were heading for Ghallanai from the Chinari area when the SFs stopped them near the Mohmand Rifles camp and ordered them to surrender. However, the militants resisted, which prompted the troops to open indiscriminate fire, killing both of them on the spot. The political administration has confirmed the incident and said the slain militants hailed from Waziristan.

SFs foiled a bid to blow up the building of Government High School in the Michni area of Mohmand Agency and arrested four suspected persons.

15 Taliban militants were killed and several injured by SFs shelling in South Waziristan Agency. According to a private TV channel, the SFs shelled Taliban hideouts in Sarokai area, killing 15 militants and injuring several others.

SFs claimed to have arrested six Taliban militants, including a foreigner, and seized a large cache of arms from them. Frontier Corps Commander Colonel Asif told a press conference that one of the militants belonged to Afghanistan, and others were from Khyber Agency. He said the arrested militants were active members of the TTP. Asif said the six men were going to join their accomplices in Afghanistan. He said three vehicles, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons had been recovered from them.

More than 20 suspected militants and their financiers were arrested during separate operations in the Jamrud and Bara areas of Khyber Agency. Sources said a majority of those arrested belonged to the Shalober tribe of Afridis in Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. At least two of them, identified as Aftab and Farman, belonged to the Shah Kas area of Jamrud sub-division, where different militant outfits are operating. The sources said operations were simultaneously conducted in Jamrud, Bara and areas of Peshawar, bordering Bara. The arrested persons included both suspected militants and those accused of financing them.

Two Taliban militants and a soldier were killed in a clash between the SFs and militants near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in South Waziristan. Local residents and political administration officials said some Taliban militants attacked a checkpost of the SFs at Narai Sarkai border area with rocket launchers killing a soldier, Shahid, and injuring two others. Two Taliban militants were killed and another injured when the security forces retaliated. According to locals, the Taliban succeeded in escaping with the bodies of their colleagues.

25 militants, including a senior commander of the Baitullah Mehsud-led TTP, Miraj Burki, and six soldiers were killed and several others wounded in clashes between the militants and SFs in South Waziristan Agency. Other reports said 13 soldiers were killed and over two dozens injured. Fierce fighting between the two sides has reportedly forced thousands of tribal families to leave their homes in the Mehsud-inhabited areas.

The latest clashes erupted with two different attacks on a security post and a military convoy by the militants at Spinkai Raghzai and Tiarza. In the first attack, which took place on the night between May 30 and 31, the militants opened fire on a security post located on hilltop in Spinkai Raghzai. According to sources, three soldiers were killed and six others injured in the attack. In addition, four soldiers went missing during the clashes and are suspected to have been abducted by the militants. There were reports that the militants beheaded them and threw their bodies in the mountains. Military officials said the SFs retaliated and inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban. Military spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, said 15 militants were killed when the troops fired back.

Three soldiers, including a Lieutenant, were killed and some others injured in an ambush on a military convoy by the Taliban near Tiarza. The convoy was heading towards Tiarza from Shakai when it was attacked. According to sources, 45-year old Meraj Burki, who was a senior militant commander of the TTP, had led dozens of militants to ambush the military convoy. Military authorities said the troops retaliated and killed 10 militants. Tribal sources confirmed the killing of six militants in retaliatory firing by the SFs. Tribal elders in Tiarza said they received reports that commander Meraj had been killed in retaliatory firing by the troops.

Tribal sources said the SFs started heavy artillery shelling from Frontier Corps camps in Jandola and Manzai towards suspected locations of the militants in Kotkai, Tiarza, Ladha, Makeen and Srarogha villages.

Two Taliban commanders surrendered before the political authorities in Khyber Agency. Sources told that two Taliban leaders, identified as Muhammad Noor and Meena Jan, surrendered in the Jamrud area.

June 1

The Taliban blew up a girls’ school in Mohmand Agency. According to sources, Taliban had wired the Government-run girls’ school with an improvised explosive device in the Shewafarash area of Lakro sub-division, which they detonated early. However, no casualties were reported.

June 2

Three more Government schools were blown up in the Mohmand Agency. Sources said the Girls Middle School in Kotatrap, Government Girls Primary School, Kogpand and Boys Primary School, Darao, in the Safi and Ambar sub-divisions, were destroyed by suspected militants, who planted explosive devices and blew them up. However, no casualty was reported in the explosions.

Around 50 cadets and teachers from the Razmak Cadet College are still in Taliban custody, a private TV channel reported after SFs said they had rescued 71 kidnapped cadets and nine employees from North Waziristan. Around 100 students were kidnapped on June 1 when a convoy of students, teachers and their families was on its way to Bannu in the NWFP.

June 4

SFs claimed to have arrested 12 militants, including nine foreigners, and recovered weapons and communication gadgets from their possession in different areas of Mohmand Agency. A spokesman for the Mohmand Rifles, while giving details to the media, said the SFs arrested 12 militants during checking at the Lakaro, Bhai Dag and Chopan Karapa check-posts.

The Taliban released the remaining 46 kidnapped students and two teachers of the Razmak Cadet College from the South Waziristan Agency and handed them over to a Jirga (council of elders) of Torikhel and Utmanzai Wazir tribes near Razmak. The cadets and two staff members of the college were released without any condition. They were held somewhere in South Waziristan after their abduction from the Frontier Region (FR) Bakakhel, Tribal sources said their release was negotiated by a tribal Jirga of Torikhel and Utmanzai Wazir tribes and members of a peace committee of North Waziristan Ulema and Taliban leaders.

June 5

Seven persons, including five SF personnel, were killed and four others sustained injuries in three separate incidents of violence in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) and adjoining Tank District. Four soldiers were killed and two injured when their patrol pickup hit an IED on the Jandola-Spinkai Raghzai road in SWA. The Army and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel have been guarding the Jandola-Spinkai Raghzai road in South Waziristan. The pickup truck was destroyed, while another was partially damaged in the attack. In another incident, a solider died and two others were injured when an IED planted by suspected militants exploded near Angoor Adda - a border town between South Waziristan and Afghanistan’s Paktika province. There were reports that a bomb disposal squad was defusing the IED when it exploded. No details about the third incident were reported.

SFs arrested three foreign terrorists at Alizai check-post in the Bajaur Agency. The SFs also reportedly seized a suicide vest, currency, cassettes, hate literature, rocket launchers, remote-control bombs and various mobile phone SIMs from them. Security officials then paraded the detained men before the media. The terrorists were entering Bajaur after battling against the Pakistan Army in the Swat District of NWFP, the source added.

June 7

During clashes between two groups of militants in the Mamond area of Bajaur Agency, four combatants were killed. Supporters of Maulana Faqir Muhammad, of the TTP, and Commander Salar Masood of the TNSM are now reportedly preparing for a major showdown in the area. The clash took place after the Salar group kidnapped Jarar Hussain of the TTP following a dispute over money. According to sources, Salar Masood’s militants were repulsed when they attempted to overrun the headquarters of the TTP in Sewai. The sources said three of the slain militants belonged to the Salar group, Shah Tamas Khan, Zafarullah and Musa Khan, and one to the TTP, Najeebullah. Five men from both sides sustained injuries in the clashes.

Security Forces launched a search and destroy operation in the Anbar Valley, demolishing 15 houses, setting fire to another 34, and arresting eight people suspected of being terrorists.

During a grand jirga (council of elders) of Safi tribal elders and the political administration, Political Agent Mohmand Amjad Ali advised the internally displaced persons of Swat and Malakand Division to return to their respective areas by June 15, saying they would not be allowed to stay at relief camps beyond that date.

Around 90 percent of the local tribesmen have left South Waziristan and are now living in settled Districts, the South Waziristan Senator Saleh Shah said. He said the Government had not made any arrangements for those who had relocated. The Senator said a committee of political functionaries and tribal elders has estimated that the previous military operations had cost around PKR 1.30 billion in damages to different areas and more than 4500 houses and shops had been damaged in the current operation.

The Taliban have taken 100 members of the TNSM hostage, including the local chief from Mamoond area of Bajaur Agency. A private TV channel reported that differences between the Taliban and the TNSM had intensified, while on the other hand a group of Taliban had refused to fight the military.

Suspected Taliban militants fired mortars at a security check-post in the Amabar sub-division of Mohmand Agency, injuring 11 soldiers. According to Mohmand Rifles officials, the attackers fired about 36 mortar shells at the Hadkor check-post. The Security Forces subsequently targeted Taliban hideouts in the nearby areas in retaliation.

The Pakistan Air Force jet fighters started bombing suspected locations of Taliban militants in the Orakzai Agency in FATA and the adjoining Hangu District in NWFP, killing 33 persons, including the Sunni Supreme Council chief Maulana Muhammad Amin and his nephew, and injuring 29 others. The local officials, however, put the death toll in the two regions at 50, including women and children. The warplanes targeted militants' positions in Mushti Bazaar, Mushti Mela, Ferozkhel, Sheikhan, Dabori, Ghiljo, Khadeezai, Shahuwam and Sultanzai. 26 people were reportedly killed and 13 others injured in the daylong bombing in these villages of Orakzai Agency. The warplanes also targeted a madrassa (seminary) run by prominent cleric and leader of the Sunni Supreme Council of Hangu and Orakzai Agency, Maulana Mohammad Amin, at Shahuwam Bazaar in Orakzai. Besides six other people, the Maulana himself and his nephew Hafiz Rashid Ahmad were killed and a few others injured. Maulana Amin had reportedly close links with militants. The planes also targeted an alleged training centre of militants in Khapanga area of Lower Kurram Agency. The camp was reportedly run by local militant commander, Ismail Shah. Military officials said Maulana Amin had close links with the Taliban. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement issued from Peshawar said 40 terrorists were present in the seminary during the attack. It said 13 of the terrorists died, which the local administration confirmed.

The army killed 22 Taliban militants during fierce clashes in South Waziristan, the ISPR said. According to reports from Waziristan, the fighting broke out when around 400 militants attacked the Siplatoi check-post and the Jandola Fort late on June 10, and continued for several hours. Three soldiers died and five were injured in the fight, the military said in a daily update in Rawalpindi. Talking to Daily Times, hospital sources confirmed 11 Taliban deaths. They said seven militants were injured.

SFs killed 12 militants in the Mohmand Agency, targeting Taliban's hideouts. In addition, five persons were killed when shells missed targets and landed in civilian areas. SFs are reported to have targeted the militants' hideouts in Alingar, Akhunzadgan, Sagi, Sheikh Baba, Sooran Darra, Guloona and Shandarra areas of Safi and Khewzai Baizai sub-divisions with helicopters gunship, artillery, tanks and other sophisticated weapons. Yar Khan, his wife and two children were killed when an artillery shell hit his house in Akhunzadgan area. Another civilian, Muhammad Deen Shah, was killed in the Alingar area. Civilians were also hit in the Upper and Lower Sagi areas. However, the number of casualties could not be ascertained.

Paramilitary forces continued to target the militants' positions from the Frontier Corps camps in Bahai Dag and Mamad Gutt. The militants fired two mortar shells at Ghalanai, the Mohmand Agency's headquarters, which was returned by SFs by hitting the nearby mountains with artillery shells.

Seven Taliban militants were killed by the SFs in Bajaur Agency's Charmang area, considered to be a Taliban stronghold. Planes and helicopters attacked militants' positions in Tangi, Hashim Ziarat, Kotki and Babara. Militants had reportedly used Mamond and Charmang for regrouping after having signed a peace deal with the Government. They built bunkers and dug trenches to protect themselves against ground and air assaults and had also occupied agricultural land of tribal elders and Government buildings. The TPP, meanwhile, urged the Government to halt the operation and its spokesman Maulvi Umar said that the peace deal would be derailed if the operation continued.

Pakistan Air Force jet fighters bombed suspected hideouts of TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud at South Waziristan Agency in FATA. "In response to the suicide attack on Jamia Naeemi, in which Dr Sarfraz Naeemi and six others were killed in Lahore, two terrorists' compounds were targeted by the air force in Makeen," a military statement said. However, the military statement gave no details of the casualties inflicted on the Taliban militants during the early morning strikes. "The number of casualties could not be ascertained." Hours before the attack on Mehsud's stronghold, President Asif Ali Zardari vowed in a televised address to wage war against militancy "to the end".

The SFs had reportedly killed 10 militants by targeting their hideouts with jetfighters and gunship helicopters in different areas of the Nawagai sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Official sources also said four others were arrested in the daylong military operation.

SFs said they had killed 65 Taliban militants, including foreigners, and injured 50 in various army operations in South Waziristan and Bannu during the last 24 hours. "Thirty terrorists were killed, including a few foreigners, and 50 were injured at Makeen, South Waziristan due to the air strike on Saturday," the ISPR said in a statement. It said the offensive was partially in response to the suicide attack on Mufti Sarfaraz Naeemi's madrassa (seminary) in Lahore on June 12, in which seven civilians were killed, and the suicide attack on the Nowshera mosque on the same day in which five personnel were killed.

SFs claimed to have killed 24 militants in an operation in the Mohmand Agency. In addition, 12 civilians were killed when shells missed their targets and landed in the civilian areas of the agency. Sources said that SFS targeted militants' hideouts in the Sooran Darra, Sheikh Baba, Dawezai, Kemor, Shati Kandao, Chamar Kand, Alingar, Kog Pind, Ghanam Shah and Shandara areas with jet fighters, gunship helicopters, tanks and artillery, killing 24 militants. A number of houses owned by militants were also destroyed in various areas. However, some of the shells missed their intended targets and landed in the civilian areas, killing 12 persons. A large number of tribesmen continued shifting to safer locations. According to sources, about 40 to 50 thousand people have left their homes.

Air force jets and helicopter gunships targeted suspected positions of militants in the Salarzai and Nawagai areas of Bajaur Agency. At least nine militants were killed and several others injured, officials said. They said two planes and several helicopters attacked militants' positions in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division. Hideouts in Babara, Cheenar, Kotki and Hashim Koi were also bombed. According to local people, Security Forces were facing stiff resistance in some parts of the Charmang valley. The officials said troops had also attacked the command and control system of militants in the valley and they were fleeing from the area. Suspected militant positions were also attacked in the Banda Darra, Ghundai and Mulla Said areas of Salarzai sub-division. The air strikes continued for about 40 minutes and two militants were killed.

Reports indicated that militants are still hiding in Government installations in the plain areas of Bajaur Agency. They are said to have built bunkers in some Government buildings. Sources said at least 24 militants had been killed during the operation since June 12.

A US missile strike targeting militants killed three persons in the Laddha region of South Waziristan Agency. "A drone attack targeting a militant vehicle killed three people in Mardar Algad area… There is a training camp close to this area," said Amir Mohammad Khan, a local administration official in Laddha. Khan said the Taliban militants had surrounded the area of the attack and Security Forces were not able to gather any more information about the missile strike. An intelligence official in the area confirmed the missile attack. "A drone targeted the militant vehicles in the Mardar Algad area," he told. "One of the double-cabin vehicles was totally destroyed." Preliminary reports say that three militants were killed, he added.

Three people were killed and two injured when a vehicle carrying supplies for the NATO forces hit a roadside bomb in South Waziristan. Two of the deceased have been identified as Afghans, while one has been identified as a Pakistani. Political authorities confirmed the incident. A local administration official, however, told the incident was a suspected US missile strike. The political administration and a military spokesman, however, claimed such reports were baseless.

SFs claimed to have killed 50 Taliban militants during military operations in the Mohmand Agency, Bajaur Agency, Malakand Division and Bannu District during the past 24 hours. The ISPR said five Taliban militants were killed in retaliation after they attacked a local Lashkar (militia) in the Dir District. They said the Lashkar also destroyed three houses and injured six militants. It said another member of the Taliban was killed when Police fired at a car that refused to stop at a check-post. "The car exploded, as it was primed for a suicide attack," it added.

In Mohmand Agency, 29 Taliban militants were killed and 25 injured when the SFs targeted their hideouts with jet planes and helicopter gunships.

In Bajaur Agency, eight militants, including a commander, were killed, said a security official in Khar.

SFs claimed to have killed 15 militants, including a key foreign commander, in the Bajaur Agency of FATA and Dir Lower District in the NWFP. Sources said that the SFs heavily shelled positions of the militants in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division with artillery from Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency, Loisam and Tank Khatta camps, destroying several hideouts in the area. An important foreign commander, known as Goraila, and three local militants were killed in the action. SFs cleared the area of the militants and took control of the key locations in Charmang, the stronghold of the militants. Troops also launched a search operation during which five rocket shells were recovered, which were defused by a special squad. Two remote-controlled bombs were also defused during the Security Forces' advance towards Charmang.

Three persons were killed and four others sustained injuries in clashes between two groups in the Kurram Agency. The clashes which erupted when the rivals belonging to Balishkhel and Khar villages started building bunkers, sparked sectarian tension. According to sources, the clash followed an attack by Khar villagers near the Balishkhel checkpoint.

SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban militants in South Waziristan Agency, causing exodus of thousands of families from the troubled spots. SFs, based at Manzai, Jandola and Tiarza Frontier Corps camps, fired artillery shells towards suspected locations of the militants in Ladha, Spinkai Raghzai, Chagmalai and Srarogha, where the military officials believe Baitullah and his senior commanders were hiding. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

Tribal sources said almost all villages and towns inhabited by the Mehsud tribe had been deserted after the people fled to safer locations. The tribesmen complained that despite an announcement by the Government, no relief camp had been set up for the internally displaced persons of South Waziristan.

The Government has, in principle, reportedly decided to launch Operation Rah-e-Nijat against chief of the TTP Baitullah Mehsud and his network in South Waziristan Agency (SWA), as the Pakistan Army has received necessary orders in this regard, a military spokesman said. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Director General of the ISPR, Major General Athar Abbas, said preparatory phase of the decisive operation against the militants was already underway. He said the operation would be taken to its logical end. Abbas refused to share operational and tactical details about the operation with the media, saying it would benefit the terrorists. According to unconfirmed reports, an Uzbek militant, Tahir Yuldash, was injured in recent airstrikes on the hideouts of Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan Agency, sources said.

In reply to a question, the ISPR chief said according to a press statement of Baitullah he had a force of around 10,000 militants. He said all the necessary arrangements were being made by the security forces to block escape of militants from the area, where the operation was to be launched.

An artillery shell fired by the SFs struck a house in the Koz Chinari area of Mohmand Agency killing two women and injuring four children. The report, however, could not be confirmed by independent sources.

Eight SF personnel were injured when the Taliban militants attacked them with mortar shells during a search operation in Koz Chinari and its adjoining areas.

The militants are reported to have dynamited one health centre each in the Sagi and Pandyalai areas.

Thousands of people from the violence-afflicted areas in the agency were stranded at Ghazi Baig and Khapakh checkpoints, as the SFs were reportedly not allowing them to shift to safer places. Sources said that hundreds of vehicles loaded with families and their belongings could be seen near both the checkpoints waiting for the onward transportation to safer places in settled parts of the NWFP.

Suspected US drone strikes killed approximately 12 Taliban militants in South Waziristan. The drone targeted the suspected hideout of Taliban commander Malang some 18 kilometers northwest of Wana, said unnamed officials. Malang was a subordinate of Wazir Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir, they added. "Four missiles were fired at the hideout, where Taliban were believed to be training new recruits," local tribal sources told. "The attack was staged in two parts: An initial drone strike killed two Taliban. Then, when people converged on the site, three more missiles were fired, resulting in the deaths of 10 more people," they said. Local administration official Hamayun Khan said that up to three drone aircraft were in the area. An unnamed military official told that four of those killed were local Taliban, while five were foreigners.

Three women were killed and four children injured when mortar shells hit their houses in the Aman Kot and Cheenari areas of the Mohmand Agency. According to officials of the Mohmand Riffles, the Security Forces made a two kilometers advancement into the Sulmankhel Darra area of Bar Chamarkand after clearing Ghanum Shah a couple of days ago. The troops also continued search operations in Chamarkand, Suran Darra, Sheikh Baba and Ghanum Shah.

The Taliban killed two locals in Mir Ali subdivision, 24 kilometers east of Miranshah, for allegedly spying for the US. The body of Sher Nawab, a resident of Peshawar, was found on the Bannu-Miranshah Road near Shahab Flourmills, while the body of Muhammad Nawaz, a resident of Miranshah, was found near Lakar Mandi in Mir Ali. Notes found near the bodies warned that anyone caught spying for the US would meet the same fate.

A girls' school was partially damaged in a bombing at Sultan Khel in the Khyber Agency. Planted near its main gate, the explosives went off damaging the boundary wall of the school and panicking residents of nearby housing societies. No militant group has accepted responsibility for the blast yet.

SFs killed 15 more militants and injured seven others in a shootout in the Charmang area of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the militants attacked a patrolling party of the SFs near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division, killing two soldiers and injuring three others. Further, in a remote-controlled bomb explosion in the Nakhtar area of Mamond sub-division, a Bajaur Levies trooper sustained injuries.

The SFs continued their operations against the local Taliban and targeted their hideouts in Hashim, Babara, Kohi, Asghar and Kotki areas of Charmang with heavy and sophisticated weapons, including gunship helicopters and artillery. The militants' locations were targeted with artillery shells from Khar, Loi Sam and Tankhata areas.

In Mohmand Agency, a civilian was killed as SFs shelled the suspected hideouts of the militants in Yarakhel Babazai area. Further, 47 wanted persons of Danishkol and Ambar areas of the Pandyalai sub-division surrendered to the authorities at Yakaghund. Sources said SFs also launched an offensive in the Spinki Tangi and Yarakhel areas of Khwezai Bazai sub-division and targeted the hideouts of the militants.

Amid reports of NATO's assistance in a military offensive against the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban, Pakistani warplanes and gunship choppers continued targeting suspected hideouts of the militants in South Waziristan Agency (SWA), killing six militants. Sources told that two jet fighters of the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Army's two gunship choppers bombed suspected hideouts of the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud in Barwand, Madejan, Serwakai and adjoining areas. Further, the sources said artillery shells were fired from the Frontier Corps camps in Jandola and Serwakai towards the suspected hideouts in various parts of the SWA.

Military officials said six militants were killed and several others injured when gunship helicopters targeted their positions near Serwakai. The ISPR Director General Major General Athar Abbas said the operation was conducted for reopening the main road between Tanai and Serwakai. He said the militants had blocked a portion of the main Wana-Jandola road for quite some time and set up their positions. He rejected reports of NATO involvement and assistance to the Pakistan Army in any military operation against the militants in the country. "There is no truth in all such reports. Only the Pakistani troops have been engaged in all such operations against the militants whether they are in Swat, Dir or Waziristan," he said.

Officials said all the arrangements had been finalised for what they called a 'decisive' action against the TTP chief and his militants. They said the operation could be accelerated once all the people of Waziristan, inhabited by the Mehsud tribesmen, came out of their villages and migrate to safer places. However, despite an announcement by the Government, there is reportedly no camp for the internally displaced persons (IDP) of South Waziristan. Consequently, most of the IDPs have been living with their relatives, friends or in rented houses in the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan Districts.

15 Taliban militants, including two key 'commanders', were killed by the SFs during a counter-insurgency operation at Charmang area of Bajaur Agency. The 'commander' Omar, a foreigner, was also among those killed in the operation. The SFs also destroyed four hideouts of the Taliban during the operation which was carried out after Taliban militants blew up two boys' schools and a college in Bajaur on June 19. Several locally-made bombs had been planted inside the school buildings, local government officials had said, adding that both schools had been completely destroyed.

22 suspected militants and six soldiers were killed in a daylong military action against the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban in South Waziristan as the troops cleared a portion of the Wana-Jandola Road. Two fighter planes and a couple of gunship helicopters targeted the positions of the militants, who had occupied hilltops and blocked the Wana-Jandola Road between Tanai and Serwakai towns. Tribal sources told from Jandola that troops on June 19-night continued shelling the suspected militants' positions with artillery guns. They were, however, unaware of the casualties suffered by the militants. Military officials said 32 militants were killed when two warplanes and gunship helicopters bombarded the militants occupying the road between Tanai and Serwakai. They claimed that the Tanai-Serwakai portion of the Wana-Jandola road had been cleared of the militants. The remaining militants affiliated with Baitullah Mehsud were reported to have fled their positions in the area. However, the militants denied any losses in the operation.

12 militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries when gunship helicopters and fighter planes targeted their suspected hideouts in different areas of South Waziristan Agency, while 27 militants died in the military operation in Bajaur Agency.

Tribal sources said SFs continued shelling Taliban hideouts in the Makeen, Kaniguram, Badar and Mula Khan Serai areas of South Waziristan, destroying four compounds of the militants. SFs claimed that 12 militants were killed and seven others injured in shelling by gunship helicopters and fighter planes. Another main compound of the militants in Mula Khan Serai was reportedly destroyed while a madrassa (seminary) was also targeted by the gunship helicopters.

An AP report from Islamabad stated that military jets and artillery targeted suspected Taliban hideouts in Bajaur Agency, killing 27 militants.

A soldier was killed and another sustained injuries when militants attacked a Security Forces check-post in the Had Kor area in Ambar sub-division of Mohmand Agency. Sources said soldier Gohar Ali Jan was killed and Nawab Shah sustained injuries when mortar shells fired by militants struck the check-post at Had Kor. In the retaliatory actions, Security Forces targeted suspected Taliban hideouts, killing three militants.

June 22

At least 21 people, both militants and civilians among them, were killed and several others injured during air strikes and retaliatory actions by the SFs in Waziristan. According to locals, women and children were also among the dead and injured. Air force planes reportedly bombed suspected militant hideouts and training facilities in areas dominated by the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan. SFs also secured a main supply route between Maulvi Khan Serai and Serwekai. According to officials and locals, the planes shelled houses of Malik Mohammad Amir Khan and Kabir Khan Berki in Salay Rogha area and killed 11 suspected militants and injured five others. Sources said the militants had occupied the houses whose owners had moved other areas, along with their families.

Helicopter gunships also targeted suspected locations in Tor Wam, Tiarza, Bronda, Sararogha and other areas of the Mehsud tribe. Troops shelled militants’ positions in Spenkai Raghzai from their base in Jandola. The sources said that troops had entered Spenkai Raghzai, but could not take complete control of the area.

Militants fired three rockets at a base camp of security forces in Wana, the regional headquarters, but no damage was reported.

A military convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device planted on a road near Kher Kamar, injuring three soldiers. The convoy was going to Datakhel from Miranshah. Jetfighters were called in for support which shelled the suspected location and killed five terrorists.

Helicopter gunships shelled a residential compound in Shinkai area of North Waziristan. According to sources, 10 people, including two women, were killed when the house of a tribesman, Jalal Afghani, was bombed in North Waziristan.

Five militants were killed when Cobra helicopters targeted a suspected location near Miranshah.

Four women and four men were injured when their house was hit by a rocket near Miranshah town. According to sources, 10 rockets were fired at the Touchi Scouts Fort.

More than 45,000 people are reportedly leaving their homes before the start of a military operation in South Waziristan, officials said. Colonel Waseem Ahmed, spokesman for a Government unit overseeing humanitarian affairs, said he expected the number to rise to at least 60,000. About 37,000 people had already left their homes in South Waziristan, said Manuel Bessler, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing military figures. Bessler said Pakistan presented a unique problem for humanitarian officials because 80 percent of the displaced were not in UN camps, but were staying with family and friends in ‘host’ communities.

June 23

Approximately 80 people, including a senior commander of the Baitullah Mehsud-led militants, Khwaz Wali Mehsud, were killed and several others sustained injuries in two separate attacks by US spy planes on a suspected militant hideout and funeral prayers at Lattaka village of Ladha sub-division in South Waziristan Agency. A US drone fired three missiles at a suspected militant hideout at Lattaka village, killing six militants, including senior Taliban commander Khwaz Ali, who was said to be one of Baitullah Mehsud’s trusted commanders. Five other people killed in the attack were said to be local tribal militants. Tribal sources said it was the first-ever attack by US spy planes on the Shabikhel area of South Waziristan - hometown of Baitullah Mehsud. Seven other militants injured in the air attack were said to be low-level tribal militants.

Later, when the militants and villagers offered funeral prayers of the deceased militants at the village graveyard, two more missiles were fired on the venue. Sources close to the militants told that majority of the people after attending funeral prayers of the slain militant commander Khwaz Ali had started leaving the venue and few were there to have a final glimpse of Ali when they came under a missile attack. They said two US drones fired two missiles on the gathering killing over 60 people, majority of them militants.

A Khasadar Force trooper was killed and another injured when Taliban militants opened fire on them in the Mullagori area of Jamrud in Khyber Agency. Sources said militants opened fire on a Khasadar vehicle near Maina Murcha, killing Zamrud Khan and injuring Qadrat Shah.

The Taliban amputated the hands of a man in Orakzai Agency in compliance with a punishment ordered by a "Taliban court" on charges of theft, locals said. Locals that the "court" in the Mamuzai area ordered the hands of Najibullah to be amputated. The punishment was reportedly carried out in the presence of several tribesmen.

June 24

The Taliban fired six missiles at Khar bazaar in Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency, killing one person and injuring four others. Security Forces later retaliated against suspected Taliban hideouts, targeting them with heavy fire.

Prominent Afghan Taliban commander, Maulvi Sangeen, denied reports of his death in the drone attack in South Waziristan on June 23. He called from an undisclosed location to prove he was alive. "We have nothing to do with internal fighting in Pakistan. Our job is to fight Jihad against the occupation forces in Afghanistan," said the Taliban commander. He said neither he had traveled to South Waziristan to attend the funeral nor suffered any loss. Commander Sangeen said he will soon issue a video statement to prove that he was safe. Maulvi Sangeen is affiliated with top Afghan Taliban Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani and is in-charge of Paktika province in Afghanistan.

Sources close to the Taliban commander and trainer of suicide bombers, Qari Hussain, denied his death in the June 23-drone attack. These sources claimed that Qari Hussain was far away from the place of the attack.

June 25

Eight Taliban militants were killed and three of their hideouts destroyed when helicopter gunships targeted parts of Orakzai Agency. Sources said that gunships targeted Taliban hideouts in Atmankhel and Ferozkhel areas of Lower Orakzai Agency, killing eight militants.

Fighter jets targeted the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud’s strongholds in the Zadranga and Shagha areas of South Waziristan Agency’s Ladda sub-division, killing six Taliban militants. A private TV channel reported that the attack came after the Army chief General Pervez Kayani visited the agency.

Unidentified assailants blew up a girls' school in South Waziristan Agency. The incident came three days after Taliban bombed two other schools, one in Peshawar and the other in Bajaur Agency. "A girls' high school was blown up early Thursday morning in Shin Warsak town," 13 kilometers west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, local government official Allah Bagh Khan said. He said no loss of life was reported in the explosion that completely destroyed the school building. Also the military fired artillery at Taliban hideouts in the agency’s Spinkai Raghzai and Sararogha villages, a security official said. The number of casualties was not immediately known.

June 26

20 Taliban militants were killed and 15 others wounded when Security Forces shelled TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud’s hideouts in South Waziristan. According to a private TV channel, fighter jets bombarded Taliban hideouts in the agency’s Ladha, Saam and Makeen sub-divisions.

Four persons, including three SF personnel, were killed and 24 others injured in two remote-controlled bomb attacks on a security convoy in North Waziristan Agency. Local sources said that an army convoy from Bannu in the NWFP was proceeding to Miranshah in the morning when it was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb on the Chashma Pul – around two kilometers from agency headquarters Miranshah. The attack killed three SF personnel and a pedestrian and injured 20 soldiers. The same convoy was targeted a second time as it reached Nooruk, 20 kilometers from Miranshah. The second explosion injured four SF personnel.

Suspected Taliban militants fired a mortar shell at a commercial area near Kababi in the Khyber Agency, injuring nine people.

Security Forces used heavy artillery and machineguns in an attack on suspected Taliban hideouts. No reports of casualty were received.

June 27

42 Taliban militants were killed and 50 others injured in the ongoing military operation at South Waziristan, Dir and Kurram Agency in FATA. SFs bombarded Taliban hideouts in the Ladha and Wana areas of South Waziristan, killing 15 Taliban militants and injuring 15 others. Also in Wana, the Taliban attacked a Frontier Corps camp, with no reported casualties. The SFs, in retaliation, shelled the Taliban, killing two of them and injuring three others, while a mortar shell hit the house of one Anwar Khan, killing him and injuring his wife and two daughters.

In Upper Dir, four Taliban militants were killed and another five injured in a clash with a local lashkar (tribal militia) in the Ghazi Gai area. Jet aircraft bombed various areas in South Waziristan, killing 16 Taliban militants and seriously wounding 10 others. Sources said that of the 16 killed, four were foreigners, three belonged to Orakzai Agency and the rest were locals.

Haji Fida Muhammad, a senior Taliban ‘commander’ in Bajaur Agency, surrendered before the political administration along with his accomplices.

At least 13 persons were killed in clashes between Toori and Bangash tribes at Lower Kurram Agency, bringing the total death toll of the past 24 hours to 33. According to the channel, tribal clashes have claimed 89 lives in the last 12 days, injuring more than 165. Meanwhile, the people of Kurram continue to suffer from shortage of essential food items and medicines, due to the closure of the Thal-Parachanar road linking Kurram to the rest of the country.

June 28

22 soldiers were killed and 35 others injured in two separate attacks by militants in North and South Waziristan agencies. In addition, 22 militants were also killed in the day-long military operations by SFs in the region.

20 Pakistan Army soldiers, including a senior officer, were killed and 35 others sustained injuries when dozens of militants, affiliated with Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, ambushed a military convoy in the Madakhel area of North Waziristan Agency. Further, 12 militants and two soldiers were killed in the ongoing offensive in neighbouring South Waziristan Agency. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led Taliban in North Waziristan claimed responsibility for the attack on the military convoy and warned to continue similar attacks on the SFs in the region till the US drone strikes were not stopped. Ahmadi phoned from Miranshah and claimed 60 soldiers were killed and 15 vehicles were destroyed in the ambush. The Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed the attack and said 12 soldiers were dead and 10 others wounded. Athar Abbas told that 10 terrorists were later killed when the Pakistan Army gunship choppers targeted positions of the terrorists where they had ambushed the military convoy. Official and tribal sources said the convoy was traveling from Madakhel to Wocha Bibi area near the border with Afghanistan when ambushed by the militants.

The militants first attacked the military with an IED and then started firing with heavy weapons. Sources said the militants used heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, mortar shells and AK-47 assault rifles. After the attack, the militants reportedly took away weapons and other items from the slain soldiers. Gunship helicopters later targeted militant positions in the area. It was the second attack on military convoy by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan in a week. In an earlier attack near Miranshah, four soldiers were killed and 20 others injured.

12 militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries as jetfighters bombed suspected hideouts of the Taliban. In addition, two soldiers were killed and four injured in different parts of the tribal region. Tribal sources said gunship helicopters and jetfighters bombed militant hideouts at 10:00 am in Saam, Kacha Lungerkhel, Kuram Garhi, Ladha Serai, Tangi Budenzai, Makeen, Janata, Srarogha, Kotkai, Garhagah and suburbs of Ladha sub-division, killing 12 militants and injuring seven others. Six houses of civilians were reportedly bombed by the jetfighters in Saam area. Sources said four compounds of the militants were also targeted by the gunship helicopters in the mountainous areas of the agency.

The troops and Taliban militants also exchanged heavy gunfire in Sholam, Raghzai and Tanai, due to which two soldiers were killed and four others injured.

People are reported to have started migrating from the area amid shelling by the SFs towards the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan Districts in the neighbouring NWFP.

Four militants were killed and several houses were destroyed when SFs targeted militant positions in different areas of the Nawagai sub-division in Bajaur Agency. The SFs targeted militant bunkers and hideouts in the Charmang, Hasham, Cheenar, Babara and Manogai areas with mortar and artillery guns. They claimed dismantling several bunkers and trenches of militants. The troops also cleared different areas in Nawagai by defusing roadside remote controlled bombs planted by the militants. A huge cache of weapons was also reportedly seized.

The residents of Ambar area in Mohmand Agency formed a 320-men strong Lashkar (militia) to flush out suspected militants from their region. Chandi Khan and Malak Saadat Khan would lead the militia, which included men from Omarkhel, Adam Kor, Shati Maina and Shati Kor. The Lashkar members are reported to have decided to take action against militants and their harbourers. It was also decided that houses of suspected militants and those who were providing shelter to them would be set ablaze and destroyed. The militia also demanded of the Government to help it in case support arrived from outside for militants.

Four Taliban militants were killed as jet aircraft bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan Agency. The aerial attacks hit a guesthouse used by the Taliban at Kani Guram village, killing four militants.

Four soldiers who had been injured in a Taliban attack on their convoy in North Waziristan have died in a military hospital, the Inter-Services Public Relations chief Major General Athar Abbas said in a press conference. The number of troops who died in the attack has now reached 16, including Lieutenant Colonel Tahir, Captain Abid and Lieutenant Zeeshan. However, some other reports stated that the death toll has reached 30. 10 more seriously wounded soldiers succumbed to their injuries on June 29. Abbas also said the Security Forces responded effectively to the attack killing 10 Taliban militants. "We reserve the right to take appropriate action against the unprovoked attack according to local customs and rules," he said.

21 Taliban militants were killed in overnight clashes with an anti-Taliban militia in Kurram Agency, tribal elder Ali Akbar Toori and lawmaker Sajid Toori said. Four militiamen were also killed.

SFs claimed to have killed at least 13 suspected militants in attacks on their hideouts at Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landikotal in the Khyber Agency, while seven members of a family were killed and four others injured when an artillery shell struck a Hujra (guesthouse) in the Sra Shaga area of Jamrud sub-division.

SFs shelled suspected militant hideouts in Kobikhel area of Bazaar Zakhakhel. At least 13 militants were killed and few others were injured, the FC sources claimed but without giving the names of the slain militants. However, the villagers at Kobikhel denied the presence of militants in the area and said that all the slain persons were local residents.

Acting on a tip-off, the SFs shelled suspected hideouts of militants in the mountainous Chora area with artillery from the Forte Slope Camp in Bara sub-division. One of the shells hit the house of Aqal Jan in Sra Shaga area, killing seven persons, including three children, and injuring four others of his family.

Previously known as pro-government militants, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led Taliban in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) formally scrapped the peace deal with the Government in, what they termed, protest against the US drone attacks. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants, called from Miranshah, headquarters of NWA, and said their Shura (executive council) members had decided in a meeting to scrap the peace accord. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has said he had scrapped the peace accord in protest against the frequent US drone attacks in NWA. He claimed that the drones had carried over 50 attacks since signing of the peace accord in NWA in which hundreds of people, including women and children, had lost their lives. The Taliban commander has also reportedly demanded an end to the military operation against the Baitullah Mehsud-led militants and drone attacks in the adjoining South Waziristan Agency.

The death toll in the June 28-attack on a military convoy in NWA rose to 30, as 10 more seriously wounded soldiers succumbed to their injuries. The slain troops included a colonel, a captain and a lieutenant.

Seven suspected militants were killed as jets continued to shell their positions in North Waziristan. However, it could not be verified whether the dead were militants or non-combatants. Local people and sources said that planes had bombed militants' hideouts in Wacha Bibi area, west of Miranshah, where terrorists had ambushed a military convoy and killed 27 soldiers on June 28. Ten militants were killed when troops returned fire.

The Taliban, who had scrapped a peace agreement with the Government on June 29, have imposed a ban on the assembly of five or more people and formation of peace committees in the region. They also warned tribesmen to refrain from going to offices of the political administration and seeking jobs in Government departments or the Khasadar force. The Taliban reportedly distributed pamphlets in different parts of North Waziristan, asking people to abide by the directives or face action. "Nobody is allowed to visit offices of the political administration for seeking job or for any other purpose. If anyone is found violating the order he will face consequences," read a pamphlet distributed in Mirali town. Khasadars have also been asked to abandon their jobs.

Sporadic clashes between troops and militants were reported from South Waziristan. According to witnesses, a man was killed and another wounded when troops fired at a vehicle at a checkpoint near Wana. Separately, militants fired rockets at a military camp in Wana and the brigade headquarters in Zari Noor Colony. In addition, the Security Forces also targeted suspected militant positions in Mehsud area.

A local militant commander and close aide of the TTP deputy chief Maulana Faqir Mohammad surrendered to political administration along with his supporters in Bajaur Agency. Haji Fida Mohammad Khan, personal guard and driver of TTP deputy chief Maulana Faqir Mohammad, surrendered unconditionally to the Khar Assistant Political Agent Iqbal Khan Khattak. The political administration later sent him along with his supporters to jail. He was wanted by the Government in anti-state and terrorism cases. Haji Fida told journalists that he and his colleagues surrendered to the authorities without presenting any condition.

A tribal Lashkar (militia) attacked Taliban hideouts in the Kurram Agency, killing 28 militants and suffering seven fatalities themselves, and the intensifying battles prompted them to ask for Army troops to help, a local lawmaker said. The fighting in the remote Kurram region was the latest in two weeks of battles between militants and tribesmen there that have killed 141 people, including more than 100 militants, two Government officials said. Their information could not, however, be independently verified. Sajid Hussain Turi, a lawmaker from Kurram, said the militants were moving into Kurram from the Swat Valley, where the military is undertaking an offensive to neutralize them. He said hundreds of tribesmen took part in the attack, triggering a gun battle that killed 28 militants and seven tribal fighters.

14 persons were killed and 26 others injured in clashes between rival groups in Kurram Agency. Later, the elders of Upper and Lower Kurram succeeded in brokering a cease-fire after hectic efforts, sources said. Similarly, the rival tribes - Mastokhel, Hamzakhel, Ghundikhel, Alizai, and Shia Bangash of the Turi tribe and Parachamkani Masozai, Ali Sherzai, Zehmasht, Mangal and Sunni Bangash - were still at war with one another in Balishkhel, Sangeena, Khar Killay, Sadda city, Mingak, Makhzai and Tangai areas of Lower Kurram.

28 militants, including an unidentified commander, were killed when gunship helicopters targeted the hideouts of the banned Lashkar-e-Islam in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. Sources said that three gunship helicopters targeted the hideouts of the Mangal Bagh-led group in Sandapal and Akakhel areas of Tirah Valley. An official of the Frontier Corps (FC), Major Fazal, claimed that 28 militants were killed in the action and among them was a commander. However, talking to The News from an undisclosed location, Lashkar-e-Islam spokesman Zar Khan denied any losses to his group. Tribal sources said the murder of Malik Guli Shah, a pro-government tribal elder in Jamrud, Khyber Agency, was the immediate reason for the military action. He added that the political authorities also arrested five militants allegedly involved in the killing of Guli Shah. Three of the arrested militants belonged to the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and the remaining two hailed from the Kukikhel tribe in Khyber Agency, the sources added.

Suspected Taliban militants had killed a pro-government tribal leader, his driver and two gunmen while they were on their way to Peshawar, the NWFP capital. The vehicle of Malik Guli Shah was ambushed on the main highway near Tedi Bazaar in Jamrud. The driver and one of the gunmen were shot and killed immediately, while Guli Shah and the other gunman died at a Peshawar hospital.

The Pakistan Army ruled out launching a military operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan and pledged to honour the February 17, 2008 peace accord signed with the tribes despite the unprovoked attacks against its troops. However, violence continued in the area as three persons, including two women and a child, were killed and six others sustained injuries when military helicopters targeted Madakhel village. The bombing was reportedly in retaliation for the recent attack by the militants on a military convoy in which 30 soldiers were killed and 35 injured. Six other villagers, including four women and two children, sustained serious injuries in the shelling by helicopters. Amidst apprehension about an imminent military operation in North Waziristan, the Pakistan Army reportedly dropped leaflets written in Pashto and Urdu from helicopters to assure the tribesmen that it had no intention of launching action in the agency. The leaflets pointed out that some 'miscreants' were trying their best to destroy peace and damage ties between the Government and Utmanzai Wazir tribes.

The Taliban in Bajaur Agency blew up a primary school in the Fajja area of Khar. The incident puts the number of schools destroyed in the agency in the past one year at 54.

Security Forces are reported to have launched a successful operation in the Chaharmang area of Nawagai sub-division and assumed complete control of the area.

Militancy in the FATA has cost Pakistan around $2,146 million while the fighting has so far killed over 3,000 civilians, a Government report said. The report - "Cost of Conflict in FATA" - prepared by the Planning and Development Wing of the FATA Secretariat said the social cost of the militancy was far greater than the cost of infrastructure, economic and the subsequent environmental loss. However, it said the cost of the military operation "is beyond the scope of this report and would be worked out separately by the concerned agencies". The report put the social cost of the conflict at $1,109 million, the cost to security and internal displacement at $572 million, the environmental cost at $188 million, the economic cost at $119 million and infrastructure losses at $103 million. "Pakistan is suffering a series of overlapping crises due to the conflict in FATA... and is need of immediate humanitarian assistance," the report said.

Three soldiers were injured when militants fired three rockets at a check-post on Jandola road in South Waziristan. Security Forces consequently retaliated and shelled suspected positions of the militants in the Kotkai, Serai Maule Khan and Barwand areas of South Waziristan after the attack.

After the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan, another pro-government militant commander, Mulla Nazeer, also scrapped his peace deal with the Government in South Waziristan Agency. A senior associate of Mulla Nazeer, Saada Janan, called from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, and claimed their Shura or council unanimously decided to scrap the peace accord with the Government to protest the frequent US drone attacks in their territory. The political administration of South Waziristan, however, claimed that Mulla Nazeer has revived his peace accord with the Government by sending 120-member jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir elders to negotiate with senior Government officials in Wana. The elders said Mulla Nazeer had given them authority to hold talks with the Government for restoration of peace in the region. However, Nazeer's associate Sadda Janan said they have nothing to do with a meeting of tribal jirga and political authorities. He said they had already directed their fighters to attack Government installations and fight against the Security Forces. Asked about a similar stance already taken by Taliban commander in North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur over US drone attacks, where drones did not fire missiles during the past two months, Saada Janan opined that all the three Taliban commanders - Baitullah Mehsud, Mulla Nazeer and Hafiz Gul Bahadur - in February 2009 had formed the Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen or council of holly warriors, in which he claimed, all of them promised to fight alongside if anyone of them was attacked.

About 68 troopers of the Levies Force quit their job following threats by the TTP Orakzai Agency unit. Sources said the TTP Orakzai unit had threatened the Levies Force soldiers to quit their jobs within 15 days or face consequences. It was reported that 25 troopers belonging to Mamozai tribe and 43 hailing from Aakhel tribe quit their services and handed over their official arms and belts to the political authorities.

13 persons were killed and seven others sustained injuries in a US drone attack in South Waziristan Agency, while eight persons died when fighter planes targeted a hotel in North Waziristan Agency.

Tribal sources said a US drone fired three missiles at the office of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud in Serwakai sub-division at 9 am, killing 13 persons present in the office and injuring seven others. It was reported that Mufti Noor Wali had left the office 15 minutes prior to the attack to attend a jirga (council of elders). The militants surrounded the area after the attack and nobody was reportedly allowed to approach the site. Another drone attack was carried out in the Mantoi area of Ladha sub-division, where three missiles were fired at a madrassa (seminary), completely destroying the building. However, no loss of life was reported in the attack. An official of the political administration confirmed the drone strikes and added that authorities were trying to ascertain the casualties.

An AP report stated that US missiles struck a training facility operated by Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant communication centre in South Waziristan Agency, killing 17 people and injuring 27 others. In one attack, two missiles struck an abandoned seminary in Mantoi that was being used by the militants belonging to the Mehsud's group for training, officials said. In another strike, a missile hit a militant communications centre in the nearby village of Kokat Khel. In total, 17 people were killed and 27 others were injured, they said. However, Maulvi Noor Syed, an aide to Mehsud, told The Associated Press that three Taliban militants died in the strikes. "We lost only three Mujahideen in today's American missile attack," Syed said, adding "These attacks cannot cause any damage to us."

Eight persons were killed and 12 others wounded when fighter planes targeted a hotel in Deegan Bazaar, 25 kilometers from Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. Sources said people were having breakfast at the hotel when two fighter planes struck at 7:30 am, killing eight persons and injuring 12 others.

A gunship helicopter targeted another hotel in Manzarkhel area, 25 kilometers from Miranshah. No casualty was reported in the attack.

Fighter planes and gunship helicopters heavily targeted suspected positions of militants in the Taliban-controlled Orakzai Agency, killing 26 militants a day after a military helicopter crashed in the area. Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed the bombing and said the action was taken as a reaction to the attack of militants on SFs and a rescue team on July 3. He said the militants opened fire on the SF personnel and rescue team when they went there to retrieve bodies of the soldiers killed in the helicopter crash. The military spokesman insisted that only 26 soldiers died in the crash. Tribal sources said six gunship helicopters heavily bombed various parts of Ferozkhel area in lower Orakzai soon after the helicopter crash. The sources said two warplanes and six gunship helicopters resumed bombing of suspected hideouts of the militants at the hilltops of Chappar and Ferozkhel, located between lower Orakzai and Khyber Agency.

The aircraft and helicopters attacked the hideouts of commander Tariq group of Darra and commander Nazar Afridi group of Khyber Agency in Chapper and Ferozkhel (Sam Ghar) areas of the Orakzai Agency, killing 26 militants and injuring several others.

15 men of an armed tribal Lashkar (militia) and three militants were killed when fierce clashes erupted in the Fam Pokha and Kharai Darra areas of Ambar sub-division in Mohmand Agency. Sources said the militants attacked the armed men of the tribal Lashkar of Utmankhel tribe in Fam Pokha area, killing 15 people on the spot. However, official sources put the death toll at 12. Further, the sources said three militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries in the pre-dawn clashes in Fam Pokha and Kharai Darra areas. The slain militants reportedly belonged to Dawezai area of Mohmand Agency.

Security Forces arrested a local militant commander, identified as Fazal, of Qandaro area from the Nadra Centre in Ghallanai.

Seven persons were killed and 12 others sustained injuries when missiles fired by jet fighters missed their targets, hitting the civilian areas in Dattakhel in North Waziristan Agency.

SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the Taliban militants with artillery guns in the mountainous areas of Khyber and Orakzai Agencies. Tribal sources said casualties due to bombing by the jet fighters occurred in Muhammadkhel, Saidabad and Dhegan areas of North Waziristan. However, official sources did not confirm the casualties.

Sources said that most of the dead and injured were women and children, who were taken to the hospital in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. Jet fighters also reportedly targeted the madrassa (seminary) of Maulvi Nek Bahadur in Muhammadkhel, killing one student while partially damaging the building.

Bodies of two volunteers of the tribal Lashkar (militia), who were abducted by the militants after a fierce clash in Fam Pokha area, were found in the vicinity of Ambar sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. Sources said the bodies of armed volunteers of the tribal militia, Muhammad Ayub and Said Muhammad, whose throats were slit, were recovered from the nearby area of Fam Pokha in Ambar and were buried. At least 15 tribesmen and three militants were killed during a clash on July 4.

A soldier was killed and another injured when the militants attacked a tank of the Security Forces with a remote-controlled bomb in Shati Kor area.

Three imprisoned militants were killed and two civilians sustained injuries when militants fired several rockets at the Bajaur Scouts Fort in Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency. Sources said that the militants fired rockets on Bajaur Scouts headquarters in Khar from a hilltop in Kohi Mor area and one of the rockets struck the building of quarter guard, killing three militants. The other rocket landed in the ground of the fort compound, causing no casualty. Two more rockets fired by the militants landed near the civilian population injuring two persons. Soon after the incident, SFs in Khar headquarters and Sadiqabad camp targeted the militant's positions in Kohi Mor with artillery guns. Troops also targeted suspected hideouts of the Taliban with artillery guns in the mountainous areas of Khyber and Orakzai Agencies.

After a pause for a year in the clashes, the banned Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) claimed killing and capturing each other's several men in the fresh fighting in Qamarkhel area of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency. The AI spokesman said that after taking control of Takht Takai, Ghulam Ali and Sokh areas, their men had entered Garhai area. "We have captured a commander of LI, eight vehicles and killed their three fighters," the spokesman added. However, the spokesman for LI, Zar Khan, rejected the AI claim and said that their men were in Takht Lakai had captured 20 AI armed volunteers. The claims of the two rival outfits could not be confirmed independently due to disrupted communication system because of heavy rains in the area. Severe clashes broke out when armed volunteers of LI and AI started targeting each other's positions with light and heavy weapons.

July 6

Seven militants were killed and several others injured when jets shelled militant hideouts in North Waziristan. Officials and local people said the jets had attacked militants’ positions in Wuchabibi and Madahkel areas of Dattakhel sub-division, at about 3:30pm. Officials in North Waziristan Agency told that seven militants had been killed and 12 injured when fighter jets targeted terrorists’ hideouts in the area. "Seven militants were killed and 12 injured when jet fighter planes pounded Taliban hideouts at Madda Khel and Wuchabibi," an official based in agency’s main town Miranshah told.

Helicopter gunships bombed several hideouts in South Waziristan, but there was no report of any casualty.

SFs intensified attacks on the Taliban in Bajaur Agency, killing four militants and injuring six others in the region’s Charmang sub-division. The SFs also reportedly destroyed numerous Taliban hideouts in Charmang, defused several remote-controlled bombs, arrested 15 suspects and recovered missiles from their possession.

July 7

A suspected US drone fired two missiles at a militant training centre in the Laddha subdivision of South Waziristan Agency, killing 16 militants and injuring 10 others. Five foreigners were among the dead, security officials said. The camp allegedly run by militants loyal to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was in Chenakai area of the Shabikhels, a sub clan of Mehsud tribe. There was no report if any high-value target had been hit in the attack carried out at about 10am. Sources said that a local commander of Baitullah was among the dead. The missile strike destroyed a compound which a high-ranking official described as a former office of Baitullah Mehsud, who has a five-million-dollar price on his head and a bounty of $615,000 in Pakistan for allegedly masterminding multiple bombings.

Pakistan Air Force jets shelled suspected positions of militants in the Berwand area of South Waziristan. One soldier was killed when a military convoy hit an improvised explosive device in Gomal Zam area. The convoy was going to Tank from Wana.

Militants fired rockets at a fort in Frontier Jandola. One civilian was reportedly killed when troops returned fire.

A soldier was killed when a military convoy was attacked with a bomb near the Khajori check-post in North Waziristan Agency (NWA). The convoy was proceeding to Miranshah, the NWA headquarters, from Bannu in the NWFP. Later, gunship helicopters shelled a house in village Khadi, killing two children.

Helicopter gunships targeted militants’ hideouts in the Datakhel area of NWA. Officials claimed that four militants had been killed in the attack. They also said that militants had fired 21 rockets at a fort in Dwa Toi area of South Waziristan. However, there was no report of any casualty.

Two soldiers of the paramilitary FC were wounded when a remote-controlled bomb planted by militants went off in the Dorbakhel area of Halimzai sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. Sources said FC soldiers were on the way to Ghallanai from Yousafkhel area. As their vehicle reached Dorbakhel area in Halimzai, a roadside bomb planted by militants went off, injuring two troopers. The vehicle was also partially damaged in the blast, the sources added. Soon after the incident, Security Forces cordoned off the area and arrested 30 suspects and seized 15 vehicles.

July 8

48 militants were killed and several others injured in two separate attacks by US drones in the South Waziristan Agency. However, some reports quoting officials of law-enforcement agencies and political administration put the death toll in the two attacks at 58. According to sources, besides the tribal militants, the dead also included four Arabs and seven Uzbeks. "Almost 90 per cent of the militants traveling in the convoy were killed in the drone attack," said an unnamed security official. He said the militants in the Mehsud-inhabited areas of South Waziristan had been reduced to their hideouts and caves in the mountains due to continuous flights of the US drones and frequent attacks on their locations. There are also reports that senior militant commanders, including their leader Baitullah Mehsud, have fled the tribal region due to continuous flights of the US drones.

Sources close to the militants said a convoy of pick-ups was carrying militants from Ladha to Srarogha for a meeting of militant commanders when it was attacked. They said three drones were flying over the region during the attack. The drones reportedly fired seven missiles and destroyed all the five vehicles on the spot, killing at least 40 militants. Earlier, sources from South Waziristan said eight militants were killed and 12 others injured in the first drone attack at a training camp of the militants at Karwan Manza village of Ladha Subdivision. They said two US drones were seen flying over the area during the attack. The sources said the building was being used for training the newly-recruited militants. Militant sources told The News that 150-200 recruits used to gather at the camp everyday for physical training and use of sophisticated weapons. Senior commander of the Baitullah Mehsud group, Noor Wali Mehsud, was reportedly running the camp. He, however, remained safe. The drones fired six missiles at the camp that razed it to the ground. The Taliban while confirming the drone attack at the training camp, however, denied losses to their men.

Two militants were killed in fresh military action in different areas of Charmang Valley of Nawagai Subdivision in the Bajaur Agency. Official sources said SFs carried out an operation against the militants in Ziarat, Karkanai, Babara, Hashim and Kohi areas. Two militants were killed and several of their hideouts were destroyed by SFs in the day-long operation in these areas. The troops also shelled Kohi Mor and Mandal areas with artillery throughout July 7-night. Further, SFs, in two separate operations, defused bombs and explosive devices after they recovered these in Manogi and Ziarat. Meanwhile, 20 more families from the troubled parts of the agency migrated to safer places in Khar and adjoining areas due to intense shelling.

A tribal elder who was raising a militia against the Taliban has been killed, said an official. 55-year old Malik Zardad Khan was kidnapped on July 7, and his bullet-riddled body was found early on July 8 in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency, local administration official Rehan Gul Khattak told. "He was organising a lashkar [militia] against the Taliban and consulting other tribal elders," said Khattak.

July 9

39 militants were killed when military planes bombed Taliban hideouts in the Orakzai Agency. According to unconfirmed reports, about 14 camps of the militants were destroyed in the Starsam, Drogai and Behram Garh areas of Chappri Feroze Khel in the lower and Ghiljo in upper Orakzai agency. Independent sources confirmed that 39 militants had been killed and eight injured in the strikes. However, official sources said they did not have confirmed reports about casualties.

Muhammad, a spokesman for the Darra Adamkhel-based Taliban commander Tariq Afridi, admitted that 18 of their fighters, including a senior ‘commander’, were killed in the air strikes on their hideouts in Qasimkhel village of Ferozkhel town in Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources told that two fighter planes and three gunship helicopters targeted suspected positions of the militants in Qasimkhel, Behram Garhi, Toi Mela and the mountains between Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions. Further, a woman and her child were killed when a house owned by local tribesman Ghuncha Gul came under strikes by the planes. Tribal sources said majority of the villagers in the area had already fled their homes after arrival of the militants to their villages.

12 militants were killed when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter planes targeted their suspected hideouts in South Waziristan Agency. The jets pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in four villages in Ladha and Kani Guram areas of South Waziristan, according to four unnamed intelligence officials. Two of the officials said 12 bodies of militants were recovered from destroyed houses where they were staying. The other officials confirmed the bombing, but had no details of casualties. However, independent verification of the targets and casualties was not possible because the region is remote and largely inaccessible to journalists.

SFs claimed to have killed three militants and injured five others in the ongoing operations in various areas of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the SFs targeted suspected locations of the militants in Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division with artillery and mortars. The sources said three militants were killed and five others sustained injuries while several suspected hideouts of militants were destroyed in the shelling.

The Ghalizai tribe of the Bajaur Agency is reported to have announced complete support to the political administration in its bid to oust the militants from the area. The decision was taken at a joint Jirga of the local tribal elders and Ulema. The Jirga members unanimously decided to form peace committees and launch action against the militants and criminals.

The SFs arrested 157 suspected militants and demolished over 35 houses in the limits of Safi sub-division of Mohmand Agency and Darra Adamkhel in NWFP, in separate operations. Sources said that SFs along with the political administration carried out a search operation in Karer, Palosai, Ghari and Darwazgai areas of Qandaharo in Safi. Over 150 militants were arrested during the operation while houses of 35 others were razed to the ground.

July 10

Ten militants and six SF personnel were killed in various areas of Bajaur Agency. Sources said the SFs targeted hideouts of the militants with heavy artillery and gunship helicopters in the Charmang, Chinar and Manogai areas, killing 10 militants. Several hideouts of the militants were destroyed in the operations. The sources added that two soldiers were killed and five others sustained injuries in the clashes.

Four Levies troopers were killed when unidentified militants attacked a check-post in Khar, the Bajaur Agency headquarters. Sources said the militants attacked the Bajaur Levies post with rockets and hand-grenades at 2:00 am, killing four paramilitary soldiers, Masood Jan, Rahatullah, Abdul Ghaffar and Muhammad Ishaq Jan.

Two suspected US missile strikes hit South Waziristan, killing at least eight Taliban militants. The first strike targeted one of TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud’s communication centres, killing at least three people, intelligence officials said. Two missiles struck the centre in the Painda Khel region, they told. Separately, quoting a private TV channel report, the Online news agency claimed at least five militants were killed in a drone attack in the Tiyarza area. It claimed the drone fired two missiles at the TTP hideouts.

July 11

Three Taliban militants were killed and several others injured during a military operation in the Bajaur Agency of FATA. The SFs attacked the Chinar, Kohi Manogai, Karkanai and Zirat areas in Charmang Valley with artillery, killing the three Taliban militants.

One khasadar personnel, Hasbanullah khan, was injured when a bomb exploded in the Inayat Killay bazaar.

The SFs arrested three Taliban ‘commanders’ from the Inayat Killay Bazaar area during a search operation and destroyed their houses with explosives. Two more Taliban militants were arrested while trying to flee the area.

Malik Jamil Wazir, the son of tribal chieftain Malik Muhammad Ali Wazir, was seriously injured when his vehicle was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb in South Waziristan.

July 12

About 12 militants were reportedly killed in shelling by fighter planes on suspected hideouts of the Taliban in Sarwakai sub-division of South Waziristan Agency (SWA). Sources said the fighter planes targeted the compounds and hideouts of the militants in Parwand and Novely Khan Serai areas in Sarwakai. Unconfirmed reports said 12 militants were killed in the operation. A military statement said one soldier also died in an exchange of fire with the militants in South Waziristan.

SFs announced the arrest of 11 Taliban militants in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. The men were brought before the media at Shakas Fort, and paramilitary Colonel Mujahid told reporters that four of the arrested men were Afghans, two locals and the others from Waziristan. A huge cache of arms and vehicles were also taken into the custody.

Clashes between two religious groups are still underway in the Tirah valley of Khyber Agency, with American spy planes making flights over the valley, in addition to Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal.

July 13

Eight militants were killed and three others injured in a clash with a militia in the Mohmand Agency. Two militants were reportedly captured. Assistant Political Agent Rasool Khan said the clash had taken place in the Anbar valley. One tribesman was injured in these clashes.

Six suspected militants affiliated with the Maulvi Nazeer-led Taliban were killed and 10 others injured in an exchange of gunfire after an attack by the militants on a roadside security post at Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan Agency. Officials and tribal sources said a group of the militants attacked Sur Pul check-post near Rustam Adda at 7am with heavy weapons. The paramilitary FC personnel returned the fire, killing six militants and injuring 10 others. According to the sources, the militants took away three bodies of their slain accomplices along with them and left behind three others.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said in Islamabad that top militant commanders have been killed during the military operation in Waziristan while the TTP chief in Swat valley, Maulana Fazlullah, was seriously injured.

July 14

23 militants were killed during clashes between a tribal militia and militants in the Ziaray Kandao area of Anbar sub-division in the Mohmand Agency. Four members of the militia were injured, sources said. However, official sources said only 18 militants were killed in the gunfight which continued for several hours. They said militants also destroyed five houses of the militia identified as Subedar Major Pasham Gul, Sultan, Zahir Shah, Baghdad Shah and Rozi Shah. Three volunteers of the tribal force were reported missing after the clashes.

SFs and political administration in a joint operation arrested 89 tribesmen and seized two vehicles under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation in the Mullakhel and Akram Baig areas in Qandharo sub-division.

Two persons were killed and three others injured when militants attacked an oil tanker in the Chingai area of Landikotal subdivision in the Khyber Agency. Sources said an oil tanker loaded with 50000 litres of GP1 petrol was en route to Afghanistan via Torkham highway when the militants from the nearby mountains attacked it with rockets and other automatic weapons. The oil tanker caught fire, killing one person and injuring another. The attack consequently triggered an encounter between SFs and militants who targeted each other’s positions with light and heavy weapons. A local, identified as Shahaan Afridi, was killed and two others sustained injuries when they were hit by a shell during an exchange of fire between the two sides. The Khyber Agency-based Taliban commander Omer Farooq claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier, the Taliban had distributed pamphlets threatening truckers with serious consequences if they did not stop supplies to foreign forces in Afghanistan.

July 15

Five militants and two civilians were killed and seven others wounded in air strikes and rocket attacks in South Waziristan Agency. According to Security officials, planes shelled two compounds occupied by militants in the Sararogha and Laddha areas of South Waziristan, killing five militants and injuring six others.

Militants fired several rockets in the village Khechi in the Jandola region. Two women were killed and a child was injured when one of the rockets hit the house of a tribesman.

Reports from Miranshah indicated that columns of infantry units with tanks moved into North Waziristan and a curfew was clamped on several parts of the Agency. Witnesses said hundreds of troops had reached their base in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, from Mirali, along with 25 tanks and armoured personnel carriers and over 100 other vehicles. All bazaars and markets in the two towns are reported to have remained closed. According to officials, one soldier was injured when a bomb exploded near the Banda check-post. Troops also defused four improvised explosive devices planted on the Mirali-Miranshah road.

Six Taliban militants, including two commanders, surrendered before the political administration in a peace jirga in the Safi District of Mohmand Agency. The jirga, consisting of Gurbuz tribe elders and the political administration, was held at Ghalanai, headquarters of the Agency. The Assistant Political Agent, Syed Ahmed Khan, and Tehsildar (revenue administrative officer) Zabit Khan were also present. The Taliban commanders were identified as Ikram and Suleman.

July 16

Three persons were killed and four others sustained injuries when an IED, planted by unidentified miscreants, exploded on the Ghulam Khan Road, eight kilometers from Miranshah, headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency. Official and tribal sources said a local passenger vehicle on its way from Ghulam Khan to Miranshah Bazaar when it hit an IED at 9:30 am, killing three persons on the spot. However, the identity of the victims could not be ascertained.

Taliban militants fired missiles at the houses of elders from a Salarzai militia in Bajaur Agency, killing one person. Sources said the militants fired missiles and rockets at the houses of militia elders in Baroon, Tilli and Dag Qila. The militia is reported to have retaliated with automatic weapons. Separately, troopers from the Bajaur Levies defused remote-controlled bombs planted along roads in Tilli.

July 17

Five militants were killed and four others sustained injuries in a drone attack on a suspected hideout of the Taliban in Badar village, about 30 kilometers from Razmak in the North Waziristan Agency. Sources told that a CIA-operated spy plane fired two missiles at the house of a local cleric, Maulana Abdul Majeed. The Badar village near Gharium is located on the border between North Waziristan and South Waziristan. According to sources, the five militants killed in the drone attack had come from the adjacent South Waziristan and were affiliated with the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud. It was not clear as to whether the village cleric Maulana Abdul Majeed, whose house was reportedly targeted, died in the air strike or not.

A shopkeeper died and the cleaner of an oil tanker was wounded in two separate bomb blasts in the Jamrud and Landikotal subdivisions of Khyber Agency in the morning.

An explosive device fitted to an oil tanker exploded near the Teddy Bazaar, Jamrud, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway. The oil tanker caught fire and almost 50,000 litres oil destined for the NATO forces in Afghanistan was burnt, the sources said. Around 15 shops in Teddy Bazaar were also destroyed. A shopkeeper, whose name could not be ascertained, died in the incident. Four hours after the first bomb blast, the militants targeted the supply line to NATO forces with a time bomb planted on roadside on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Highway in the Shekhwal area of Landikotal subdivision. The blast is reported to have damaged the tanker when it overturned. Cleaner of the oil tanker, Abdul Majid of Tank, was injured, the sources said. Taliban commander Omer Farooq is reported to have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

July 18

A local Taliban commander was killed and four of his aides injured when a US drone targeted their hideout in the Shaktoi area of Ladha tehsil (revenue division) in the South Waziristan Agency of FATA. The political administration sources said the drone fired two missiles that landed near the house of local Taliban chief Ameer Abdullah Mehsud. Commander Zar Jan Mehsud of the Kekarai tribe died in the attack while four others sustained injuries. The sources said a meeting was underway in the compound when the missiles struck the house.

Two volunteers of a tribal militia were killed when their companions mistakenly opened fire on them at Ambar sub-division in Mohmand Agency. Sources said the two militia men, identified as Khayal Shah and Yousuf, came under fire by their own colleagues, who mistook them for militants.

Elders of a Jirga of different sub-divisions handed over 29 suspects to the political administration. The elders in Ambar sub-division handed over 18 suspects to the administration, eight suspects were handed over in Safi and one suspect was handed over in the Halimzai sub-division. However, they were released after the Jirga furnished surety bonds that they would not indulge in criminal activities.

The SFs targeted suspected hideouts of militants with artillery in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division in Bajaur Agency, besides arresting five militants during a search operation in the Khar sub-division. Sources told that SFs shelled the positions of militants with artillery and other heavy weapons, destroying several hideouts in different areas of Charmang Valley. No casualty was, however, reported. In addition, the SFs arrested five suspected militants when they were entering Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur Agency.

The Khyber Rifles and Khasadar troopers confiscated a huge quantity of ammunition at Loy Shelman Ghunda Khel, a far-flung area to the north of Landikotal, in the Khyber Agency. The SFs raided a house in Loy Shelman after being tipped off while investigating two arrested suspects, said Khyber Rifles Commandant Colonel Furqan at the Landikotal Army camp. Furqan said the suspects - who were ammunition dealers in Landikotal - were arrested by the Frontier Corps personnel earlier. He said that Afghan national Noor Afghan was the main suspect in smuggling weapons from Afghanistan to Loy Shelman, from where the arrested dealers supplied the weapons to Mohmand and Orakzai Agencies.

Ten militants were killed when military planes bombed suspected positions of militants in the South Waziristan Agency. The AFP quoted an official as saying that the planes bombed two places in the Sarwakai area of South Waziristan. "Our jets hit a militant base in Gurguri and a Taliban compound in Ous Pass in Sarwakai. Both were destroyed and a total of four militants were killed," the military official said. The militants killed in the strikes reportedly belonged to the TTP, he said. Official sources said that a training centre run by Baitullah Mehsud's group was destroyed in Gurguri while some houses were bombed in the Ous Pass area. Local people were reported to have vacated their houses because of the possibility of military operation in the area and these were occupied by the Taliban.

Four bodies, including two of sons of a slain militant commander, were found on the Tank-Jandola road, Police said. The bullet-riddled bodies, said to be of Idrees and Sher Qanoon, the sons of late militant commander Gul Pir, Jamshed and Younus, were found near the Fauji bridge. Gul Pir, a supporter of Baitullah Mehsud, was killed during an operation in the Sheikh Utar area two days ago. Security Forces also arrested 12 militants during the operation.

SFs arrested two militants and dismantled several hideouts during a search operation in the Charmang area of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said the SFs continued search operations in different areas of Charmang valley in which two militants were arrested while a number of hideouts were destroyed. Sources said the troops have taken control of Sheda Shah, Barbara and Asghar after clearing the areas of militants. Internally displaced persons from these areas have been asked to return to their hometowns to start routine life. Shopkeepers and traders have also been asked to open their shops and business centres.

The elders of Alizai tribes in a jirga handed over six wanted persons to the administration and deposited a huge sum of fine imposed by the Government under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

The political administration arrested 16 tribesmen and seized their seven vehicles under 40 FCR in the Halimzai sub-division of Mohmand Agency while a jirga in the Safi sub-division handed over 31 wanted persons to the authorities.

Three Taliban groups in South Waziristan Agency have formed a new anti-Baitullah Mehsud alliance, with Ikhlas Khan alias Waziristan Baba as its chief. A private TV channel reported that the Turkistan Bathni, Haji Tehsil Khan Wazir and Ikhlas Khan Mehsud factions have named the alliance Abdullah Mehsud group. The new group has reportedly already established offices in Gomal, Umar Adda, Jandola, Pang, and Sheikh Autar areas of South Waziristan. 42-year old Waziristan Baba believes that Baitullah Mehsud was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He said he would avenge the killings of innocent people who fell victim to attacks launched by Baitullah. "Those who destroy hospitals and schools and kill our brothers and sisters are not our well-wishers," he said. The alliance comes after Baitullah assassinated archrival Qari Zainuddin - who was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards.

The political administration arrested 28 suspects and recovered three vehicles from different areas of Bajaur Agency. During the ongoing crackdown, the Khasadar Force raided areas at Ghundai, Samsai, Doda Shaway and Lovi Gano in Khar District and arrested 28 wanted men, a political administration official said.

Two militants were killed and four others sustained injuries when the Army's gunship helicopters targeted Taliban hideouts in the Bajaur Agency. Official and tribal sources said gunship helicopters pounded the hideouts and also used heavy artillery and mortars in the Matak area of Nawagai sub-division, killing two militants and injuring four others. The sources also said gunship helicopters destroyed a training centre and the militants' headquarters. Over the last several weeks of intensified operations, the Security Forces have reportedly flushed out militants from various areas of Charmang valley in Bajaur, including Matak, Hashim and Chinar villages.

The bodies of three alleged US spies were found in the Bechi area of Mirali in North Waziristan Agency. Local people said that a note found with the bullet-riddled bodies said the three were spying for the US.

SFs defused three improvised explosive devices placed by the roadside. Officials said that a military convoy going from Miranshah to Mirali defused the devices near the Chashma Bridge.

Military helicopters killed 20 militants and destroyed four militant hideouts, including a training centre for suicide bombers in Tirah valley, 35km southwest of Landi Kotal in the Khyber Agency. "Military helicopters shelled militant hideouts in the afternoon, killing 20 rebels and destroying four of their hideouts," a spokesman for the Frontier Corps, Major Fazal-ur-Rehman, said, adding that the air strikes were ordered after an intelligence tip-off. Sources said three helicopters shelled Daras Jumat, a mosque in Akakhel area, near Bara, killing a boy and injuring three others. A vehicle and two shops were also destroyed. The mosque, believed to be a stronghold of the banned LeI, was damaged. Lashkar sources, however, said their organisation had nothing to do with the mosque.

Nine persons were injured when helicopters attacked a number of houses in a village near Miranshah in North Waziristan. Sources said the houses were damaged by rockets fired by two Cobra helicopters. "My family was preparing breakfast when helicopters started heavy shelling," said Prof Ayub Rehman of the Government college. Four people, including a woman and two children, were injured. Local people said that five passersby were also injured. The helicopters were apparently sent to attack the house of Siddiqullah, a local commander of the Baitullah Mehsud group. Officials said the attack was carried out under the Federal Crime Regulation (FCR) because local people had not fulfilled their responsibility.

A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint in North Waziristan, causing an explosion that killed two SF personnel and injured five others. The bomber aimed for a checkpoint some three kilometers north of Miranshah, local Government official Rehmatullah said. Two intelligence officials confirmed the casualty figures and said the wounded include three paramilitary soldiers. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. He said the suicide attack on the SFs was a reaction from the Taliban against the silence of the Government over the US drone strikes in North Waziristan Agency, in which, he claimed, innocent tribesmen, including women and children, had died. He threatened to continue attacks on the troops if the drone attacks were not stopped.

SFs opened fire at a speeding car passing through the Frontier Corps checkpoint in front of the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital, killing three persons. Sources said all the three men who died on the spot were said to be Punjabi Taliban militants.

Two persons, including a woman, were killed and six others sustained injuries when militants attacked a pickup truck on the Peshawar-Bajaur road in Mohmand Agency. The Mohmand Agency Assistant Political Agent Rasool Khan said one militant was also killed in the exchange of fire with Khasadar force. The pickup truck carrying passengers was proceeding from Ambar valley to Yaka Ghund when it was attacked in Malook Korona on Peshawar-Bajaur main road. Eyewitnesses said that two passengers, Nawab Khan and the wife of Qazi Hameed, were killed on the spot while six others were wounded.

Three militants were killed and four paramilitary soldiers injured during an exchange of fire in the Dosali area of North Waziristan Agency. According to sources, militants attacked the Gerdai Rogha post, about 40km south of Miranshah. FC personnel returned fire and killed three of the attackers. An official said four FC men had been injured in the clash.

The political administration has banned display of weapons and vehicles with tinted glasses in Miranshah and Mirali towns. Such vehicles are reportedly being used by militants in attacks on the Security Forces in the region.

Two Khasadar troopers and one civilian were injured after a roadside bomb targeting a Frontier Corps commandant's envoy detonated in Khyber Agency.

The Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) executed four men after pronouncing them guilty of abduction and murder at a self-styled court, witnesses and a spokesman said. The executions by firing squad took place near Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency. The LI announced the impending execution by mosque loudspeakers in Bar Qambarkhel village, 10 kilometers northwest of Bara, late on July 29 and urged locals to witness the killings, a local tribesman told. "Four blindfolded criminals with hands tied behind their backs were brought by LI men and lined up outside the mosque. Four LI fighters sprayed bullets, killing them on the spot," said witness Malik Qasim Khan Afridi. The killings were carried out after morning prayers, he said. "The execution of four men allegedly involved in abduction and murder of innocent people was carried out after a Sharia court procedure," said LI spokesman Haji Zar Khan. Ulas Khan Afridi, a 35-year-old shopkeeper, who lives near the mosque, said an LI member announced the execution soon after Fajr prayers.

Two Taliban militants and a trooper were killed in a clash between the Taliban and SFs in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. Official sources told that the militants attacked the SFs on the Dattakhel-Miranshah road when they were setting up a check-post there. Two SF personnel and seven militants were injured in the clash. Sources said the fighting continued for four hours.

The SFs destroyed the houses of two Taliban commanders and arrested six suspected militants in the Bajaur Agency. "Today's operation is part of a continuous campaign for enforcement of writ of the state in the region," an unnamed official said.

Taliban militants, reportedly affiliated with commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, in North Waziristan Agency shot dead an insurgent, Maulvi Gulab, and his deputy in the crowded Miranshah Bazaar. Sources close to the Taliban militants told that Gulab was known for abducting people and then beheading them on charges of spying on the Taliban for the US forces stationed in Afghanistan. Witnesses said armed men came to the bazaar in a pickup truck and opened indiscriminate gunfire on commander Gulab and his associates. Gulab died on the spot, along with his deputy. Two other men working at a restaurant were injured in the firing. Tribal sources said the assailants seemed to be militants.

The Taliban released 10 Frontier Corps soldiers kidnapped two days ago from their post on the Esha-Razmak Road in North Waziristan.

Three militants were killed and several others injured when the SFs targeted suspected hideouts of the militants in different areas of Salarzai sub-division in Bajaur Agency. Official sources said the SFs targeted the militant hideouts in Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay areas with artillery guns, killing three militants and injuring several others. They added that a number of sanctuaries of the militants were destroyed in the operations.

Authorities in Bajaur Agency have reportedly asked the elders of Salarzai tribe to flush the militants out of their areas or face consequences. Speaking at a Jirga of the elders, Khar Subdivision Assistant Political Agent Iqbal Khattak said the people of Tangi, Babar Shah, Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay should co-operate with the political administration in eliminating the militants and refrain from harbouring them in their areas. The elders vowed to make efforts for handing over the wanted persons to the administration or expel them from the area to avert a possible action by the Government.

Five civilians and four SF personnel were killed and six civilians and an equal number of SFs injured in the North Waziristan Agency. Militants fired rockets and missiles at an army camp, northeast of Miranshah, killing four Army personnel and seriously injuring another six.

A missile hit a house in the Chashma village, one kilometre south of Miranshah, killing three civilians and wounding three others. In retaliation, the troops fired shells, targeting the sites from where the Taliban militants were launching attacks.

The Taliban militants attacked an Army camp in the Datakhel area, 40 kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. A Taliban-launched rocket hit, a house killing two women and wounding another three.

Four persons, including the second wife of TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud, were killed and a few others sustained injuries in a drone attack on the house of Baitullah's father-in-law in Zangara village of Laddha sub-division in South Waziristan Agency. Taliban sources close to Baitullah Mehsud confirmed the killing of his wife in the drone attack, but denied reports that the TTP chief too was killed in the missile strikes. "Yes, I can confirm this bad news about the loss of his wife," said a senior Taliban commander based at Mirali in North Waziristan Agency. He, however, denied reports that Baitullah Mehsud too was killed in the strike. Official and tribal sources said the US spy plane fired two missiles at the house of Ikramuddin Mehsud.

Officials said it was the first casualty of any close relatives of the Pakistani Taliban commander in US missile strikes. Baitullah Mehsud married the daughter of Ikramuddin, a tribal elder from the Shabikhel branch of Mehsud tribe, in October 2008. Baitullah is also from the Shabikhel Mehsud clan. Hakimullah Mehsud, deputy to Baitullah Mehsud, confirmed the attack on the house of his leader's father-in-law, but denied the loss of his wife. "There is no truth in media reports that the said wife of Ameer Saib (Baitullah) has been killed in the drone attack," the Taliban commander told media persons from an undisclosed location. He said Baitullah had already withdrawn his family from the area when the situation deteriorated as a result of the military operation launched by the Government against them. There has been no official confirmation of the incident so far.

Nine militants were killed and two others sustained injuries during an operation by the SFs in different areas of the Nawagai and Salarzai subdivisions in Bajaur Agency. The SFs targeted Taliban hideouts in the Chinar, Kohi, Manugai and Banda areas of Nawagai and Darra, Ghundi and Sur Dagai areas of Salarzai. The SFs also arrested three Taliban militants during a search operation in the Manugai area of Nawagai.

In Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency, Taliban militants opened fire on a Bajaur Levies soldier, Alam Khan, killing him on the spot.

A man was killed and seven others, including four women and three children, sustained injuries in shelling and bombing by gunship helicopters of the Pakistan Army on Qutabkhel village near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency. Villagers said three military helicopters started shelling several houses early in the morning in which a tribesman, identified as Abbas Khan, was killed. The villagers also said four women and three children were wounded in the shelling.

Two persons, including a soldier, were killed during an operation against the banned LI in the Akakhel Mera area of Bara sub-division in the Khyber Agency. Five militants were arrested, officials said. The SFs are reported to have surrounded the centre of Akakhel unit of the LI and in the ensuing encounter, one soldier and an LI militant were killed while five LI members were arrested.

Quoting intelligence reports, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed that the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan. "Based on information gleaned from intelligence reports, the news of Baitullah's death is correct. But we are going for ground verification, and when the information has been confirmed, then we will be 100 percent sure," he told reporters in Islamabad. He also told BBC Radio that it was "pretty certain" that the Taliban chief was dead. A Taliban commander and aide to Baitullah Mehsud, meanwhile, told that the TTP chief was killed in the US strike. "I confirm that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan," Taliban commander Kafayatullah said by telephone. He did not give any further details. Baitullah Mehsud was allegedly killed in a drone attack on August 5 while visiting his father-in-law Maulana Ikramuddin's house in the Laddha sub-division. The attack also resulted in the deaths of one of his wives, Ikramuddin's daughter, and over half-a-dozen guards. "Information is coming from that area that he is dead… I am unable to confirm unless I have solid evidence," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. He also said "It is a targeted law enforcement action against Baitullah Mehsud's group and it will continue until Baitullah Mehsud's group is eliminated forever." The minister urged the TTP to lay down arms and urged them to come into the mainstream, saying the new TTP chief would face the same fate as Baitullah. He said the TTP is a banned outfit and there was no possibility of talks with them.

The ISPR Director-General Major General Athar Abbas said keeping in view the available intelligence information there were 60-70 per cent chances that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in the drone attack. "The ground realities are indicating that he is dead. But we are still waiting for the remaining 30 per cent if someone from his own network appears and confirms his death," explained the military spokesman. "The mystery will be cleared in the next 24 hours," he said, adding, "It's not a small incident that could be kept secret." The Online news agency quoted a private TV channel as reporting that the Government could make the official announcement with regard to Baitullah's death within the coming week. It said the Interior Ministry had received a fax from South Waziristan Political Agent Syed Shahab Ali Shah confirming Baitullah's death.

The TTP deputy chief Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, meanwhile, told he could neither confirm nor deny Baitullah's killing in the drone attack. Meanwhile, intelligence officials and Taliban sources have said that Taliban commanders were meeting in the FATA to choose a successor. It was unclear when they might reach a decision.

A spokesman for US President Barack Obama has said the White House cannot confirm the killing of the TTP chief, adding the people of Pakistan are now safer if reports are accurate. Describing Baitullah Mehsud as a murderous thug, the White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on August 5: "We cannot confirm whether he is dead. There seems to be a growing consensus among credible observers that he is indeed dead."

Ten people were killed and seven others sustained injuries during clashes between two rival militant groups in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. Sources said the fighting between LI and AI started when the AI cadres captured a post in the Kookikhel area. After a fierce clash, with both sides using heavy guns, the post was recaptured by the LI militants. Sources said the dead included six AI men, three from the LI and a non-combatant. Those killed from the LI also included 'commander' Rangeen Khan. The civilian was killed when a mortar shell landed at a house.

The SFs killed two militants and destroyed six militant hideouts in a search operation in the Nawagai and Salarzai sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said the SFs during the search operation in various areas of Charmang sub-division destroyed hideouts and underground bunkers and killed two militants. The troops also patrolled Bar Kamangara and Lar Kamangara areas and established check-posts in various areas and started a search operation. In the Chinar area of Salarzai sub-division, the SFs fired artillery shells at militant hideouts.

TTP spokesman Hakeemullah Mehsud and Taliban commander Waliur Rehman were allegedly killed in a gunbattle that erupted during a meeting to determine the future of the organisation, a few hours after Hakeemullah claimed Baitullah Mehsud is "alive". Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters the Government had received reports that only one of the two rivals for the leadership of the Taliban was killed. "The infighting was between Waliur Rehman and Hakeemullah Mehsud," he said, adding, "We have information that one of them has been killed. Who was killed we will be able to say after confirming." According to PTV, Rehman killed Hakeemullah after the latter was appointed the new TTP chief. A Taliban official in South Waziristan, where the meeting took place, told the Government had fabricated reports of the infighting. Noor Said, deputy spokesman under Baitullah, said: "There was no fighting in the shura. Both Waliur Rehman and Hakeemullah are safe and sound." However, an intelligence officer denied this, saying he had reports that Hakeemullah was dead. Earlier in the day, Hakeemullah had telephoned journalists to deny that Baitullah had been killed in a missile strike by US drone aircraft on August 5. Terming the reports as "ridiculous", he said it was ploy hatched by the ISI and the CIA to force Baitullah into the open and assassinate him. However, senior government officials have expressed skepticism, demanding proof that Baitullah is alive.

Senior Taliban commander Qari Hussain, maintaining that Baitullah is alive, has threatened to unleash a wave of suicide attacks to "avenge the Government-sponsored propaganda against our leader".

A Khwazai peace committee chief, five others and 11 Taliban militants were killed in a clash in the Payazai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. A political administration official said a group of Taliban militants attacked the peace committee chief Malik Ajmal's residence at around 2 AM. Ajmal's security guards and volunteers retaliated, killing 11 militants. However, Ajmal and five of his men were also killed in the attack. Local official Javed Ali confirmed the incident. Ajmal Khan was a pro-government tribal elder, who captured 12 Taliban militants and handed them over to the Security Forces last week.

Taliban militants attacked an army convoy using a remote controlled bomb in North Waziristan, killing two SF personnel and injuring three others. The convoy was heading from Mir Ali to Miranshah when the bomb exploded at Norak on the Mir Ali-Miranshah road, 15 kilometres east of the agency headquarters. One vehicle was destroyed in the attack. In retaliation, the SFs targeted militant hideouts but there were no casualties.

SFs, backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, shelled hideouts of the militants loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur after a military convoy was attacked in North Waziristan. According to officials, 11 militants were killed when troops launched a counter-attack and fired heavy artillery and mortars to dislodge the militants from their positions. Local people said that a heavy exchange of fire continued for five hours and residential areas were also hit. The military convoy was going to Mirali from Dosali when it was ambushed near Asadkhel, injuring three soldiers. Gul Bahadur's spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi claimed that 32 soldiers had been killed and 14 military vehicles captured.

A paramilitary soldier was killed and three others sustained injuries when a bomb exploded near the Banda Post, about two kilometres from Miranshah. The soldiers were reportedly fetching water from a nearby spring when the bomb exploded. The Gul Bahadur group, which has alliance with the group of Baitullah Mehsud, claimed responsibility for both the attacks. The militant group, which scrapped a peace agreement with the Government, has demanded withdrawal of troops and an end to the drone attacks. The group had earlier claimed responsibility for an attack on a military convoy in Wacha Bibi area on June 28. Seventeen soldiers were killed in that attack.

The political administration imposed an indefinite curfew in Miranshah, Mirali, Rezmak, Datakhel, Boya and Ghulam Khan areas of North Waziristan. Local people said that a large number of troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers were deployed in the tribal region after Gul Bahadur had scrapped the peace deal.

Two women and two children were killed and nine others sustained injuries when a shell hit a house in the Shalobar area of Bara sub-division in the Khyber Agency, during fighting between the SFs and the LI militants.

The SFs are reported to have used gunship helicopters and armoured personnel carriers during the operation against the LI. Militants of the banned LI also used heavy weapons against the SFs, injuring one soldier. A shell landed at the house of Kashar Gul in Nogazi Baba, killing two women and two children. Two men and seven women sustained injuries in the shelling. The LI spokesman, Zar Khan, alleged that the SFs tried to make way for the entry of its rival organisation, Ansarul Islam, and the LI had to act in its defence. The Ansarul Islam spokesman, Mubeen Khan, said his organisation had not taken part in the operation but pledged to assist the SFs in maintaining law and order in the area if such a request was made.

Two militants were killed and three others sustained injuries in a clash between militants and the SFs in the Hasham area of Bajaur Agency. Sources said militants attacked a check-post of the SFs in the Hasham area of Nawagai sub-division. They said the troops retaliated, killing two militants and injuring three others. Official sources said a militant commander stated to be the mastermind of attacks on schools and other Government installations had been arrested by the SFs.

Fierce fighting erupted between volunteers of a local militia and militants when the militants ambushed two vehicles of a peace committee in Ghalanai, headquarters of the Mohmand Agency. Two vehicles carrying volunteers of the peace committee from Lakaro to Kareer for a search operation were attacked by militants when they reached the area. The armed volunteers retaliated and sources said reinforcements were sent to the area to support the militia, adding the militants had been surrounded by the Lashkar volunteers and fighting was going on. Earlier, the SFs had targeted militants' hideouts in different areas of Safi and Pandyali sub-divisions of the Mohmand Agency.

SFs used helicopter gunships in an operation against the banned LI in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency, killing 17 militants and destroying six hideouts of the militants. The Frontier Corps Media Cell said a huge ammunition dump was also destroyed in the Shalobar area. According to sources, an unspecified quantity of arms and ammunition were also seized.

A paramilitary commander separately told that the operation was launched after militants fired rockets at a paramilitary checkpoint early on August 10 in an assault in Peshawar, the NWFP capital that killed two civilians. The pre-dawn rocket attack targeted a Frontier Corps base in the city's Hayatabad neighborhood, Peshawar Police chief Sifwat Ghayur told. "One rocket landed harmlessly inside the post but three others strayed into the residential area, killing two men and wounding three others," Ghayur said. Taliban militants also fired rockets and mortars towards a military post in the nearby tribal district of Bara but there were no casualties or damage, a military official said earlier. Three Taliban militants were killed when troops returned fire, the official told. Hayatabad is close to the Bara town.

14 militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries in another attack by a CIA-operated drone at Kaniguram town in the Ladha sub-division of South Waziristan Agency (SWA). Tribal sources told The News that the US drone fired three missiles at a house, which the militants had occupied from Zangi Khan Burki, a local influential trader, and turned it into their 'Markaz' or headquarters. Zangi Khan and his family had left their house and shifted to Karachi after tribal and foreign militants took over Kaniguram. Another house owned by the Agency councilor, Arif Zaman, located near the alleged headquarters of the Taliban, was also damaged in the attack. Sources close to the TTP said all those killed in the attack were local tribal militants. They also claimed that the victims of the drone attack included some women and children. The newly-appointed TTP spokesman, Azam Tariq, called journalists and claimed that only six people, including some women and children, had been killed in the attack by the US drone.

Unidentified men killed eight Taliban militants in the Orakzai Agency and abducted two others, said locals and official sources. Official sources said that armed men attacked a Taliban vehicle - en route to Mashti Bazaar from Ghaljo area - in Garhi village, killing eight militants, including a brother of Taliban 'commander' Sakhi. They said the slain militants were members of the Mashti tribe. Locals said the assailants could be Taliban militants from a rival group of Mufti Ziaur Rehman from the Akhel tribe. In apparent retaliation to the killings, militants from the Mashti tribe abducted at least 50 Akhel tribesmen, including 16 militants.

Taliban militants killed a local tribal elder after abducting him, while two of his family members are still in the group's custody, said local sources and the Taliban. The bullet-riddled body of Malik Zahir Shah Gorbuz was found in the Shwafarsh area of Safi sub-division after he was kidnapped along with his son and another relative. Taliban spokesman Akramullah Mohmand told reporters that the group had killed the elder because he was holding meetings to organise an anti-Taliban Lashkar (militia) in the area.

The Taliban in Orakzai Agency announced that they would not attack the SFs during Ramzan and Taliban Sharia (Islamic law) courts would remain closed "until the tenth day of Eid". The group's spokesman in the agency told journalists over telephone that the Taliban leadership in Orakzai had decided to halt attacks on the SFs during the holy month of Ramzan. He said Taliban Sharia courts in the agency would remain closed from August 12 until the 10th day of Eid.

Fierce clashes broke out between supporters of the slain TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud and rival Turkistan Bhittani at Jandola in South Waziristan and each side claimed inflicting heavy casualties on the other. According to sources, militants loyal to Baitullah attacked Bhittani's men in the Soor Gher area and set ablaze 33 houses. They said that seven supporters of Bhittani were killed and 15 captured. Bhittani's men claimed to have killed over 50 attackers. According to Associated Press, at least 70 militants were killed in the clash. Two intelligence officials said that militants used rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft guns against Turkistan's men. The officials, who cited wireless intercepts from the area, confirmed that at least 70 people had been killed. Bhittani claimed that 90 fighters were killed and more than 40 houses destroyed. A senior official confirmed the clash but did not give details about casualties. "The local administration has no writ in the area and we have no information about the number of casualties," he added.

Two schoolboys were killed and another injured when a mine exploded in the Bajaur Agency. The three, all brothers, were playing when the explosive device went off in Nisarabad on the outskirts of Khar, local administration chief Adalat Khan said. Two of them, aged between nine and 11 years, were killed and their 13-year-old brother injured, he said. A security official confirmed the casualties, saying that it was unclear if the mine had been planted by militants or had been left during a six-month battle fought between the military and the Taliban.

12 Taliban militants were killed when helicopter gunships pounded several hideouts of Taliban 'commander' Hakeemullah Mehsud at Orakzai Agency. "We targeted hideouts of Hekeemullah Mehsud," said Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas. Military sources in Orakzai said that six of the bases in Tora Cheena and Chappar Ferozkhel areas had been razed. The sources said dead bodies of 12 slain Taliban militants were seen from helicopters. Hakeemullah - a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud, who was reportedly killed in a missile strike on August 5 in South Waziristan - is commanding Taliban in Orakzai and Kurram Agencies.

Seven persons were killed in gunfights between Taliban militants and a lashkar (militia) at South Waziristan.

A tribal elder - who led a Lashkar (militia) against al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants in South Waziristan in 2007 - his bodyguard and two passers-by were killed in a remote-controlled bomb explosion at Wana in FATA. "Malik Khadeen was passing through Wana Bazaar when a bomb planted on a motorcycle went off … killing him, his driver and two passers-by," eyewitnesses told over the telephone. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but local Taliban commanders accused al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants who were flushed out from Ahmedzai Wazir areas in the spring of 2007.

Two pro-Government Lashkar (militia) leaders were killed and their bullet-ridden dead bodies dumped in Bajaur Agency. "Both the tribal elders were shot dead by gunmen. We think Taliban are involved in the incident," a local Government official said.

The dead bodies of two persons, who were shot dead on an unspecified date, were recovered from Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency.

The Taliban militants fired rockets at a Security Force post at Landikotal, injuring a soldier. Troops reportedly retaliated using artillery and sophisticated guns. The report added that Taliban militants fired at least six rockets at the Parangsam post.

Taliban militants fired five mortar shells at an Army camp in the North Waziristan Agency and injured eight SF personnel. Though the SFs retaliated, it was not reported whether the Taliban militants suffered any casualties.

Three SF personnel were injured when Taliban militants attacked their check post in Ali Masjid area of the Khyber Agency at around 1am (PST). The injured personnel were identified as, Shafi, Mohammad Bangash and Gulzar Bangash.

Unidentified armed men killed 18 Taliban militants on the Wana-Ladha Road in South Waziristan. The slain militants were affiliated with the Mullah Nazir group. Taliban sources in Wana told that the bullet-riddled bodies of 18 militants were shifted to Wana in the evening. They said the militants had gone to the Paktika province in Afghanistan to fight the US-led coalition forces and were returning home when they were attacked by the armed men. The sources also said the militants had come back to Pakistan and were hoping to reach Shakai after passing through the territory of the Mehsud tribe. The militants, under the command of Meeradin, were reportedly traveling in two pickup trucks, when they were ambushed by unidentified assailants at the Shawangi area in the Ladha sub-division in the morning on August 15. Ladha is inhabited by the Mehsud tribesmen and is under the control of the Baitullah Mehsud-led TTP. A senior Taliban commander of the Mullah Nazir group said they would not say as to who killed their men and why. "Either the government, the Uzbeks or the Mehsud Taliban could be involved in their killing. But right now, we cannot say anything concrete," he said. He added that the militants were traveling via Makeen and Ladha in South Waziristan where the Mehsud Taliban and the Uzbek militants were active. The Taliban commander said most of the bodies had been recovered except three, which, he said, were taken away by the assailants. Another senior Taliban commander later telephoned from Wana and denied reports about the killing of Mullah Nazir in the ambush. "There is no truth in these reports. I offered Maghrib prayers with him on Sunday and he was safe and sound. This man, Turkistan Bhittani, is spreading lies by claiming that Ameer Sahib (Mulla Nazir) has been killed by the Baitullah Mehsud group," claimed the Taliban commander and a close aide to Nazir. He termed it part of a malicious propaganda launched by pro-government commander Turkistan Bhittani to create differences between the militants belonging to the Ahmadzai Wazir and Mehsud tribes.

Three passers-by were killed and 25 others, including some women and children, sustained injuries when SFs resorted to indiscriminate firing after a roadside bomb blast in the Darga Mandi area of North Waziristan Agency. Tribal sources said unidentified militants had planted an improvised explosive device on Gulam Khan Road in Darga Mandi, which went off soon after a convoy of the SFs passed through the area. The SFs opened indiscriminate fire after the incident, killing three passers-by and injuring 25 others. The vehicles parked in the surrounding areas were also damaged in the firing by the troops.

Two militants were killed and four others injured during a clash with the SFs in the Charmang valley of Bajaur Agency. Sources said that a group of militants attacked a check-post and the SFs retaliated and exchanged heavy gunfire with them. Two militants were subsequently killed and four sustained injuries during the exchange of fire, they added. Three hideouts of militants were also destroyed in the search operation in the area.

The political administration launched a crackdown against the Mandal tribe and arrested its 25 elders for failing to hand over 10 suspected militants to the authorities. Sources said that the crackdown was launched after the tribes conveyed its inability to the Government to produce the wanted men. The political administration had given a list of 10 militants to Mandal tribe to hand them over to it for investigation.

The building of a private school was partially damaged when an explosive device went off in the Khogakhel area of Landi Kotal sub-division in Khyber Agency.

August 18

A militant on suicide mission rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a check-post on the Bannu-Miranshah road in North Waziristan Agency in the evening, killing four Security Force personnel and injuring eight others. The bomber reportedly struck the Esha check-post located near Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, which was manned by army and paramilitary personnel. An official said that an army soldier and three paramilitary personnel were killed in the attack. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack till last reports came in.

Three militants were killed in a clash between the militants and the local Lashkar (militia) in lower Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources said militants belonging to the banned TTP clashed with the Lashkar of armed tribesmen in the Qazikhel and Storikhel areas. The clash continued for four hours and three militants belonging to Swat and South Waziristan were killed and several others injured. The Lashkar members also captured an injured militant.

The bodies of four unidentified persons were found elsewhere in the Orakzai Agency. However, it was not known who killed the four men.

The unidentified armed men blew up a hideout of the militants belonging to Hakimullah Mehsud, the TTP ‘commander’ for Orakzai Agency, in the Anjani area.

A tribal Lashkar (militia) in the Khwezai area of Mohmand Agency captured and handed over to the SFs a top militant commander and spokesman for the TTP Maulvi Omar. Maulvi Omar a.k.a. Said Muhammad was also deputy to Bajaur Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad engaged in fighting against the SFs since August 6, 2008. He used to reportedly sell perfumes in a pushcart in the Inayat Killay Bazaar in Bajaur Agency in the past and at one stage, studied and taught in a madrassa (seminary). In recent weeks, the TTP had appointed another spokesman named Azam Tariq, though Maulvi Omar insisted that he hadn’t been replaced. A senior military official told that the TTP spokesman during preliminary interrogation confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack on August 5 on the house his father-in-law, Ikramuddin, in Zangara village in South Waziristan Agency. According to an official of the paramilitary FC, Maulvi Omar and his two bodyguards were returning to Bajaur after a failed attempt to travel to the Orakzai Agency when armed volunteers of the local tribal Lashkar in Khwezai area captured them. Maulvi Omar, the official said, was scheduled to attend an important meeting of senior TTP commanders in Orakzai. Maulvi Omar and his two colleagues, identified as Hanifullah and Waheed Gul, were walking on foot when members of the Lashkar waylaid and captured them. They later handed them over to the Mohmand Rifles, a wing of the FC. The TTP spokesman was then shifted to Ghalanai, the headquarters of the Mohmand Agency, where he was to be produced before the media. Sources in the militia said TTP letterheads signed by Baitullah Mehsud, maps, video camera and a walkie-talkie were recovered from Omar at the time of his arrest.

August 19

SFs said that they had killed five Taliban militants in Bajaur Agency. "Taliban fired at a security convoy near Kuz Chamarkand ... troops retaliated and killed five Taliban," said the ISPR.

Unidentified armed men shot dead three persons, including a soldier of the Bajaur Levies, in the Shago area while the SFs killed a militant and arrested four others in different areas of the Khar sub-division in Bajaur Agency.

Tribal sources said a group of unidentified armed men forced their entry into the house of Lali Jan in Shago area. The armed men then dragged out Lali Jan, along with his two sons, Suleman and Ibrahim, from the house and took them to a nearby field and shot them dead with Kalashnikov rifles. Suleman was a soldier in the Bajaur Levies while Ibrahim was working as a water carrier in the Bajaur Scouts. Meanwhile, a militant was killed and another sustained injuries during a clash with the SFs in the Rashakai area in Khar sub-division. The SFs, in addition, also arrested four suspected militants and dynamited their houses in the Shago area.

August 21

A pre-dawn drone attack killed at least 21 militants in North Waziristan Agency. According to sources, missiles fired by the suspected US pilotless plane hit a residential compound in Dandy Derpakhel village near Miranshah, frequented by militants mostly from the Punjab province. Militant sources claimed that women and children, and not their men, had been killed in the attack. The compound was adjacent to a large seminary set up by the Afghan militant ‘commander’ Jalaluddin Haqqani, said to be close to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. An unnamed official said the compound was used as a training centre for militants but he was not sure which group was running it. The air strike targeted Siraj Haqqani, a Taliban ‘commander’ blamed for masterminding ambushes on American troops in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said. It was unclear if Siraj Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was among the people killed in the attack, the officials said, adding that three women were among the dead. The US reportedly launched the strike based on information that Haqqani was in the compound, according to two of the local intelligence officials based in North Waziristan. However, Pakistani authorities have not been able to confirm that he was there at the time, they said.

Soon after the attack, militants attacked the Amin check-post near Miranshah. An exchange of fire took place which continued for more than three hours. Security Forces, meanwhile, claimed to have killed four militants in a pre-emptive attack but this could not be verified from independent sources. The Political administration imposed a curfew on Miranshah after the attack on the check-post. Residents said that one person was killed and two others injured when troops opened fire on a group of people for violating the curfew.

SFs killed at least 12 militants in different areas of Mohmand Agency and destroyed several of their hideouts. SF sources said at around 2:00 pm, two gunship choppers shelled militant strongholds in the Ghani Baba, Michni and Seperay areas of Yakkaghund sub-division. "Twelve militants were killed and four of their hideouts destroyed during the operation," the Frontier Corps said in a statement. "The troops also seized heavy arms, ammunition and explosives during the operation," said the statement.

August 23

Unidentified men killed pro-government tribal chief Malik Sarwar Khan Wazir and three others in South Waziristan. Sarwar was traveling from his home village of Dazha Ghundi to Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, when gunmen attacked his vehicle, officials said, killing him, his son Bakhmal Khan, brother Gulzar and an uncle of ‘commander’ Nek Muhammad. However, the four persons had been killed along with Sarwar. Sarwar, a tribal chief, had played an important role in fighting against the Taliban in Wana.

A security official was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire in a mosque during the Taraveeh prayers in Mamoonzai area in Khar sub-division of Bajaur Agency. A private TV channel reported that the officials were Levies personnel.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead Afghan journalist Janullah Hashimzada in the Jamrud area of Khyber Agency when he was on his way to Peshawar from Afghanistan. He was traveling in a passenger coach to Peshawar to reach his home in Hayatabad when four gunmen, driving a white colour car, intercepted the vehicle in the Surkamar area on the highway linking Pakistan to Afghanistan. Driver of the coach Abbas said the four gunmen came out of their car and forced him and the cleaner to disembark. "Then, two gunmen entered the coach and shot Janullah in the forehead four times, killing him on the spot," he said. Another passenger, Ali, also an Afghan national, sustained bullet injuries and was shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar. Janullah was the bureau chief in Pakistan for Afghanistan's Pashto TV channel, Shamshad.

Taliban militants attacked a military convoy killing two soldiers at Madi Jam, an area 20 kilometers east of Wana, in the South Waziristan Agency. Subsequently, helicopter gunships and jets attacked Taliban hideouts. Residents in Wana saw armoured personnel carriers heading towards Madi Jam. "Helicopters dropped leaflets asking people to leave the fighting area," Muhammad Aslam, a resident of Madi Jam, told on telephone.

Unidentified militants blew up an oil tanker carrying fuel to Afghanistan near a bridge along the Torkham border in the Khyber Agency. Border officials said the driver and his helper had gone to a nearby mosque to say their prayers when the tanker was blown up.

The abducted general manager of the FATA Rural Development Project Bajaur Agency, Imran Afridi, was released by his captors. The abductors also released three other persons along with Afridi, handing them over to a local jirga (tribal council). The officials were abducted three months ago from Barang tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency.

A suicide bomber blew himself up as Security Force personnel gathered at sunset to break their daily fast (Muslims keep fast from dawn to dusk in the holy month of Ramadan), killing at least 22 soldiers and injuring 10 others at Torkham in the Khyber Agency near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. An injured soldier said that a man entered the compound where the soldiers had gathered and blew himself up when they offered him to break the fast with them. The bomber targeted soldiers from the Khyber Zakhakhel tribe, and sources said the political authorities of Torkham were tipped off about a week ago about the attack. A suicide bomber was also recently arrested from Torkham.

10 persons were killed and five others injured when a drone fired two missiles at a house in the Kanigaram area of Laddha tehsil (revenue unit) of South Waziristan Agency.

A Toori Khel Lashkar (militia) set ablaze houses of three persons, identified as Ali Ahmad, Akhlaq and Syed Riaz, at Kurram Agency in FATA. A source said the trio had stopped a tribesman's funeral procession and set ablaze several vehicles. Later, the 5,000-strong lashkar set ablaze the houses of the three persons.

The Salarzai tribe Lashkar (militia) chief Malik Munasib Khan and five others were injured in a bomb blast in Salarzai sub-division's headquarters, near the residence of tribal elder Shahabuddin Khan. "As Munasib Khan was passing by, a powerful explosion destroyed a shop and wounded six men, including the Lashkar chief," official sources told. No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion but Taliban involvement was suspected as the Lashkar is fighting the Taliban-linked militancy in the area.

The Bajaur Agency political administration demolished the house of a Taliban militant and also recovered a large cache of weapons from a house in Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency. Bajaur Scouts and political authorities used explosives to demolish the house of one Pervez, believed to be a cadre of the Taliban.

A grand jirga (council) of tribesman from Khar was informed by the political authorities that the locals now bore the responsibility for protecting their areas under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. They were told that the tribesmen must take action against the Taliban if they wanted to avoid suffering losses in case the government operated to clear their areas of the terrorists.

Three militants were killed while eight others were arrested, four of them reportedly well-trained suicide bombers, during an encounter with the paramilitary FC soldiers at the Dosali checkpoint on the Esha-Razmak Road in North Waziristan Agency. Tribal sources told from Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, that dozens of militants coming from the adjoining South Waziristan Agency attacked the FC troopers manning the roadside checkpoint in Dosali. The militants first lobbed hand grenades at the troops and then opened fire with assault rifles. According to sources, the paramilitary troops had already taken positions and were well-prepared for any eventuality. The troops repulsed the militant attack, triggering an exchange of heavy fire. Later, three militants, who reportedly belonged to South Waziristan, were killed and eight others were arrested. Among the arrested militants, four were said to be trained suicide bombers.

In addition to seizing a large cache of arms and ammunition from their possession, the Security Forces also recovered some Afghan currency from the detained Taliban militants. Military sources later confirmed the incident and said the detained militants had been shifted to an unidentified location for interrogation.

Three militants were killed when two groups of Taliban exchanged fire in the Ferozkhel area of Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources said a group of militants belonging to the TTP unit in Darra Adamkhel allegedly attacked a seminary at Mehmoodabad in Lower Kurram, triggering retaliation by the Orakzai-based TTP.

At least 40 militants were killed as SFs launched a massive operation in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. The operation, codenamed Bia Daraghlam (here I come again) was launched in the aftermath of a spate of beheading in the region, sources said. Locals said nearly 35 beheaded bodies were recovered from different areas of Bara over the past one month. Briefing journalists about the operation, sector commander of the SFs, Brigadier Faiz, and Political Agent of the Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat Khan said 40 militants had been killed and 43 were arrested. The arrested militants were produced before the media along with the arms seized during search operations. The two officials said four militant hideouts were destroyed during the operation. They also said the ground forces were supported by military helicopters that targeted the hideouts of militants. The officials said the operation was not against a particular group or individual, but to purge the area of the miscreants. Locals said the banned LeI activists did not offer any resistance to the operation which was launched in the morning. They had reportedly already vacated their areas to take refuge in the nearby mountains. Sources said the FC and Army troops were taking part in the operation and reported to have captured all important places of militants around 3am.

A pro-government tribal elder, Malik Walayat Shah, was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in the Haleemzai sub-division of Mohmand Agency in the night. Malik Shah was reportedly ambushed when he went out of his house after breaking the Ramzan fast in the evening at Shanikhel village. He was considered a pro-administration elder and used to visit the office of the political agent on regular basis.

The SFs arrested four suspected militants and set ablaze two houses during an operation. The SFs conducted a search operation in the Kamalkhel area of Safi sub-division and torched houses of Ikram and another suspected person for links with militants. Four suspected persons, including Liaqat, Ali Khan and Syed Ahmed, were also arrested. The troops also targeted militant hideouts in different areas of the sub-division. However, no casualty was reported.

16 more militants were killed and 35 others arrested on the second day of Operation Bia Daraglam in different parts of the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. Two explosive-laden vehicles, houses of six commanders, including those of Abid Murad, Tayyab and Sabeel, and six hideouts of militants were destroyed in the operation. At least 59 militants have been killed and 78 others arrested during the operation so far. Political Agent Khyber Tariq Hayat Khan told reporters that the operation would continue till the neutralization of all terrorists.

Five persons were killed when artillery and mortar shells hit a residential area in the Mohmand Agency. Three persons, identified as Gul Mohammad, Sher Mohammad and Welayat, were killed when stray shells fired from an unknown direction hit their houses in Musa Kor. Two persons were killed in shelling in Ghaljo Dara.

SFs killed two militant commanders and injured five others during their offensive against militants in the Nawagai sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said that the SFs targeted positions militants with artillery in the Charmang area of Nawagai. They said that the slain militant commanders belonged to Ambar sub-division of Mohmand Agency.

A girl was killed when a mortar shell hit a house in the Ghongat Johar area of Safi sub-division in Mohmand Agency.

Security Forces continued demolition of houses owned by militants or their supporters in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency on the third day of the military operation. 13 houses were destroyed with the help of explosives and heavy machinery in different parts of Bara, including Shlobar, Malikdinkhel, Kamarkhel and Sipah. 18 tribesmen described as suspects were arrested during the operation. The houses of Said Rasan, Habib Shakir and Imtiaz, all reportedly affiliated to the outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam, were destroyed in Kamarkhel area as the troops resumed action around 10 am. The house of LeI chief Mangal Bagh was reportedly demolished in the Sipah area. His house was earlier destroyed in the military operation conducted in June 2008.

SFs claimed to have killed two militants in the Ambar area while one Mohmand Rifles trooper was killed and two others sustained injuries during a search operation in the Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. Sources said the SFs exchanged fire with the militants for about three hours in Ambar area early in the day, killing two militants. There were reports that military helicopters bombarded and destroyed suspected hideouts of the militants in Atam Killay, Lakhkar Killay and Tani area in Baizai near the Afghanistan border.

Two persons, identified as Namdar Khan and Beldar Khan, were killed when an explosive device planted near their house in Ambar area went off.

During a search operation in Tani area, a Constable of the Mohmand Rifles, Shahab, was killed while two troopers, Ashiq Afridi and Mansoor Khan, sustained injuries. About 15 suspected militants were also arrested from the Tani area.

Five terrorists were killed and 24 others were arrested during a clash with the Security Forces in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency.

At least 43 militants were killed and several others were injured in a military operation in Tirah valley and Kambarkhel areas of Khyber Agency. Troops pounded LI bases in Gogrina and Sandapal areas of Tirah valley. An LI centre - being used as a hideout and training facility - was destroyed, and at least 35 militants killed in that attack. The sources said that six militants were killed in Kambarkhel area of the Bara tehsil (revenue division), while two suspects were arrested from Shakas area. Security sources added that 15 houses were also demolished in Kambarkhel area of Khyber Agency's Bara tehsil.

At least 33 militants were killed when the SFs targeted two militant centers - Tarkhokas Camp and Narai Baba Markaz - on the sixth day of the counter-insurgency operation Operation Bia Daghalam in Khyber Agency. "Security forces ... targeted Tarkhokas Camp [and] Narai Baba Markaz… Both centres and six vehicles ... [were] destroyed. Thirty-three militants ... [were] killed," said the FC in a statement. AFP quoted FC spokesman Major Fazl Rehman as saying that helicopter gunships and fighter jets strafed the militant boltholes, with the strikes targeting the Lashkar-e-Islam outfit.

A militant was killed and nine others arrested and two hideouts destroyed in the Bara revenue unit of Khyber Agency. Security officials said that houses and centers had also been destroyed in Narahaybaba and Darkho areas. Further, two abducted persons were rescued from Jamrud tehsil of the agency.

Helicopter gunships destroyed Lashkar-e-Islam hideouts in the Tirah valley of Khyber Agency. Troops also destroyed militant hideouts in Sipah and Shalobar areas of Bara sub-division. Thousands of civilians are reportedly fleeing the latest military operation against militants in the Khyber Agency.

SFs killed 10 militants in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on the seventh day of Operation Bia Daraghlam. Security officials said that 12 houses being used by militants had been destroyed in the Akakhel, Shalobar, Malikdin Khel and Sipah areas of Bara sub-division, while a militant stronghold and five hideouts were destroyed in Tirah valley.

A missile fired by a US drone hit a house and a madrassa (seminary), killing at least five persons and wounding six others in North Waziristan. "The strike targetted a madrassa and an adjoining house in Machikhel village in North Waziristan," a security official said.

A large number of civilians have fled fresh military bombardment against militants in Khyber Agency. "Thousands have fled the military operation in Khyber. Around 30,000 people have arrived in Peshawar since yesterday," said Sahibzada Mohammad Anis, administrative chief in Peshawar. Khyber local administration chief Tariq Hayat also told AFP that as many as 30,000 civilians had left when a curfew was relaxed on September 6.

Five soldiers were killed when a remote-controlled bomb exploded in South Waziristan, a day after troops killed 33 Taliban militants as part of a weeklong campaign in the Khyber Pass. The blast struck a routine military patrol en route to Wana from Tayarzai. "The patrol was sent ahead of a military convoy to check the security on the road and a bomb planted by the Taliban went off and killed five soldiers," an intelligence official said.

24 militants were killed and their hideouts destroyed in the counter-insurgency Operation Bia Daraghlam at Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency. "Security forces killed at least 24 militants and destroyed two militant headquarters and two hideouts," said a statement by the Frontier Corps.

Four SF personnel were injured in a remote-controlled blast in Bara Bazaar.

Tribal elders from Bara were asked to hand over 68 hardcore militants - including the Lashkar-e-Islam chief - and act in line with Government directives if they want to see an end to the operation in the area, said Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat.

Seven people - including four children who were on their way to school - were killed when unidentified militants tried to abduct the schoolchildren in the Lower Orakzai area.

In the Orakzai Agency, six militants were killed and four hideouts destroyed in air strikes at a village east of Kalaya.

A US missile strike from a drone killed at least 10 Taliban militants in North Waziristan. "The strike targeted a Taliban compound in Dargamandi village of North Waziristan, killing 10 militants," a senior security official said. Another official confirmed the casualties, and said a US drone fired two missiles at the compound. He said it was not immediately clear whether any "high-value targets" were present in the area at the time. It was reportedly the second US missile strike in North Waziristan in less than 24 hours.

Unidentified gunmen killed Qari Iqbal, chief of the TTP in the Khar area and a close aide of Maulvi Faqir.

Three suspected Taliban militants were killed after they attacked a Police vehicle on patrol at unspecified place in the FATA. Police also seized six grenades, a Kalashinkov, a gun and a pistol.

SFs conducted a search operation in the Nawaga Bazaar of Bajaur Agency and arrested a local Taliban 'commander' along with five accomplices. A wanted Taliban militant, identified as Kalam Khan, also surrendered in Khar.

In Khyber Agency, the SFs arrested 25 militants and destroyed two hideouts in Bara. According to the Frontier Corps Media Cell, troops also destroyed three houses owned by the militants. Official sources confirmed that the Army had handed over control of Bara to the Frontier Corps.

A tribal elder, identified as Malik Amanullah Khan Wazir, was killed and two others injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in South Waziristan.

Unidentified militants fired three missiles at the Jandola Scouts Fort in South Waziristan, killing two officials and injuring four others. The missiles, fired from the nearby mountains, landed inside the fort, official sources said, but did not disclose the identity of the officers killed or injured in the attack.

Troops arrested 33 suspects and demolished the houses of three wanted militants at Lakaro tehsil (revenue unit) of Mohmand Agency. Official sources said the SFs arrested the suspects during a search and cordon operation at Sandokhel, Karar, Habibzai and Mulakhel, and shifted them to an undisclosed location for interrogation. They also demolished the houses of Payanda Khel, Abdul Bagi and Wali Muhammad.

The Haleemzai tribe announced their full support to the Government and the SFs in their efforts to eliminate terrorism and extremism from the country.

Police defused two bombs in a primary school in the Malik Ashraf Killi area in Khyber Agency.

The SFs, backed by helicopter gunships, killed at least 22 terrorists in the Tirah and Sandapal areas of Khyber Agency during the ongoing operation against Taliban-linked militants. Official sources said 12 vehicles and three Taliban hideouts were also destroyed in the operation. The SFs continued to enforce curfew in Bara for the eleventh consecutive day and continued targeting hideouts of the Lashkar-e-Islam in various parts of the Agency.

Unidentified militants shot dead three Shinwari tribesmen on the main road in Landikotal. Two of the deceased were brothers, identified as Arshad and Jamshed Shinwari. One of them was the son-in-law of former senator Hafiz Abdul Malik, who is a brother of Zakat and Usher Minister Noorul Haq Qadri. The three men were driving from Torkham to Peshawar when they were attacked near Khyber Takya.

Three troopers were killed and two others wounded and three vehicles destroyed, when a bomb blast targeting a security convoy was triggered in Mandi Kas area of Khyber Agency. The roadside blast also injured two SF personnel and destroyed three vehicles. The SFs cordoned off the area following the attack and at least three people were killed when troops pounded the area.

Political authorities of the Khyber Agency dismissed 215 more Khasadars (tribal Police) as six people - including three Security Force personnel - were killed and five others injured in an ongoing military operation in Bara tehsil (revenue unit). A statement said that another 215 Khasadars had been "relieved of their duties … as they did not report to duty following Mangal Bagh's threats". Khyber Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan said that new inductions to the force were being made.

South Waziristan Political Agent Shahab Ali Shah blocked the salaries of 4,000 Khasadars (tribal Police) from Mehsud tribes, for negligence in duty in FATA. However, Khasadars said they were on duty in the agency. They said political administration officials were hundreds of kilometres away and had no apparatus to check if "we are on duty or not".

Eight militants and a solider were killed during fighting in the Kamarkhel area of Bara in the Khyber Agency. The Security Forces cleared the area after intense fighting in Naraikarawal village, where militants were holed up in a house. The militants and soldier were killed in a gun battle, said the officials. A militant 'commander' was also killed in the gun battle.

A US drone fired a missile targeting a car in the Mir Ali revenue unit of North Waziristan Agency, killing four persons and injuring one. The missile hit the car around 5am (PST) when it was passing through Khushali Turikhel village - 30 kilometres east of the Agency headquarters Miranshah. According to unconfirmed report, there were two foreign nationals among the dead.

The militants killed an Afghan national at Dattakhel in North Waziristan Agency on charges of "spying" for the US.

A Taliban militant was killed and two others injured in a military offensive at Bajaur Agency. Sources said the Taliban militant was killed in fighting that followed an attack on a security post in the Loyesam area.

The troops destroyed six Taliban hideouts in the Charmag area of Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit) and confiscated a huge cache of arms. The SFs also targeted Taliban hideouts in the Matak and Kamangarah areas of Nawagai.

At least five Taliban militants were killed and four others wounded in air strikes on hideouts at Bajaur Agency, which also destroyed an illegal FM radio station and bunkers. The strikes were carried out in Darra, Chinar and Jirga areas. Helicopter gunships and long-range artillery were used in the offensive that targeted underground Taliban facilities, said officials.

Two Taliban militants were killed and one injured in clashes with SFs in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency. Official sources said two soldiers were also injured in the clashes, which ensued after a Taliban attack on a security post in Charmang. Troops also launched an operation to track Taliban militants in Charmang and the political administration has set up special check posts in the area to protect tribesmen.

Pakistani officials said an al Qaeda 'operations chief' in Pakistan and an Uzbek commander were believed to be killed in the US missile strikes in North Waziristan in early September 2009. The 'operations chief' was identified as Ilyas Kashmiri and the Uzbek militant as Nazimuddin alias Yahyo.

Troops demolished the houses of a Taliban militant, Zafar Iqbal Afridi, and his brothers at Sultan Khel in Khyber Agency, after cordoning off the quarters early in the morning. The political administration had already served a notice on Afridi's father, warning him that stern action would be taken against the family if he did not surrender his son to the troops. The father, Janas Khan Afridi, said that troops cordoned off all of the family's houses in the morning, although they cut off all ties with Iqbal more than two years ago.

Troops killed 13 militants during an operation in Khyber Agency's Tirah valley and Dabori area of the Orakzai Agency. SFs also destroyed four vehicles and two militant hideouts during operations in the Dabori and Sandapal areas of Orakzai Agency.

Two persons, including one militant, were killed during an encounter between the SFs and Lashkar-e-Islam militants in the Sur Dhand area of Bara sub-division in Khyber Agency. "A civilian, identified as Hashim Ali, and a militant were killed in the crossfire between the SFs and the militants," a local resident said.

At least 26 suspected militants were killed and several others injured when gunship helicopters targeted militant hideouts in the Spina Tigha and Makeen areas of South Waziristan.

Eight suspected militants were killed in clashes with the SFs in the Razmak area of North Waziristan. Sources said a security check post in Upper and Lower Kofar in North Waziristan came under attack by some 600 militants. In the ensuing clashes, eight suspected militants were shot dead.

A person, identified as Saddam Hussain, was killed when an artillery shell fired by the SFs hit his house in the Musakhel area in Khwezai Baizai subdivision of Mohmand Agency.

Unidentified militants planted a remote-controlled bomb at Landikotal bazaar in Khyber Agency. The bomb was fitted near a bakery in Haji Khan Building in Landikotal bazaar, sources said, adding however that it only caused minor damage to the building. Official sources said Khalid Khan, a resident of Swat, sustained minor injuries.

Troops killed 10 Taliban militants in the Nawaz Kot locality of Razmak area in North Waziristan Agency. Official sources said that Taliban militants fired 12 missiles on Razmak Army Camp, but no casualties to SFs were reported. SFs retaliated, killing 10 Taliban militants and injuring several others.

A volunteer of a tribal Lashkar (militia) was injured when Taliban militants opened fire on the group in the Pusht area of Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency.

SFs foiled a bid to smuggle arms and ammunition from Afghanistan. The weapons were being smuggled on mules from the Afghan province of Kunar via the Khagga Pass when the SFs raided the traffickers at Suprai.

At least 12 Taliban militants were killed in a clash with SFs at Razmak in North Waziristan. The clash occurred after Taliban militants fired rockets at the Shawaal Rifles Camp - 75 kilometres from Miranshah - killing two troopers and injuring five others. Official sources said at least "110 missiles have been fired at the army camp over the last 24 hours."

Six Taliban militants were killed and nine others injured when helicopter gun ships targeted hideouts at Upper Orakzai in FATA. Officials said the strikes - which targeted the Ghalju, Mulla Pati and Khadezai areas - destroyed three Taliban hideouts.

Local Taliban militants abducted four Levies Force personnel, and killed one of them.

The political authorities rescued a leading businessmen and the owner of Daud Armoury, Hakimullah Daud, and arrested two abductors. Hakim was abducted from Peshawar in NWFP in March 2009.

Two suspected US drone attacks killed nine Taliban militants, while seven other militants were killed in air strikes and military action in different parts of Waziristan. The first drone attack targeted the house of local Taliban 'commander' Ifran Mehsud in Sararogha, a village northwest of Wana in South Waziristan. "A missile from a US drone fired on the compound of Irfan Mehsud killed five militants and injured six," said a security official in the area. He did not know if Irfan was among the dead. The security official said the spy plane unloaded two missiles on the compound, adding that reports suggested three of the dead could be Uzbeks. Another drone attack at Danday Darpa Khel - four kilometres north of Miranshah in North Waziristan - killed four Afghan militants and injured two others. The targeted house belonged to Emarati, an Afghan national, and the Afghan militants killed in the missile attack were said to be from the Jalaluddin Haqqani group.

The Pakistan Air Force jet fighters bombed Taliban bunkers in Kotkai, killing three militants. The military also targeted the Makeen area with long-range artillery, destroying three hideouts and killing four militants. "We are finalising arrangements for the launch of Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path of Salvation) against the TTP in South Waziristan," said officials.

There are more than 10,000 Taliban militants present in Waziristan, including Uzbeks and other foreign militants, a private television channel quoted the Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Athar Abbas as saying. Abbas said the military operation was not aimed against any specific tribe or region but was launched to wipe out terrorist networks such as the TTP, and other coalitions of local and foreign Taliban in the Tribal Areas.

Five militants were killed during a clash between two rival groups of the Lashkar-e-Islam outfit in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.

Two US drones fired one missile each at two vehicles Norat village - 20 kilometers east of Miranshah - on Miranshah-Bannu Road in North Waziristan, killing five Taliban militants and injuring six others. Both vehicles and a house nearby were completely destroyed in the strike. "It is not clear if there was any high-value target," said a security official.

Troops killed 27 alleged militants in the Khyber Agency. According to sources in the Frontier Corps, attack helicopters shelled militant training centres in the Tirah valley of Bara District, killing 27 militants including two key commanders Ghulam Nabi and Farooq Swati. Two hideouts, three caves and 19 vehicles belonging to the militants were also destroyed during the operation.

Two remote-controlled bombs exploded at Umri and Siddiqabad under Khar tehsil (revenue unit) in the Bajaur Agency. 12 suspected Taliban militants were arrested by SFs during a subsequent search operation in the area.

SFs continued the assault on Taliban militants in the Doda, Matak and Charmang areas of Nawagai sub-division and destroyed several Taliban hideouts.

A senior Afghan Taliban commander has confirmed that Uzbek militant commander Qari Tahir Yuldashev was killed in the US drone attack during the last week of August 2009 in South Waziristan. "Its true he is dead. Unfortunately he was staying at the same house which was struck by the drone in South Waziristan in August," the Taliban commander acknowledged when contacted by phone. Though he did not mention the village where Tahir Yuldashev was killed, he said the incident happened during the last week of August in South Waziristan. Other militant sources, however, said the Uzbek commander died at Kaniguram in South Waziristan, a place considered relatively safe for Taliban militants. The Taliban commander said Tahir moved to the adjoining South Waziristan after frequent US drone attacks in Mirali in North Waziristan in which his men suffered heavy losses. He lived in Ladha and Makeen in South Waziristan for sometime but then moved to another town when US Predator planes started focusing on known strongholds of the Taliban there.

Military authorities assured a jirga (council of elders) of Ahmedzai Wazirs in Wana that a peace accord reached with the Mulla Nazir group in South Waziristan in 2007 remained intact. The assurance was reportedly given by Major General Sajjad Wazir and other military officers. The jirga was attended by about 120 elders of the tribe, including Malak Bismillah, Ajmal and Malak Noor Khan. The jirga assured cooperation to security forces and said there would be no attack on security personnel and government installations in the Wana subdivision. The jirga backed by Mulla Nazir had held a meeting with the administration on October 3 and offered its support for establishing the Government's writ in the region.

Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said an operation against the Baitullah Mehsud group had already started and its training centres had been pounded by aircraft and artillery. He said various roads leading to South Waziristan had been closed but no decision had been taken about a ground operation.

Five militants were killed when helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts on the Gurguri hilltop in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. The helicopters shelled the hideouts for over two hours after militants attacked the Fort Saloop, eight kilometres west of Bara bazaar. Three soldiers were injured when rockets hit the fort, officials said. However, local people said five troopers had been injured.

Fighter jets bombed TTP Pakistan strongholds of Makeen and Nawazkot in South Waziristan - killing six militants and injuring three others. Military sources said the strikes came a day after TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud vowed to launch attacks against the SFs in the country. "The air strikes are part of a major offensive being planned against the terror network," sources told. According to sources in Wana, the TTP holds considerable sway in both Makeen and Nawazkot, and the group has established its command-and-control structure there. Locals said SFs were amassing around Mehsud areas in South Waziristan, and the imminent operation would involve large-scale bombings.

Troops killed six militants and injured two others in a clash in the Razmak area of North Waziristan. According to official sources, the clash occurred when troops retaliated after the militants had attacked a military base and fired 11 rockets. An unnamed official said that the exchange of fire continued for about two hours. He claimed that militants had taken away bodies of the assailants who had been killed. The claim, however, could not be verified from independent sources.

Four militants were killed in an exchange of fire with troops in the Shawal area of North Waziristan. The clash took place after a vehicle in an army convoy going from Daber Pepli camp to its base in Mana hit a bomb placed on the road and one soldier was injured. Troops pursued the militants and subsequently killed four of them.

Reports from Laddah stated that five militants were killed and several others injured when troops mounted a ground and air assault on suspected positions of the Taliban in South Waziristan. Sources said that three militants were killed in the Kalkala area and two in Shawal. An unnamed official source said that militants fired 10 missiles from Makeen at the Razmak fort and Scouts fort in Jandola. Helicopter gunships are reported to have shelled Taliban positions in Speenkai Raghzai.

Security Forces have started bombing Taliban positions in South Waziristan as the army prepares for a ground operation in the agency, Financial Times has reported. "We have sealed the area and are involved in aerial targeting [of Taliban locations]," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told. Abbas did not disclose when the army would begin the ground campaign, but an unnamed minister was quoted as saying that the preparations were complete. He said the military needed to act before the winter snow started to fall in November.

A soldier was killed and two others sustained injuries when a remote-controlled blast targeted a security vehicle in the Baicheena area of Khar sub-division in Bajaur Agency. The vehicle was en route to Inayat Killay when the device exploded. Security Forces cordoned off the area following the attack, and the political authorities arrested 41 people under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the FCR.

Troops defused two bombs in the Mamoond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Members of Lashkar (militia) also defused a bomb in Salarzai sub-division. Separately, the troops arrested 12 Taliban militants from Khar and also sealed shops selling chemical fertilizers.

At least four Taliban and three soldiers were killed in operations across the FATA. Four Taliban militants, including a key commander, were killed in the Laghari area of Mamoond tehsil (revenue unit) in the Bajaur Agency. SFs neutralised four Taliban hideouts, sources said, adding that a Security official was also killed and two others injured during the attack.

The militants fired 34 rockets at a SFs checkpost in the Razmak area of North Waziristan Agency, killing two soldiers.

21 militants were killed and eight others sustained injuries when fighter planes targeted their positions in different areas of Ladha and Makeen sub-divisions in South Waziristan Agency. Tribal sources said two fighter planes started bombing Ladha Sarai, Patowelai, Tangi, Bodinzai, Makeen, Bandkhel and other areas in the afternoon. They said that 21 militants were killed and eight others injured while five hideouts were destroyed in the air strikes.

Political Agent of South Waziristan, Syed Shahab Ali Shah, confirmed that the Pakistan Air Force jets bombed different areas of Ladha and Makeen sub-divisions. He said that it was not a full-scale operation but a limited action to hit specific targets in the agency. "The air strike was imperative after the rocket attack on the Army camp in Razmak by the militants," he said, adding that arrangements had been finalised for a major operation, which would be launched after a final decision by the relevant quarters. He also said that many families had fled the agency due to the imminent military operation and shifted to safer places, but still a large number of people were present there. He said that tented villages would be established for displaced persons in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan, adding that places had been identified for the purpose.

October 12

15 Taliban militants were killed and 16 others sustained injuries after SFs launched Operation Sherdil in the Mamoond and Salarzai sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency.

Jets bombed Taliban positions in South Waziristan, killing six Taliban militants. SFs said that three Taliban hideouts were destroyed in the Bajaur raids. The AP news agency reported that fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban hideouts.

26 militants surrendered to the authorities in the Laghari area of Mamoond in Bajaur Agency.

October 13

Six Taliban militants were killed when fighter jets targeted the group’s positions in South Waziristan, said officials, even as jets and helicopter gunships bombed Taliban hideouts and ground forces fired heavy artillery in Bajaur Agency, killing 26 Taliban militants and injuring dozens of others. Fighter jets are reported to have launched another round of air-strikes in South Waziristan, destroying around 15 houses in Makeen, Ladha and Barwand, said a local intelligence official. The military said in a statement that "Taliban fired 31 rockets" at a security convoy in South Waziristan, injuring two soldiers. Abdul Malik, a local Government official, said the military strikes in Bajaur Agency took place in the Damadola and Sawai areas.

October 14

19 persons, including some militants and eight persons of a family, were killed and eight others sustained injuries when fighter planes targeted different areas of South Waziristan Agency. Four hideouts of the militants were also destroyed in the air strikes, tribal sources said. Fighter planes are reported to have bombed the Maidan, Tangi, Bodinzai, Kacha Langarkhel, Sam, Ragh, and Salay Rogha areas in Ladha sub-division. At least 11 persons, including militants, were killed and seven others injured in the bombing. The sources added that a training centre of the militants, the house of a Taliban ‘commander’ and a hideout were destroyed in the Sam, Ragh and Salay Rogha areas, respectively, in air attacks. They said several houses were also damaged in the intense bombing by the Pakistan Air Force jets in Salay Rogha.

Tribal sources said two fighter jets fired at a house of an 80-year-old tribal elder Malik Nekam Khan in the Spinkai area of Sarwakai Tehsil (revenue unit) at 3:00 pm, killing eight members of his family on the spot and injuring seven others. Some of the dead were identified as Faqir Khan Mahsud, Shama Gul Mahsud, three women and as many children. The head of the family, Malik Nekam Khan, also sustained critical injuries.

October 15

Military planes bombed suspected militant positions in the Laddah, Nawazkot, Khaisora, Saam, Sararogha and Tiarza areas of South Waziristan, killing at least 32 militants and non-combatants. 12 people were reportedly killed and seven others injured in the Kanigram and Karama areas of Laddah sub-division and nine in Nawazkot area adjacent to North Waziristan. Five people were killed when their car was hit in Maulvi Khan Sarai and six people died and five wounded in Tiarza. Officials said that three SF personnel were injured when a military base in Jandola came under a rocket attack.

While the Government is yet to formally launch a military operation in South Waziristan, the Pakistan Air Force has reportedly intensified attacks in the region. Over the past five days, more than 60 militants and non-combatants have been killed. "We are targeting militant hideouts with jetfighters and helicopter gunships in the first phase of an operation in South Waziristan," said Secretary Law and Order FATA, Tariq Hayat. "There are some 1,500 foreign militants including Uzbeks, Chechens, Arabs and Sudanese in South Waziristan," he added. Residents said jets carried out repeated sorties in the area.

Four Afghan Taliban militants were killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan. The slain men reportedly belonged to the Ghaznavi group of the Jalaluddin Haqqani network of the Taliban in Afghanistan "Three missiles were fired by the drone in Dandi Darphakhel area and killed four Afghan Taliban from the Haqqani network," officials told. The strike occurred in the backdrop of the army’s preparations for an operation against the TTP in neighbouring South Waziristan Agency.

The North Waziristan Political Agent Mathar Zeb announced an indefinite curfew in the Miranshah, Mir Ali and Dosali areas.

Four militants were killed as the Security Forces targeted militant hideouts in the Utmankhel area of Orakzai Agency. Tribal and official sources said the jetfighters targeted the hideouts and compounds of the militants in Utmankhel area, killing four militants and targeting three compounds.

October 16

12 Taliban militants were killed during the third day of bombings in South Waziristan while 18 others were injured. Six terrorist hideouts were destroyed and several houses damaged.

Helicopter gunships killed 10 Taliban militants during raids on suspected terrorist bases in Bajaur Agency.

In Bajaur, three more terrorists were killed and two injured during a clash between Security Forces and the Taliban in the Salarzai area, local sources said.

A security official said suspected Taliban militants had launched a rocket attack at a military camp in the Shakai area of South Waziristan, killing three soldiers and wounding four.

October 17

The Pakistan Army launched Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path of Salvation), combating the Hakeemullah Mehsud-led TTP killing 30 Taliban militants in air strikes targeting the Kotkai, Makeen and Ladah regions in South Waziristan of FATA on three different fronts. Four soldiers had also been killed and 12 others wounded on the first day of the offensives. "The ground offensive has started," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. "The headquarters of the defunct TTP will be surgically targeted to dismantle the network of the terror outfit," the APP news agency quoted him as stating on a radio programme. He said intelligence reports had revealed around 80 percent of the terrorist attacks in the country originated from South Waziristan, adding about 1,500 foreign terrorists were believed to be hiding in the area in addition to the locals. Meanwhile, the Government imposed a curfew in the region, shutting down all link roads to and from Waziristan and jamming the mobile and telecommunication systems in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat and Bannu Districts. Official sources said the military was converging on Taliban strongholds from three directions — Jandola in the east, Shakai in the west and Razmak in the north. They said initial reports had revealed the Taliban were putting up "stiff resistance" to the army’s advances. The local population of the conflict-stricken areas has moved to safer places, with the UN predicting around 250,000 people fled their homes in anticipation of the operation. Authorities have set up registration camps for these IDPs in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. Sources in the FATA Secretariat said 12,800 families had already been registered in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank, adding, preparations were underway to accommodate more in the relief camps.

12 Taliban militants were killed and two injured in clashes between the SFs and Taliban in the Bajaur and Mohmand Agencies. Political administration officials said that three militants were killed in the Salarzai tehsil (revenue division) of Bajaur Agency, adding two others were injured. The SFs also arrested four Taliban militants at Khar, headquarters of Bajaur, while 16 Taliban militants surrendered to the SFs in the Mamoond tehsil. Official sources said the SFs continued the military operations in the Warr Mamoond and Salarzai tehsils to restore the Government’s writ in these areas, adding, Taliban hideouts were being shelled with helicopters.

A spokesman for the Frontier Corps Media Cell said that SFs killed nine Taliban militants, including seven foreigners, in an overnight operation in Agra Post of Mohmand Agency. He said one soldier was martyred in the fighting.

Three soldiers were killed and six injured after two separate remote controlled bombings targeted SFs convoys in Waziristan. Sources said a security convoy travelling to South Waziristan from the Razmak subdivision of North Waziristan was targeted two kilometres from the army camp. They said two soldiers were killed and four others injured in the bombing, which also destroyed the vehicle. Separately, a security official said that one soldier had been killed and two others wounded in a bombing in Jandola town of South Waziristan.

October 18

The Army claimed killing 60 militants and losing five soldiers with 11 others sustaining injuries in the past 24 hours as Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path of Salvation) launched in South Waziristan Agency entered the second day. In its advance towards the Taliban stronghold of Makeen, the SFs clashed with militants, killing 30 of them in the Jandola, Kotkai and Srarogha areas, said a statement of the ISPR. It said two soldiers died and four others sustained injuries in these clashes. The Mandana, Kund and Tarakai areas were secured from this side, added the statement. The operation progressed seven kilometres north of Shakai from the second direction where the SFs had captured areas like Boya Narai and Wozi Sar from the militants, said the ISPR, which also claimed that 20 militants and a soldier were killed while three soldiers were wounded in the same area. Securing some key heights around and south of Razmak, the Army said the advancing SFs killed 10 militants and lost two soldiers with four sustaining injuries.

In their first reaction since the launch of the ground offensive by the Army, the Taliban rejected the casualty toll mentioned by the ISPR and said only one of their men was killed and three injured in an air raid in the Makeen area. Calling media offices from an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed the militants had inflicted "heavy casualties" on the troops and pushed them back from their strongholds. There was, however, no independent confirmation of the claims made by both the sides as mobile phones had not been working in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu since the launch of the operations on October 16-night while communication lines were out of order in North and South Waziristan.

Reports suggested that the SFs started advancing from three directions. However, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed it was from four directions. He said the Taliban attacked and inflicted casualties on the troops in Kund and Kalkala during their advance towards Spinkai Raghzai. The troops were also targeted near Razmak, Faridullah Mela in Shakai, Zawar Mela and Khaisoor, claimed the Taliban spokesman. "We are determined to fight back as this war has been imposed on us," he added.

More than 100,000 people have fled South Waziristan after the military operation was launched, officials said. "Around 100,000 people have been displaced. They are settling in neighbouring Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts," Colonel Waseem Shahid from an army support group said. "Some 80,000 people had already left Waziristan before the operation. More people are coming out. In the last two days about 1,500 families or you can say some 22,000 people have left the area," he added. Officials said the number could rise to 200,000 with more families expected to leave in the coming days, despite an indefinite curfew slapped on parts of South Waziristan, home to a population of 600,000. A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Pakistan confirmed that authorities had registered more than 100,000 displaced people. "Over the last five days, 3,065 families (around 21,000 people) registered... before this latest influx there had been about 80,500 people or 11,000 families," Ariane Rummery said.

October 19

Eighteen Taliban militants and two soldiers were killed and 12 soldiers were injured in the last 24 hours in South Waziristan, the ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said. He told journalists at a press conference that the SFs were advancing from three fronts: on the Jandola–Sararogha axis, on the Shakai-Ladha axis and from the south and southwest of Razmak. He said the SFs had surrounded Kotkai, the hometown of Qari Hussain – reportedly the "mentor of suicide bombers" - and secured Tor Ghundai (east of Kotkai) and Shishwarm (northeast of Kotkai). He said the SFs were consolidating positions after securing Sherwangi despite stiff resistance from the Taliban. Abbas said the troops were also consolidating their positions in the south and southwest of Razmak despite rocket fire from Makeen.

12 members of a displaced family were killed when a bomb hit them in South Waziristan. The dead included women and children. According to sources, the family was fleeing the army operation against militants in Hendi Zawar area. Unconfirmed reports suggested that they were hit by a shell fired from a jet plane. Some displaced people who had managed to reach Razmak area of North Waziristan said the family belonged to the Shabikhel tribe.

Thousands of people are reportedly stranded in various areas of South Waziristan because of a closure of roads by the SFs and non-availability of transport. They are also facing a severe shortage of food and medicines.

14 militants were killed and several others sustained injuries when jet fighters targeted militant hideouts in the Yakkaghund and Baizai subdivisions of Mohmand Agency. Official sources said fighter planes of the Pakistan Air Force targeted the militant hideouts in Karair, Koz Chinari, Shamshah, Spinki Tangi and Badmanai areas of the Yakkaghund subdivision and the Dawezai area of Baizai. They said the bombing killed 14 militants and many others wounded. Several militant hideouts were also destroyed in the air strikes, the sources added.

Three children were killed in the Dawezai area of Baizai sub-division when some bombs missed the target and hit the civilian area.

Six Taliban militants were killed and three others injured during operations by the SFs in the Salarzai and Mamoond sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency.

A suspected Taliban militant was killed while attempting to build a bomb in the Mandal area of Bajaur Agency. The explosion killed the militant and also injured some members of his family.

The SFs claimed to have recovered an unspecified quantity of heavy artillery, including anti-aircraft guns, from Khar, headquarters of Bajaur Agency.

October 20

The army killed 20 militants on the fourth day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat against the TTP in South Waziristan, the military said, as troops intensified the battle for the control of Kotkai. The TTP claimed they killed seven soldiers in an attack, but the army said only four soldiers had been killed in the assault on positions around Kotkai – the hometown of TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud and trainer of suicide bombers Qari Hussain. The Taliban casualties have taken the death toll to 91 since the launch of the operation on October 16. "We are consolidating our positions around Kotkai, and control of this town will pave the way for deeper advances towards Makeen and other strongholds of the Taliban," said military officials. They said troops battling their way into Kotkai were facing resistance from the Taliban. "Fierce fighting going with the Taliban is in progress... we have to take full control of the town before we move deeper into Taliban territory," said the officials.

An ISPR statement said that the SFs were consolidating their positions on Jandola, and extending a security perimeter around Kaskai and Shisanwam. It said Taliban militants from surrounding heights were engaging the SFs with rockets and small arms. The army said important heights surrounding Sherwangi had also been secured, and "Taliban are abandoning their positions". Troops also seized arms and ammunition during the course of the operation’s fourth day. Long-range artillery, helicopter gunships and jet fighters are backing ground troops in the operation, fleeing residents told reporters in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.

The Taliban warned Mehsud elders against support to the military. "We call on Mehsud leaders not to support or speak in favour of the government. If any Mehsud tribesman collaborates with the government or speaks in their favour, stern action will be taken against them," said Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq.

A report from Dera Ismail Khan stated that the Pakistan Army has struck deals to keep two powerful tribal chiefs — Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur — from joining the battle against the Government, officials told. Under the terms agreed to about three weeks ago, Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur will stay out of the current fight in parts of South Waziristan. They will also allow the army to move through their own lands unimpeded, giving the military additional fronts from which to attack the Taliban. In exchange, the army will ease patrols and bombings in the lands controlled by the two warlords, two Pakistani intelligence officials based in the region told.

SFs killed three militants and arrested two others during the ongoing operation in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency, the Frontier Corps’ media cell said. During the operation in Dora, Gurgray and Landay Killay, two militants, identified as Najeeb and Shan, were killed. Separately, in Miliward, the SFs arrested two militants and impounded a vehicle along with a large cache of arms.

Two of the six recruits of the Frontier Corps (FC) abducted by unidentified gunmen were shot dead by the captors and their bodies dumped in the Yakh Kandao area of Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources told that unknown armed men attacked the houses of six FC recruits, Muhammad Yaseen, Muhammad Hafiz, Muhammad Irshad, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Ashraf and Umar Islam, and dragged them out of their homes in the Shamsuddin area. They said the kidnappers then bundled them into their vehicles and fled. The kidnapped recruits, who belonged to Aakhel tribe, had recently come home after completing their training when they were abducted. The Orakzai Agency unit of the TTP had earlier issued threats to the tribesmen to stop joining the Security Forces or face consequences.

October 21

Fighter jets targeted Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan, as the army hoisted the national flag in the Shingwari area on the fifth day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat. An ISPR press release stated that, in the past 24 hours, 15 Taliban militants had been killed and 10 injured after jet fighters and long-range artillery struck Taliban positions in the Badar, Sam, Sararogha, Nanoo, Ladah and Makeen areas. It said four soldiers, including an officer, had also died in the same period.

The army continued its efforts to secure Kotkai – the hometown of "suicide bomber mentor" Qari Hussain. "Soldiers have captured the Taliban positions around Kotkai, securing their hold over the area… We are encircling the Kotkai village," sources in the political administration said.

12 persons, including Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants, were killed and several others injured in a bomb blast in Surkot village, five kilometres east of Miranshah, regional headquarters of North Waziristan Agency.

Tribal and Taliban sources said four houses were destroyed in the blast caused by explosives dumped inside the house in Surkot. They denied reports that the blast was caused by a drone attack. Among those dead was reportedly Al Qaeda operative Abu Musa al-Misri (an expert at preparing suicide vehicles). However, militant sources denied the killing of any senior Al Qaeda operative in the blast, but admitted that some of the victims were "guests". They said a man with the same name — Abu Musa al-Misri — has already been declared dead in two previous drone attacks at Naurak and later at Khaisura in the Mirali subdivision of North Waziristan. A senior Taliban commander said the dead included Arabs, Pakistani and Afghan fighters, and some children of Arab militants. He said the militants dumped huge explosives inside the house and were making a bomb from explosives when they mistakenly touched some wires that caused a huge blast. He said four other houses located in the same vicinity were also destroyed, causing widespread destruction.

Three militants were killed and as many injured during a search operation in the Charmang area of Bajaur Agency. Tribal sources said that the SFs continued search operation against militants in Charmang valley. They said that three militants were killed and as many injured when they challenged the troops in the valley.

Three SF personnel and two civilians were injured in roadside bomb blasts in different areas of the Nawagai and Mamoond subdivisions.

12 militants surrendered to the SFs in the Mamoond sub-division of Bajaur Agency.

October 22

SFs continued consolidating positions in the Tor Ghundai and Gurgurai Sar areas of South Waziristan on the sixth day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat. According to the ISPR, 24 militants and two Army soldiers were killed and four soldiers were wounded in different areas on the Jandola-Srarogha and Shakai-Ladha axis. There was no comment from the Taliban about the casualty toll. Sources said 12 of the slain militants were foreigners. Although Army officials confirmed the killing of two soldiers, independent sources put the death toll at four.

Displaced people arriving in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan through different routes said Taliban positions were being targeted with artillery, jet fighters and gunship helicopters in Makeen, Ladha and Srarogha. They said majority of the areas where the troops had reached and which were once considered the strongholds of Taliban had been vacated by the civilians. The troops, the sources said, had almost halted advance onward from Kotkai village in a bid to secure the area before going ahead into the mountainous and forested areas to chase the militants.

The ISPR statement said intense fighting took place in Tor Ghundai, which resulted in the killing of 13 militants while the rest fled into the nearby mountains. The troops secured the Tor Ghundai village after the battle. The statement said SFs were in the process of securing Shishamwam where efforts were on to clear the caves. The area of Mizowam in this sector had been secured, said the statement. The troops captured the Gurgura Sar area on the Shakai-Ladha axis, and were attempting to strengthen positions north of Sherwangai.

Militants are reported to have attacked the SFs in Boay Naray, located west of Sherwangai. The attack was repulsed and in the consequent encounter 11 of the attackers were killed. One soldier was also killed and three others wounded in the clash that took place, said the ISPR statement.

Security officials said the troops started patrolling the Torwam-Sherwangai Road after seizing control of the Torwam Bridge, which was under control of the militants since 2007. The ISPR statement said the bridge was the key link between Torwam and Ladha.

Militants fired six rockets on the Razmak Army Camp, killing one soldier and injuring another.

Displaced people from South Waziristan continued arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Many reaching the two cities were handed over tents and some food but the displaced people reportedly complained about lack of help by the Government. According to the ISPR, 7,184 families have been registered in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan since October 13. Five registration points have been established in the city of Dera Ismail Khan. The Government is, however, yet to establish a camp for the displaced people.

Five militants were killed and four others sustained injuries in clashes with the SFs in different areas of Bajaur Agency. Sources said that troops returned fire after a military convoy on patrol in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division was attacked. Three militants were killed and two others injured. One trooper also sustained injuries. Further, two militants were killed and two others injured in a clash in the Lowi Sam area of Khar sub-division. The clash is reported to have erupted when militants attacked a check-post.

Helicopter gunships targeted militants’ positions in different areas of the Salarzai sub-division and destroyed three hideouts.

In the Mamond sub-division, two people were wounded when an explosive device placed on a road went off in the Tarkho area. One soldier was injured by the roadside bomb blast in the Barkhlozo area of Lowi Mamond. Two other bombs were defused by the SFs in the same area.

A man was injured when rockets hit his house in the Mulla Syed area of Salarzai sub-division. The rockets which appeared to have been fired at a check-post missed the intended target. Separately, a private hospital was reportedly blown up in Nawagai bazaar.

14 militants are reported to have surrendered to the SFs voluntarily in the Lowi Mamond sub-division.

The SFs claimed to have killed three militants and demolished their seven houses and six hideouts during operations in different areas of the Mohmand Agency. Official sources said that the SFs continued advancing towards the remote borderlands in Baizai subdivision. The sources said a clash took place between the SFs and militants in the Manzari Cheena area of Baizai sub-division. Three militants were killed and several others injured during the clash. The troops also conducted search operations in various parts of the Baizai and Safi sub-divisions where seven houses and six hideouts of the militants were destroyed and a number of suspects were arrested.

October 23

18 persons, including some women and children, were killed and six others sustained injuries when a bus hit a landmine in the Mohmand Agency. According to Mohmand Rifles, the bus carrying wedding guests from Rawalpindi hit the mine at Suran Darra Chowk, some 25 kilometres from the Mamad Gat Frontier Corps camp. "The device was placed by militants who wanted to hit tanks and armoured personnel carriers," official sources said. Officials of the political administration confirmed that 18 people had been killed and six others were wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for planting the mine, but local people and officials believe it was the work of militants in reaction to a search operation carried out in the area by security agencies a few days ago. Several militants were arrested and houses of a number of suspects were demolished during the search operation.

Fierce fighting was reported from the Sherwangai area in South Waziristan Agency as troops started their advance towards the militants’ strongholds on the Shakai-Ladha axis, the seventh day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat. The Army claimed killing 13 militants, raising the casualty toll of the Taliban to 142 since October 17. However, the Taliban said only three of their men were killed since the launch of the operation. However, claims from both sides could not be confirmed.

After three days of fighting, SFs were seen in full control of Sherwangai, its surrounding heights and the nearby village of Chalweshtai where troops had been deployed on the mountain peaks to avoid militants’ attacks from different directions, sources said. Fighter jets and artillery targeted suspected militants positions in Mashta, Ragh, Sam, Srarogha, Penga, Ladha and Makeen areas, but there were no reports about casualties. A statement from the ISPR said that 13 militants and two soldiers were killed in clashes and rocket fire in and around Kotkai, Sherwangai and Chalweshtai areas. Seven soldiers sustained injuries in the fighting. The ISPR said one soldier and seven militants were killed and two soldiers injured during an encounter around Kotkai while another soldier and six Uzbek militants were killed in the fighting around the Sherwangai area. Five more soldiers sustained injuries. The military statement said one Vickers machine gun, one rocket launcher, along with three rockets, two Kalashnikov rifles, along with 300 rounds, one sniper rifle, one hand-grenade, two walkie-talkie sets and books in Uzbek language were also recovered.

According to the ISPR, 142 militants and 20 soldiers have been killed since October 17. 56 soldiers suffered injuries while the troops arrested six suspected militants during the operation. The Taliban, however, has confirmed the killing of only three of their men in the past one week. Talking to reporters from an undisclosed location by phone, the outlawed TTP spokesman, Azam Tariq, said only three of their colleagues had been killed since the launch of the military operation. He claimed that six tribesmen had also been killed during the past seven days. Azam Tariq also warned the media not to present one side of the picture.

Five militants were killed when military planes and artillery attacked their positions in the Mulla Syed and Banda areas of Bajaur Agency. Three militants were injured and a local Taliban leader Gul Amin surrendered. Troops also destroyed three tunnels in the Mulla Syed area.

October 24

21 Taliban militants and three soldiers killed were killed as SFs took control of Kotkai in South Waziristan, an important TTP stronghold and the native town of its chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, after intense fighting. Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Athar Abbas said 21 terrorists had been killed and three soldiers martyred while eight people had been injured. "Reliable sources have reported that due to the pressure of the ongoing operation, there have been large-scale desertions amongst the rank of terrorists groups. It has been also reported that the terrorists are shaving and trimming their beards to escape from the area," Abbas said. He said the military had not reached an accord with any militant outfit in FATA, adding however, that the Government had signed a few agreements with people from the Tribal Areas, including the Ahmedzai and Wazir tribes through the FATA Secretariat to secure their support against the terrorists. Asked about collaboration with the US in executing the operation, the Army spokesman said, "We have asked them (the US) to let us finish the job on our own and get the support of local population (against terrorists)."

A suspected US drone killed 22 militants in Bajaur Agency. The drone targeted a Taliban shura (leadership council) meeting in Damadola area, which is 12 kilometres north of Khar. Sources in the political administration said TTP deputy chief Maulvi Faqir left the site minutes before the strike, adding that his relatives were among the dead.

October 25

23 militants were killed as troops advanced deeper into the Taliban-controlled territory in South Waziristan and captured Gherlama, an important position north of Kotkai, the hometown of TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud. Four soldiers are reported to have died in fierce gun-battles in areas around Gherlama, Kotkai, Nawazkot and Spinqamer. Shin Gher, a vital hilltop near Razmak in North Waziristan, was also captured.

Tanks, backed by military jets and helicopter gunships, are reported to have targeted Taliban positions in South Waziristan. According to the ISPR, troops secured the important Tarkona Narai hill after a 16-hour gun-battle and made gains on the Jandola-Sararogha axis, securing important ridges. ISPR said that 15 more terrorists and a soldier were killed as troops moved beyond Kotkai. Troops have secured Point 1125 north of Shishwam, an important ridge on the Jandola-Sararogha axis, and another point two kilometres north of Kotkai. On the western side of the axis, the SFs secured forward ridges of Kaskai, three kilometres north-west of Kotkai.

Tarkona Narai, the highest feature on an important junction east of Sherwangi, has also been secured on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis. The hilltop had four strong points and a series of bunkers. Four terrorists were killed in the battle for the hilltop and eight others when they tried to flee from the area. One non-commissioned officer and three soldiers were also killed in the incident. Local officials said that landmines had slowed the advance of troops. They said 15 terrorists and three soldiers had been injured in the offensive. Security Forces, officials said, consolidated their positions in Kotkai and captured a number of other areas over the past few days. They said helicopter gunships attacked terrorists’ positions in Kaniguram.

The TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud is reported to have urged the Government to stop the operation which he said had been launched to get US aid.

Many displaced people arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank Districts of the NWFP said that the militants had left the villages recently captured by Security Forces days before the launch of the military operation. "They have gone into the mountains or shifted to the neighbouring Orakzai Agency while some moved to the adjoining parts of Balochistan," said a tribesman.

Six militants and three soldiers were killed in a clash in the Mattak village of Nawagai sub-division in Bajaur Agency. Tribal sources said a group of militants attacked a check-post of the SFs in Mattak village, killing three soldiers on the spot. Following the incident, the SFs targeted the positions of the militants with artillery guns from Khar, the regional headquarters of Bajaur Agency. Consequently, six militants were killed and three others injured while several militant hideouts were also destroyed. Clashes between the militants and SFs were also reported from the Mulla Said area of Salarzai sub-division. There was, however, no report on the loss of life from either side.

The house of a militant was destroyed in shelling by gunship helicopters in the Ghundai and Mandal areas of Khar sub-division. The volunteers of Mamond Qaumi Lashkar (militia) also continued action against suspected militants in their areas.

The death toll in the US drone attack in Bajaur Agency increased to 33 when 13 wounded persons succumbed to their injuries. Sources in the Damadola area, located less than 10 kilometres from Bajaur’s headquarters Khar, said the injured persons died on the way to clinics. They said six more injured persons were in a critical condition and there was apprehension that the death toll could rise further. The US drones had fired three missiles at a bunker used by militants near Choutra village in Damadola area. Initial reports said 20 persons were killed and dozens others were injured in the strike.

Six militants were killed when jet fighters targeted their hideouts in the Ghiljo area in Upper Orakzai Agency. Eyewitnesses said that two hideouts and a camp of the Taliban were also destroyed in the air strikes. They said that jetfighters attacked hideouts of Taliban three times and killed at least six militants in Ghiljo Bazaar, considered a stronghold of Taliban affiliated with the Hakeemullah Mehsud group. The Tariq Afridi group of Taliban controls a small part of lower Orakzai Agency.

Two militants were killed and four others sustained injuries while two explosives-laden vehicles were destroyed in action by the SFs in the Khyber Agency. The SFs targeted positions of the militants from the Fort Salop in the Gurguri area. In the heavy firing, a militant belonging to the Sipah tribe was killed, official sources said. They added that four others, including a ‘commander’, sustained injuries in the firing by the SFs. The official sources said one vehicle loaded with explosives and arms was also destroyed in the attack. In another incident, the SFs claimed they blew up the vehicle of militants that that had been left behind by the fleeing militants in the Akakhel area. They claimed that troops in the same area also killed a militant who had opened fire on the soldiers from a car.

October 26

Continuing their advance from three sides on the TTP strongholds of Srarogha, Ladha and Makeen on the 10^th day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat, the SFs claimed killing 19 more militants in three separate clashes. Six Army soldiers were also killed while 20 others sustained injuries during clashes between the two sides in the Gharlai, Sarwek, Shaga and Sharkai Sar areas. Independent confirmation of the casualty was, however, not possible as the area has been under curfew for the past 10 days and communication links had been snapped.

In their advance from three sides over the past 10 days, the SFs have captured Kotkai, village of the TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud and his cousin and suicide bombers’ trainer Qari Hussain, along with Sherwangai, Nawazkot, Chalweshtai and some key ridges. However, the troops faced tough resistance on the 10th day in their advance towards the TTP stronghold of Srarogha. Sources said a clash occurred when the Taliban militants tried to block the way of advancing troops near Srarogha. Military officials said 10 militants were killed in the clash which also claimed the lives of six Army soldiers. 14 soldiers sustained injuries and were evacuated with the help of military helicopters.

Giving details of the advance made by SFs on the 10th day, the ISPR said the troops secured the Kazhakas area on the road leading to Inzar Killay and Srarogha. The troops also secured Gharlai village on Kotkai-Srarogha road. On the Shakai-Kaniguram axis, the ISPR said troops surrounded Sarwek village, one kilometre north of Chalweshtai, and secured the surrounding ridges. Seven militants were killed and five soldiers injured in the operation in the same zone. From the Razmak side, the SFs claimed securing the Shaga village and Sharakai Sar in the Nawazkot area. Two militants were killed and one soldier injured in the operation. The political administration officials said troops had secured the Moomi Karam and Sarwek villages after getting control of Chalweshtai. They said the troops would be able to reach and control the strategic peaks of Asman Manza and Karwan Manza in next two days.

Thousands of people have reportedly been displaced from areas inhabited by the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan and have taken refuge in parts of the neighbouring North Waziristan Agency as well as the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan Districts in the NWFP. Locals said almost all the people had left Sarwekai and Ladha sub-divisions. Only a small number of people had stayed behind to guard their houses and belongings, said tribesmen arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank.

Nine militants were killed during clashes with the SFs in different areas of the Bajaur Agency. Sources said about 15 militants attacked a security post in the Mattak area near the Afghan border on October 25 and killed a Junior Commissioned Officer and three other SF personnel. Two other SF personnel sustained injuries in the attack. Troops subsequently fired back, killing six militants and injuring four others.

The militants fired seven missiles on security posts in Tawheedabad and Sadiqabad and a base in Bilalabada. However, the missiles caused no damage or casualty. Three militants were killed and one was injured in an exchange of fire which continued for over about an hour. Militants also fired missiles on a flour mill in Bajaur, causing damage to the building and machinery. The managing director of the mill, Haji Mehboob, said the militants appeared to have targeted the upper portion of the building where security forces had set up a picket.

The SFs in Lee Sam and Khar targeted militants’ positions in the area with artillery. Officials said several militant hideouts were destroyed by the shelling. The troops are reported to have faced stiff resistance from the Taliban in Charmang, but have cleared 90 per cent of the area.

The Security Forces claimed to have killed four militants and injured six others in aerial bombardment carried out at Mamozai area in Orakzai Agency. Official and tribal sources said the jet fighters targeted the hideouts and compounds of militants in Mamozai area, killing four militants and injuring six others.

October 27

SFs claimed killing 42 more militants, raising the toll to 240 since the launch of Operation Rah-e-Nijat targeting the TTP in South Waziristan Agency on October 17. The troops admitted losing one soldier and injuries to two others as they advanced on the militants’ strongholds of Srarogha, Makeen and Ladha from three directions, using Wana, Jandola and Razmak as their rear bases. Tribal sources said the troops were facing stiff resistance during their advance towards Srarogha, the stronghold of the TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, after the capture of Kotkai, Sherwangai, Chalweshtai and other small villages and mountain ridges from the Taliban.

The political administration officials said fighter planes bombed Ladha, Shpeshtin, Gadawai, Kacha Langarkhel, Mashta, Sam and Selai Rogha. The villages of Badar, Nano, Kotkhel, Jalandhar and Karama were targeted with heavy artillery guns from the Wana side while the villages of Aimarkhel and Bandkhel were targeted from Razmak. Sources said five hideouts of militants were destroyed in bombing by the planes while a huge cache of weapons was seized in the Badar area. The sources said nearly three-dozen militants had been killed in bombing on different areas. The troops were reportedly facing resistance from the militants in Ghorlama village.

According to the ISPR, the SFs cleared the village of Zeriwam on the Jandola-Srarogha axis. One soldier and five militants were killed in clashes in and around Zeriwam and Garlai areas, it added. Advancing from Chalweshtai on Shakai-Kaniguram axis, the troops reached the suburbs of Kund Mela and Momi Karam areas and started removing improvised explosive devices from the roads. Seven militants were reportedly killed during an engagement with troops in the same area. SFs said they had regained the control of the old Frontier Corps post in Nawazkot and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the area located on the Razmak-Makeen axis. The ISPR statement said the troops clashed with militants in Tawda Cheena, Vedan, Manza Sar, Zare Sar and Makeen, killing 30 of them. Two soldiers were injured as militants fired two rockets at the Razmak camp.

The United Nation’s figures revealed that 205,000 people had been displaced from South Waziristan due to the military operation. The latest figures released on October 27 suggested that some 50,000 to 80,000 people were still in the area affected by the fighting. Mentioning security concern as a problem, the statement said there was a little room for aid workers to manoeuvre in the highly-volatile areas. A similar complaint was reportedly made by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The UN said it was expecting more people to be displaced because of the ongoing fighting.

11 militants and two soldiers were killed during an encounter between the SFs and militants in the Baizai tehsil (revenue division) of Mohmand Agency. The militants attacked a check post in the Baidmani area of Baizai, triggering an attack by the SFs in which 11 militants and two soldiers were killed and two others injured. Independent sources, however, said that seven militants were killed in the clashes.

Three SF personnel were injured in a landmine explosion in the Safi area. Sources said a vehicle carrying soldiers was hit by a landmine near Khazina, causing injuries to three soldiers.

Authorities have arrested three tribesmen under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. Troops also set ablaze houses of three suspects in the Chinari area.

Unidentified persons killed an active member of the tribal Lashkar (militia) in Khar, headquarters of the Bajaur Agency. Eyewitnesses said that Shireen Khan was sitting in his shop when unidentified persons opened fire, killing him on the spot. The attackers later managed to escape despite tight security in the area.

Reports from Landi Kotal stated that two Security Force personnel were injured when militants fired rockets at Fort Salop in Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency, officials said. At least 10 rockets were fired at the fort, some eight kilometres west of Bara bazaar, by unidentified persons resulting in injuries to two soldiers of the frontier Corps. In retaliation, the troops targeted suspected positions of militants in Gurguri and adjoining areas. Later, the troops also carried out a search operation in Malikdin Khel and arrested at least five suspected militants.

Security Forces arrested six militants from the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. The operation was conducted in the Malik Din Khel area of Bara. Separately, Muzaffargarh police arrested three suspects and recovered a pistol from them. The men were identified as Abdul Sattar, Abdullah and Mukhtar.

October 28

The SFs were only a few kilometres from Srarogha, the stronghold of the Hakeemullah Mehsud-led TTP, on the 12^th day of the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency. Sources said some militants were fleeing to North Waziristan from the Srarogha side and via the Shawal Road from Makeen due to increased pressure from the advancing troops. Local sources said the troops were heading for Srarogha after getting full control of Kotkai and securing the surrounding areas and ridges. "The next important point is Srarogha, where a tough battle is expected once the troops get close," said a political administration official. The ISPR said 25 militants were killed and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered. Five soldiers sustained injuries in the clashes and in attacks from the militants in different areas, it added. The ISPR said SFs made considerable progress on the Kotkai-Srarogha axis and secured the area overlooking the TTP stronghold of Srarogha. Eight militants were killed and three soldiers were wounded in incidents in that area. The statement also said 25 Taliban training centres and nine caves were destroyed in Kotkai while three more training centres were overrun in the Murghaband area. According to tribesmen, the Kaniguram village on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis is a strong base of militants, where mostly Uzbeks were based. The troops secured an important area of Karwan Manza, located two kilometres east of Kaniguram. SFs also continued a search for militants and arms in Nawazkot, a strategic village located on the Razmak-Makeen axis. Local sources said that the SFs would be able to capture the high points of Asman Manza after getting control of Kaniguram, which is currently under a siege. Control over Asman Manza and Karwan Manza would enable the troops to advance on Kokatkhel, Karama, Delay, Mashta, Badar and other areas of Ladha sub-division and Sarwekai, the sources said. They added that six militants were killed and four injured in a clash with the SFs in the Sherkot area. Fighter planes bombed TTP hideouts in Ladha, Maidan, Patwelai and other areas, but there were no reports about casualties.

Four suspected militants were killed and three others injured in a clash with the SFs in Mohmand Agency. Sources said a group of militants attacked the Baidmani check-post in Baizai sub-division with heavy weapons at about 1.30am. Four militants, including two Afghan nationals, were killed when the troops returned fire. This was the second attack on the post in two days. Two SF personnel and 11 militants were killed in an attack on October 27. Meanwhile, a girls’ school was blown up in the Aranda village of Shabqadar area. While the school building was destroyed no casualty was reported because schools in the area were closed.

October 29

Continuing their advance towards Srarogha, the stronghold of the TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, the SFs said they had killed 11 militants and lost one soldier with two others injured, the 13^th day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat. However, reporters and cameramen of television channels flown to South Waziristan and taken on a guided visit to several points quoted the SFs as claiming that 82 militants were killed in the fighting. Local sources said the troops had surrounded Kaniguram village and were preparing to secure control of Masp Mela, Asman Manza and Karwan Manza in the next 24 hours. They said a clash took place between the SFs and militants in Kaniguram but there was no information about the casualties. Fierce clashes were also reported from Ahmadwam area near Srarogha. Local sources said 20 militants were killed in the clash in Ahmadwam. They did not mention casualties among the troops.

Jet fighters bombed Srarogha, Spina Mela, Ladha, Piazha, Sam and other areas, believed to be the hiding places and strongholds of the TTP. These areas were also being targeted by artillery guns from Army bases in Razmak and Jandola, local sources said. They said several militants had been killed and injured, but the exact casualty toll could not be confirmed. An ISPR statement said the troops consolidated their position on the Kotkai-Srarogha axis from Jandola side. It claimed the troops captured Inzar Killay and clearance operation also continued in Zariwam village. Five militants were killed in Ganra Kas village in the same area. A mortar fire also killed one soldier and injured two others.

On the Shakai-Kaniguram axis, a training centre was discovered as the troops continued siege of Kaniguram. The troops also captured an important height west of Kaniguram overlooking the road to Ghanikhel and Mazkai. Six militants were killed and their bunkers were destroyed in the same area, said the ISPR statement. The SFs are also reportedly consolidating their positions in Servek and Tarkona Narai, it added.

Since the launch of the operation, security officials have claimed killing over 250 militants. They have also admitted the death of 31 soldiers since October 17. However, there are no reports from independent sources about the casualties and the gains by the troops. Most of the information about the operation is provided by the ISPR.

Army troops have discovered the passport of a militant linked to two hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks, during an operation against the Taliban in South Waziristan. A private TV channel reported on October 29 that the passport belonging to Said Bahaji, a German of Moroccan origin, was among documents, weapons and literature seized by the military and shown to a group of journalists during an official trip. The channel reported the passport showed the man had arrived in Karachi just days before 9/11. However, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas, who accompanied the reporters on the trip to South Waziristan, had no comments to offer. "I haven’t seen the passport. These reporters may have seen it," he said. Bahaji’s name has appeared in the 9/11 Commission Report.

October 30

14 Taliban militants and two soldiers were killed on the 14^th day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency. All 14 militants were killed along the Jandola-Sararogha axis, with troops advancing towards and securing an important area west of Dralima and northwest of Ahnei Kalle. Two soldiers were killed when the militants fired mortar shells. "On the Shakai-Kaniguram axis, forces secured... ridge point 6,954 – 3 kilometres north of Kundmela and 2 kilometres west of Kaniguram," said a ISPR statement. Further, the ISPR said a clearance operation is underway in Khaikaeh Narai and surrounding areas. Troops – after fully securing Asman Manza – are reportedly expanding their security perimeter with a search-and-clearance operation in Kaniguram in progress. "On the Razmak-Makeen axis, the forces are consolidating their positions at Pakalita Sar and Manza Sar... dominating Razmak-Makeen Road," said the statement. In addition, fighter jets are reported to have bombed Taliban positions in Kaniguram and Makeen.

At least two Taliban militants were killed when tribesmen retaliated against an attack on the chief of a peace committee, and a peace volunteer was injured in crossfire in the Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. An administration official said Taliban militants attacked the peace committee chief, Malik Sultan, with heavy weapons in Baizai area. At least two militants were killed and four injured in the ensuing clash, which continued for about an hour. Sultan is reported to have escaped unhurt.

The political administration of Mohmand Agency is reported to have arrested eight Mehsud tribesmen from the Safi sub-division.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the Taliban torched 409 educational institutions in the Malakand Division of the NWFP and 64 in FATA. Calling the Taliban "professional killers and liars", the minister said they were enemies of Islam and Pakistan and had nefarious designs to destabilise the country. Malik reiterated the Government’s firm stance of uprooting the menace of extremism and terrorism from the country.

October 31

33 Taliban militants were killed in the decisive battle for control of the Mehsud mainland in the Sararogha area. Four army personnel were injured in the attack. "Security forces have entered Sararogha," the statement added. "The town has been surrounded from all three entry points. All the key positions and ridges around Sararogha have been taken over by security forces," it said. "During the process of moving forward, intense exchanges of fire took place. Thirteen terrorists have been killed. The military will begin its clearance operation of Sararogha in the next 24 hours. There is a substantial presence of terrorists in the town," ISPR Director General Major Gen Athar Abbas said. By being on the brink of controlling both Sararogha and Kaniguram – the two main Mehsud towns where Taliban militants held great sway – the military appears to be moving ahead of schedule. Also, advancing from the Shakai side, the military captured Karama village, a training centre of Uzbek militants. Separately, the military cleared Nawazkot of Taliban militants and moved onto the outskirts of Makeen.

Pakistan Air Force fighter planes bombed militant hideouts in the Orakzai and Kurram areas of FATA, killing 15 Taliban militants. The official sources said jet fighters bombed three suspected hideouts of TTP leader Hakeemullah Mehsud in Orakzai, killing at least eight Taliban militants and wounding several others. They said another air strike in Kurram killed seven militants.

One militant was killed and several injured in clashes between SFs and the Taliban in Bajaur.

Seven SF personnel were killed and 12 other injured when Taliban militants attacked their vehicle using a remote-controlled bomb in the Sur Dhand area of Bara in the FATA. Officials blamed local militants for the attack on the soldiers. They were not specific, but said that Lashkar-e-Islam is the main militant outfit fighting in the area. The group has ties to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan headquartered in South Waziristan, where the military has launched an offensive aimed at rooting out Taliban militants.

November 1

The SFs killed 16 TTP militants and injured 10 others in clashes during Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency. In the battle to control Sararogha, one of the main TTP strongholds, SFs killed six militants and injured four others. Separately, aerial strikes in Ladha, Saam, Gadawai, Maidaan and Makeen killed five militants and injured three others. Four TTP hideouts were also destroyed in the air-strikes. In addition, the SFs captured Kaniguram, a town with a population of 30,000, and seized heavy weapons during a door-to-door search operation.

Nine militants and two soldiers were killed during the fighting, taking the TTP death toll to 331 in 16 days of fighting. 38 soldiers have been killed in the operation so far, according to Army estimates, although there is no independent verification of casualty figures. "The command and control structure of the Taliban exists in Sararogha, Makeen and Ladha," a security official said. "It’s going to be a tough fight here," he added.

As part of the Government’s fight against the militants, it will offer bounties of up to PKR 50 million each for TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman and Qari Hussain Mehsud, AP reported. "Such people are killers of humanity, and they deserve an exemplary punishment… The brutal acts of these people are earning a bad name for the Muslims in Pakistan and around the world," the advertisement states.

Two civilians were killed as a mortar shell landed in the Alacha area of Landikotal, a sub-division of Khyber Agency, during an exchange of fire with militants late. Sources said the shell hit the house of Bahadar Khan when his family members were asleep. Consequently, his two brothers, Liaqat Khan and Saud Khan, were killed. Three more members of the same family sustained injuries in the incident. Meanwhile, in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division, some unidentified miscreants detonated a bomb outside the house of agency’s councillor, Israrullah Khan. However, no casualty was reported in the explosion. Locals said the explosion partially damaged the outer wall of the house.

Suspected Taliban militants blew up a girls’ school in Bara, injuring four people. Two explosions occurred at the 18-room Government High School for Girls in Karigar Ghari area. Locals said the blast destroyed the building and also damaged nearby houses, injuring four people. "The terrorists have blown up the school, demolishing all the rooms," said administration official Shafeerullah. Locals said a boy, who watched the premises, was also missing, possibly kidnapped by the militants.

The Army hopes to neutralise the TTP in South Waziristan Agency before the winter sets in, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. "The operation so far has been very successful. The resistance that we were expecting initially did not come with the same swiftness we were expecting," Qureshi - who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting of Islamic countries starting on November 2 (today) - told reporters. "South Waziristan is an area which is very important in order to check terrorist activity in Pakistan. Not just Pakistan, but beyond," said Qureshi. He said the armed forces had surrounded the area and choked supply lines to the Taliban. "They are on the run. They are in retreat and there is disarray over there," he claimed. Qureshi said it would be difficult to give a timeframe for total military success, but "we would want to achieve our objectives as much as possible before the winter sets in… And it seems, as things are going on, that we might be able to do so ... I can’t give you a date, but that area becomes very cold (by late December). We want to operate and establish our foothold before that."

The ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said that the Security Forces had gained complete control of Kaniguram, a major stronghold of Uzbek fighters. He said the terrorists there had been using modern weaponry, fortified positions and bunkers, adding the entire area had been cleared of mines and improvised explosive devices. He said the military had also secured Karama village, east of Kaniguram, adding other strategically important points around Kaniguram had also been secured. Giving details of Operation Rah-e-Nijat, the ISPR chief said 12 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours, adding that six SF personnel had been injured. He said he was not sure if the Taliban's top leadership had escaped to North Waziristan or was still in the area.

Seven Taliban militants were killed in clashes with the SF personnel and aerial strikes in Bajaur Agency. The air and ground assault focused on Ovishah, Seolai, Kharkay and Badalai areas in the Mamoond sub-division, destroying four terrorist hideouts. The SFs also reportedly clashed with the militants in Mulla Said and Mataak in the Salarzai sub-division.

The SFs advanced towards Janta after securing areas around the Taliban stronghold of Sararogha in the South Waziristan Agency, where 21 militants and one soldier were reported dead by the ISPR. Official sources said the troops had secured the areas around Sararogha while clashes had taken place near Makeen and Sam where the militants were offering resistance. The troops claimed killing 16 militants during clashes in Sararogha while a soldier was killed and another injured in a landmine explosion in the area. They said several IEDs planted by the militants were discovered and defused by the troops.

Local sources said the SFs had captured the Janta area located between Sararogha and Ladha. However, they said the area had already been vacated by the militants. Janta is said to be a mountainous area and once a base of the Taliban because of its strategic location. They said the troops were now advancing towards Ladha, Asman Manza and Karwan Manza, the next important points after the capture of Kaniguram. The sources also said the TTP hideouts were targeted by fighter jets and with heavy artillery in Ladha, Makeen and Sam areas. Four militants' positions were reportedly destroyed in the attack, the sources added.

The ISPR statement said besides killing 16 militants and the death of an Army soldier, two suspected militants had been arrested in Sararogha. It said militants fired six rockets on security forces in Kaniguram as they were busy searching the area for IEDs, weapons and militants to secure the adjoining ridges. The military said five militants were killed during a clash in Ghanikhel near Kaniguram. On the Razmak-Makeen axis, the troops said they had secured the area from Cheena up to Mian Nurkhel. Manza Sar had also been secured and the troops were consolidating their positions, the statement added. The ISPR said the troops came under a rocket and small arms attack from the militants near Razmak, but no one was killed or injured. One soldier sustained injuries while defusing an IED at the Chashmai bridge on the same axis.

Refuting the Army's claims about gains in South Waziristan, the TTP claimed that its fighters had staged a tactical retreat from some areas to bring the troops into hilly and forested areas. In a telephonic conversation with a foreign news agency, TTP spokesman Azam Tariq denied the Army's claims of killing over 300 militants during the last 18 days. "Only 11 of our men have been killed so far," Azam Tariq was quoted as saying. He said they were prepared for a long war with the Army and that they had retreated as part of a strategy from certain areas that the Army was claiming to have captured.

SFs continued their offensive against the Taliban in Bajaur Agency and destroyed the house of an important Taliban 'commander' in the agency's headquarters Khar, officials said. Political administration officials told that the SFs had arrested five Taliban militants in the Mamoond sub-division and blown up the house of Taliban leader Sher Khan in Khar.

Two Taliban 'commanders' are reported to have surrendered along with some weapons in Khar.

At least 30 militants were killed and eight soldiers, including two officers, sustained injuries in clashes and street fighting as the troops entered the Taliban stronghold of Ladha in South Waziristan Agency. Official sources said the fighting continued in Ladha and Sararogha and the troops cleared a major part of Sararogha following its capture a day earlier and withdrawal of most of the militants from the area. Political administration officials said the troops have also entered the Sam, Gadwai, Asman Manza and Karwan Manza areas. They said the troops faced tough resistance from the militants in Gadwai during their advance towards Ladha. However, the SFs managed to reach there after clashes with militants. The SFs also reportedly captured the Tehsil (revenue unit) building and fort in Ladha. Official sources said 10 militants were killed in the fighting.

Official sources said the troops started advancing towards Janta, Piazha and Makeen after securing control of Sararogha from the TTP. The troops were also advancing towards Ladha and Makeen from Razmak side thus narrowing the circle around the militants' stronghold from all sides. The sources said many militants had started deserting the TTP while others were escaping into the neighbouring Orakzai Agency. The sources also said the SFs had accelerated their advance towards the TTP strongholds from Wana and Razmak sides.

A statement from the Army's ISPR said 16 militants were killed during clashes with the SFs in and around Sararogha. Eight soldiers, including two officers and one Junior Commissioned Officer, sustained injuries in these clashes. On the Shakai-Kaniguram axis, the SFs entered the Ladha town, one of the key strongholds of the Hakeemullah Mehsud-led TTP. The ISPR has reported street fighting in the town and confirmed the killing of at least 10 militants. The statement also said the troops have secured the surrounding ridges. During a search operation, the troops recovered arms, ammunition, a blasting machine and swords and knives. Advancing from the third side on the Razmak-Makeen axis, the ISPR said the troops secured the Cheena village and consolidated their positions in that area. Four militants were killed while a soldier sustained injuries in the same area, the statement said, adding a huge quantity of arms and explosives were also recovered.

Sources said majority of the militants have either gone underground or fled to the neighbouring Orakzai and North Waziristan agencies instead of holding their positions to fight the advancing Army troops.

Four militants were killed when the SFs exchanged fire with them after an attack on a check-post at Hangu-Parachinar border in the Kurram Agency. A woman was also killed and three others sustained injuries when an artillery shell fell at a house in Spim Wam during the exchange of fire. Official sources said that militants fired three rockets at the security check-post in Spin Wam which was followed by heavy machinegun fire. The SFs subsequently retaliated with artillery shelling and ground troops chased the militants. Troops claimed that four militants were killed in the shootout.

Two female schoolteachers were killed when the Taliban militants ambushed their car in Shandai Mor, two kilometres from Khar in Bajaur Agency. Shazia Begum and Shamim Bibi, teachers at the Communal Girls School, were travelling from the school when militants fired on the vehicle, killing the two and injuring two other persons. The driver of the vehicle in which the teachers were travelling has reportedly been arrested.

The SFs secured Ladha Fort in South Waziristan Agency and consolidated their positions on peaks around another base of the militants. An ISPR statement said 28 TTP militants had been killed, taking the death toll for the TTP to 422 since the Operation Rah-e-Nijat began on October 17. Five soldiers, including an officer, were killed and two were injured. "Security forces have secured Ladha Fort and the northeast area of Shashak and also cleared Bangel Khel," the ISPR statement stated. SFs secured the Ladha Fort and consolidated their positions on the peaks in the Sararogha area where the five soldiers were killed in a blast, the military said. The troops also conducted house-to-house search and clearance operations in the Spin Qamar, Wucha Kauna Algad and Lugar Manza areas. The SFs also recovered a heavy cache of arms from the Razmak-Makeen axis.

The TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has urged his fighters to stand fast against the military offensive in South Waziristan, warning them in an intercepted message obtained that cowards will go to hell. "Remember this is the commandment of God that once fighting starts with the enemy, you cannot leave the battlefield without permission from your commander, and don't look for excuses to run away from the fighting," Hakeemullah told his followers in a speech on November 3 broadcast over a wireless radio network. Of those, who do run away, he warned, "Such people will go to hell." The intelligence officials shared a recording of the speech with The Associated Press, to show that the militant leader is concerned about desertions in the ranks. "We are in Jihad and we should not pay heed to the whispers of Satan. We should sacrifice our lives for Islam so that we can feel pride on the day of judgment," Hakeemullah said.

The political administration officials said the troops had advanced some 30 kilometres from the Wana direction so far. They have reportedly captured some strategically important areas of Ladha Tehsil (revenue unit), which will facilitate their advance on the Ladha town. According to officials, the SFs have got control of Garde Serai mountain after consolidating positions in Ladha and the freshly captured Ladha Fort, which was abandoned by the FC after immense pressure from the militants more than a year ago. Sources said the FC fort was mostly destroyed by the militants. A clash was reported in Shamerai village near the Ladha bridge. Officials said seven militants were killed and some others sustained injuries in the incident. They said the rest of militants fled the scene. The troops also captured Sheen Sar and the Hanrai Tangi area in their advance from Jandola towards Sararogha. From the Razmak side, the SFs have seized control of Panj Plorai and Ashkar Kot to reach the Taliban stronghold of Makeen.

A statement from the ISPR said a blast near Sararogha killed five soldiers, including one officer. Two more soldiers sustained injuries. The explosion occurred as the troops were busy in a clearance operation and consolidating their positions on the Jandola-Sararogha axis. The troops have captured the areas of Shashak and Bangalkhel on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis. Seven militants were killed in retaliatory fire from SFs in Mangora and Ghundai Ghar. The troops also secured the road from Asman Manza to Gadawai, said the ISPR statement.

Four persons were killed when a US pilotless plane struck a house with missiles in the Naurak village of North Waziristan Agency. Tribal sources said the CIA-operated drone fired two missiles at 1:25 am at a house of a tribesman named Musharraf in Naurak, 12 kilometres from Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, killing four persons. The political administration confirmed the attack but denied any casualties. However, independent sources confirmed the killing. Unnamed security officials were quoted by the foreign and local media as claiming that those killed were militants. The names and identities of the dead were, however, not available. Villagers said two vehicles parked in the house were also destroyed in the attack.

A military operation will also be conducted in North Waziristan after the completion of Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said.

Two militants were killed and three volunteers of a peace committee were injured in a clash over the abduction of a doctor in the Sturikhel area of Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources said a group of militants belonging to the Darra Adamkhel unit of the TTP had kidnapped Dr Israel Khan. However, the volunteers of Sturikhel Peace Committee chased the militants and intercepted them at Anjani area. The sources said two militants were killed in an exchange of fire while three volunteers also sustained injuries. The militants later left behind the doctor, who was rescued by the peace committee members.

The SFs arrested 75 suspected persons during a search operation in various areas of Khar sub-division in the Bajaur Agency while 21 illegal Afghan nationals were deported by political administration, official sources said. The sources said that SFs and political administration jointly launched a crackdown on militants and miscreants and arrested 75 suspected persons from the Fajja, Tauheedabad, Shandai Mor and Lashora areas in Khar sub-division.

In the Mamond sub-division, the SFs dynamited the house of a militant 'commander' while four militants surrendered to the troops. The SFs are also reported to have defused a roadside bomb planted by militants during a search operation in Inayat Killay Bypass.

Suspected Taliban militants blew up a girls' school in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. Sources said that the militants blew up the building of Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Akakhel. Locals said the armed militants blindfolded the school's guard and planted explosives in the building.

Troops entered Makeen - considered the headquarters and the last bastion of the TTP in South Waziristan - as the military killed 24 more militants in clashes. "Today, security forces moved into Makeen, which is considered the headquarters of the Taliban. A large part of town has been cleared. In the remaining parts, a search-and-clearance operation is underway," said an ISPR spokesman in a statement, adding that intense clashes were in progress, and Taliban militants were fleeing the area - leaving behind their weapons and ammunition.

Troops killed at least 21 militants in Makeen, where a house owned by slain TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud was also demolished. The Security Forces are also consolidating their positions around Sararogha, where search-and-clearance operations are underway. Troops, in addition, killed at least three TTP militants when the group fired rockets in Sararogha. The SFs are also reportedly consolidating their positions in and around Ladha, and conducting search-and-clearance operations.

A soldier was killed and six others sustained injuries during a search and clearance operations by the Security Forces in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. A security official in Jamrud told reporters that the incident took place at Yousuf Talab locality of Sipah where the SFs clashed with militants during a search and clearance operation. The official confirmed the killing of a Mehsud Scouts trooper Said Nabi and injuries to six of his colleagues when, according to him, militants opened fire at the troops from one of their hideouts in Yousuf Talab. The SFs subsequently retaliated with heavy artillery fire and also used two gunship helicopters to target militant positions in the Sipah area. Officials claimed to have inflicted heavy loses on the militants and destroying a number of their hideouts and training camps. The SFs also claimed to have arrested at least six suspect militants or their sympathisers after the shootout at Yousuf Talab.

SFs killed 12 Taliban militants in Makeen town of South Waziristan. The SFs cleared the eastern edge of Makeen during efforts to secure the town. SFs also destroyed a vehicle with fleeing terrorists on board, killing at least eight Taliban militants. Three soldiers, including two officers, were also injured in the clashes. Troops also recovered large caches of weapons and ammunition from various compounds in Makeen. Troops were reportedly consolidating their positions in Sararogha and the surrounding areas, and killed four terrorists during clearance operations north of Sararogha.

Troops killed 20 Taliban militants "over the last 24 hours" and found a huge cache of arms and ammunition, while eight soldiers - including an officer - were injured in Operation Rah-e-Nijat in various parts of South Waziristan. A statement by the ISPR said that troops consolidated their positions around Sararogha, Raghzai and Sagar Langer Gel, killing three Taliban militants in a clash. "On the Shakai-Kaniguram axis, troops fully dominated and controlled the entire axis and conducted a search-and-clearance operation ... in Totai, Langar Khel, Tapparghai, Gutsurai, Gadowai, Bangal Khel and Kund Mela," added the ISPR, adding that a huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives was also found. "Eight soldiers - including an officer - were injured and 12 Taliban were killed ... a factory for manufacturing IED components ... was found in Gadawai," mentioned the ISPR. In areas along Razmak and Makeen, troops conducted a search-and-clearance operation. "Taliban fired small arms and rockets in Blanki Sar, Lagar Manza, Kund Mela and Makeen ... 5 Taliban were killed in clash," said the ISPR.

At least 10 Taliban militants were killed in a clash in Zachmir Kund area of Mohmand Agency. The clash erupted when Taliban militants attacked SFs with sophisticated weapons during a search operation in the area. Two SFs were also killed in fighting - which continued for about four hours. Five SFs were also injured. Meanwhile, troops also defused a landmine in Gongut.

Troops killed three Taliban militants and arrested another one in an injured condition, while eight others surrendered before SFs at Bajaur Agency. SFs used long-range artillery in Mamoond tehsil (revenue unit) to target Taliban hideouts, killing three Taliban militants. In Khar, an important Taliban commander surrendered along with his son before SFs. Six other Taliban militants also surrendered before troops in Mamoond tehsil.

SFs fully secured the Shakai-Ladha road and started patrolling the Kaniguram-Ladha axis as eight militants and four soldiers died in fresh clashes in South Waziristan on the 24^th day of Operation Rah-e-Nijat. A local source said four soldiers died in a roadside bomb blast in the Makeen area. However, the Army militants fired several rockets at a security post in the Makeen area, killing four soldiers and injuring another. Eight militants were also killed in retaliatory action by the troops, said a statement from the ISPR.

Local sources said ground troops were consolidating their positions in Kaniguram and Makeen as fighter jets and helicopters continued targeting the militants' hideouts in different areas of South Waziristan. Locals said troops destroyed a stronghold of militant commander Mumtaz Burki in the Jamalki Garagah area in Kaniguram. A search operation was launched in Maidan, Kot Langarkhel, Zay Killay, Habib Kot and the surrounding areas in Ladha sub-division, said political administration officials. They also said that arms, ammunition and explosives with suicide jackets and ball-bearings were also recovered during search operations in the Shakai, Kaniguram and Bangalkhela areas.

Troops have reportedly secured the Wedan, Ashkarkot and Tauda Cheena villages in Makeen as efforts were underway to secure the town, known to be the nerve centre of the militants. Most of the militants have, however, reportedly deserted their positions and fled to the nearby North Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai tribal agencies. Officials said a security post had been established in the Makeen area. They said resistance from the militants had ended in Kaniguram, Shakai, Tiarza, Silay Rogha, Asman Manza and Karwan Manza. The sources said troops had strengthened their control over all those areas once known as the strongholds of the militants.

The ISPR statement said SFs consolidated their positions at the Jandola-Srarogha axis. A search and clearance operation was also under way on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis. Locals said a small number of the displaced people were coming to register at the camp established in Ratta Kulachi in Dera Ismail Khan in the NWFP. The ISPR said 9,343 cash cards had been issued to the displaced families. It said over 4,845 patients from the displaced families were treated at the Army field hospital in Dera Ismail Khan.

Eight suspected militants were killed and several others injured as military planes targeted their positions in the Kurram Agency. According to sources, the areas which came under the air attack included Chinarak, Spairkot and Ormigai in the east of Parachinar. A vehicle carrying militants was hit in Khwaidatkhel, leaving eight occupants dead. The sources said that the banned TTP had shifted its weapons and other material to Orakzai and central Kurram before the start of military operation in South Waziristan.

Three SF personnel and two militants were killed and a soldier sustained injuries in a bomb blast and firing incidents in different areas of Bajaur Agency. Sources said two soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries when their vehicle was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb in the Mulla Said area in Salarzai sub-division. In another incident, unknown armed men shot dead Subedar Noor Zada of the Bajaur Levies force in a high security zone in Khar.

Tariq Afridi, the TTP 'commander' for Darra Adam Khel in the NWFP, has reportedly been appointed as the chief of the banned organisation for Khyber Agency in the FATA and the Matani area of Peshawar District in the NWFP. Taliban sources said the appointment was made by the TTP Shura (executive council), which met recently in Orakzai Agency. The sources said Muhammad, the spokesman for the TTP in Darra Adam Khel, would also be the spokesman for the organisation for the Khyber Agency and the Matani area.

Omar, belonging to Darra Adam Khel, would be the spokesman for the TTP in the Jewaki area in Darra Adam Khel and for the Kohat region. These appointments were not announced formally by the TTP, but the Taliban sources contended that approval was given by the Shura of the organisation in its meeting held in the Orakzai Agency. Qari Hussain, the TTP 'commander' known as trainer of suicide bombers, reportedly attended the meeting. Aslam Farooqi is said to be the patron of the militants in the Orakzai Agency. Tariq Afridi, reportedly based in the Orakzai Agency, has been fighting Security Forces in Darra Adam Khel and sponsoring attacks in Peshawar and Kohat. Intelligence sources said some of the suicide bombers striking in Peshawar, Kohat and Punjab province were also being sent on missions by Tariq Afridi and his men. Tariq Afridi and the TTP unit in Darra Adam Khel were also behind the abduction of Polish engineer Petr Stanczak and his subsequent execution in 2008. At present, there is no chief of the TTP in the Khyber Agency. The position was apparently left vacant when Yahya Hijrat, the former leader of the TTP in the Khyber Agency, was arrested in Peshawar. He was subsequently declared dead in a Police encounter. Tariq Afridi would continue to head the TTP in his native Darra Adam Khel and also in the Matani area of Peshawar District.

The Army claimed killing nine more militants to raise the Taliban death tally to 492 since the launch of the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency on October 17. Among the nine slain militants, the Army said five were killed in the north of Ladha and four others were killed in the Tauda Cheena and Fort Knoll areas of Makeen. According to the ISPR, the SFs continued search and clearance operations in the Sarai Ghundaka, Kandao, Spinkai and Zariwam areas on the Jandola-Sararogha axis. The SFs have reportedly discovered and dismantled a private jail near the Bangalkhel area of Ladha, where they are conducting a search and clearance operation over the past few days. Several caves, bunkers, towers and observation posts of the Taliban were also destroyed in the same area, said the ISPR. On the Razmak-Makeen axis, the SFs recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition and arrested one militant from the area. Political administration officials said the troops were in complete control of Makeen, the nerve centre of the TTP. They said the areas of Shakai, Kaniguram and Makeen had been cleared while a search operation was underway in Maidan, Kot Langarkhel and Bazay. The troops have also established posts on mountains in Sararogha to strengthen their positions and started a search operation on the Srarogha-Piazha Road. The troops are now reportedly advancing towards Janta, Piazha and Makeen from the Sararogha side. Sources said the SFs had also started a search operation in the Sam area of Ladha while posts had been established on the hilltops in Karwan Manza, Karam and Delay.

Sources said the SFs were now controlling more than 80 per cent of the Mehsud areas in the agency as there was no or little resistance from the militants in recent days. They said the majority of militants had either fled into the neighbouring North Waziristan and Orakzai Agencies or sneaked into the adjacent districts of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan in the NWFP in the garb of fleeing population.

Azam Tariq, spokesman for the Hakeemullah Mehsud-led TTP, claimed in a telephonic call to reporters from an undisclosed location that the Army had so far captured only roads while the Taliban were holding the key locations in forests and mountains. He said they had adopted the hit-and-run policy and were preparing to fight a long guerrilla war against the advancing Army. He also claimed inflicting casualties on the SFs, but did not give the exact number. The TTP spokesman said they were ready for a tough resistance against the Army.

Five militants were killed and seven injured when fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in the Orakzai Agency. The sources said that fighter jets bombed Ghalju, Khawga Rehri and other parts of Upper Orakzai, destroying three Taliban hideouts.

Five militants were killed in an exchange of fire with the SFs after attacks on the base camp of the Frontier Crops and check-posts in the Bajaur Agency. Sources said that a group of militants fired seven missiles and three rockets at the base camp of the Bajaur Scouts in Katkot area of Loe Mamond sub-division, some 24 kilometres from Khar, the agency headquarters. However, no loss of life or property was reported as most of the missiles and rockets missed the target and landed outside the camp. The SFs later retaliated with heavy weapons, killing four militants and injuring three others. Further, one militant was killed and two others injured in an encounter with the SFs in the Barkhlozo area of Loe Mamond. The clash erupted after militants attacked a security post in Barkhlozo.

One soldier of the Khyber Rifles was injured in a remote controlled bomb blast when the SFs were conducting a search operation on the main Barkhlozo road.

The Bajaur administration has set five-day deadline to the elders of Warh Mamond sub-division to hand over militants in their respective areas to the authorities. Addressing a jirga (council of elders), Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Jamial said the administration had handed over a list of wanted militants to the elders a few weeks ago but they are yet to hand them over to the authorities. He said the elders of Mamond were not cooperating with the administration and the troops. He threatened to launch a military operation in the Mamond area like Loe Sam and Rashkai.

A landmine blast and ambush killed 10 SF personnel in the Mohmand Agency. "Eight soldiers were martyred and two were wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine buried on the roadside… The soldiers were on a routine patrol. The landmine was buried by the militants. The explosion damaged the pick-up," Frontier Corps spokesman Major Fazalur Rehman said.

Two paramilitary personnel were killed and eight others reported missing after Taliban militants attacked their convoy at Ghanam Shah. Local official Rasool Khan said two SF personnel, initially reported as missing, later made contact. "A search operation is continuing for the remaining eight who are missing," Khan said. Two bodies were recovered after the ambush and 10 militants killed after attack helicopters shelled suspected Taliban hideouts in the Bai Zai area.

Seven Taliban militants were killed and two soldiers sustained injuries in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency, an ISPR statement said. "An intense gunbattle took place at the recently-established checkpost at Fort Knoll, where seven terrorists were killed and two soldiers, including an officer injured," it said. The forces also reportedly cleared Kaniguram and discovered eight tunnels inside the compounds and seized arms and ammunition.

The operation is now mostly focused on consolidation of troops' positions in and around the TTP strongholds of Makeen, Ladha and Sararogha. Political administration officials said that a search operation had been launched in Faqir Koroona and Siga villages of Ladha sub-division. They said the troops had started advancing towards Ladha from Makeen and were only six kilometres away from it. The troops are expected to be in full control of the Wana-Razmak road once they occupy and clear the remaining six kilometres road between Ladha and Makeen. Jet fighters continued hitting the TTP hideouts alongside the ground offensive and sources said four positions of militants were destroyed in Shaktoi.

Sources said tunnels up to half-kilometre-long had been discovered in Kari Kamar, Char Chobai, Mohmand Kamar, Roghpal, Panrai Kamar, Manzai and Mirza Begai areas of Kaniguram and been cleared of militants and IEDs on the 26th day of the military action that began on October 17. Local sources said huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered during a search operation in Boya area located north of Shakai.

Five suspected militants were killed when helicopter gunships targeted the hideouts of Taliban in the mountainous area of lower Orakzai Agency. Officials said that at least six camps and hideouts of the Taliban were completely destroyed in the air strike in Sultanzai area in the evening. The air attack was conducted on the information that Taliban militants were fleeing South Waziristan Agency and taking shelter in the Orakzai Agency. Local tribesmen said that two women were also among the victims as militants were residing in their house.

Security Forces killed three militants and seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. Security officials in the Shahkas Fort of Frontier Corps said that they launched a search operation in Gurguri and adjoining areas after getting information about the presence of some militants. They said that at least three militants were killed in an exchange of fire. They also claimed to have arrested a number of suspect militants during the search and clearance operation. The Security Forces also destroyed a huge quantity of mortar shells and seized different types of light and heavy arms and ammunition from different militant bases.

Two militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs in the Mamond sub-division while four personnel of the Bajaur Levies sustained injuries in a remote controlled bomb blast in the Nawagai sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Sources said that a group of militants attacked a security post in the Maina area of Warh Mamond with heavy weapons. However, the SFs responded quickly and as a result two militants were killed and four others injured.

Four personnel of the Bajaur Levies sustained injuries when a remote controlled bomb planted by militants on bypass road in Nawagai exploded. The Levies men were on a routine patrolling in the area. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The SFs arrested 46 suspected persons during a search operation in the Tarkhodag area of Mamond sub-division.

17 soldiers were killed in stiff resistance to Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency by the TTP. This is the highest death toll for the military since operations were launched on October 17, security officials said. At least 15 soldiers were killed in clashes while a roadside bomb blast killed two soldiers in the Sararogha area further east, officials said. The ISPR earlier said that five soldiers and 22 militants were killed in the last 24 hours of the offensive. But the Army and security officials in the area said that the military death toll was 17. 15 soldiers were killed in the clashes, an Army officer said. It is the first time we have seen such stiff resistance, he said. Another unnamed official also said the clashes included face-to-face fighting.

The Army said five militants were killed during a clash with militants in the Ghra Sar area on the Jandola-Sararogha axis. The troops were busy clearing the area when they came under fire from the militants. One soldier sustained injuries in an exchange of fire. 14 militants and five soldiers were killed while seven soldiers sustained injuries in another clash in the Kot Langarkhel area near Ladha as the troops continued a search and clearance operation on the Shakai-Kaniguram axis.

The military said caches of arms and ammunition were recovered in Sata, Mangora Sar, Narakai, Gulit Killay, Torwam and Shabikhel areas. On the Razmak-Makeen axis, the SFs continued advancing towards the south of Makeen. A security post was also established in Zaidullah Gharyum and troops started patrolling the area, the ISPR said. It said the operation was under way to secure the Darra Algad area, located south of Makeen. The statement said three more militants were killed during a clash with troops in Rogha village. The political administration officials said the Ladha-Wana Road had been cleared of landmines while the operation was under way to clear the Ladha-Makeen Road. Five remote-controlled bombs were discovered and defused on the Ladha-Wana Road, officials added.

Locals said elders from South Waziristan were holding talks with the political administration and discussing the repatriation of the displaced people to their respective areas as the troops were in control of more than 80 per cent of the Mehsud tribal territory now. Sources said the political administration had informed the tribal elders to prepare themselves for return to their areas cleared by the Army. The sources said the administration wanted the people to go back to the cleared areas, but the residents were reluctant as they feared both the Army and TTP.

The SFs and political administration arrested 40 suspected Taliban militants in a search operation in Bajaur Agency. PA officials said that they had arrested the men from Khar, headquarters of the agency. They said the Taliban militants had been shifted to the headquarters prison.

The militants attacked a check-post of the SFs at Jangzai area of Mamoond sub-division, but no casualties were reported. Later, the SFs targeted Taliban hideouts with heavy artillery.

Six militants and two soldiers were killed in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency, an ISPR press release said. The soldiers were killed and an equal number were wounded during an encounter with the militants at Ahmed Wam. SFs have reportedly fully secured the area from Makeen to Marobi Raghzai. They also cleared Rogha and Mir Khoni.

One militant was killed and several others sustained injuries when Pakistan Air Force fighters bombarded suspected hideouts of the militants in Kurram Agency. Militants fleeing the operation in South Waziristan Agency had reportedly been hiding in the Kurram and Orakzai Agency.

Three local militant 'commanders' and 13 persons were arrested by the Security Forces in different areas of the Bajaur Agency. The operation in Khar, the agency headquarters, and its surrounding areas had been launched on November 11. Sources said 150 people had been arrested so far from different areas under the territorial responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

SFs killed seven Taliban militants in operations in South Waziristan in the FATA, the ISPR said in a statement. It said seven terrorists were killed and four SF personnel injured in the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan. The forces cleared the area around Madike, located two kilometers northeast of Ahmed Wam, and also secured an important height, Point 1663, at Parmonkai Roghzai, the ISPR statement said, adding, numerous propaganda CDs, maps and passports were seized during a search operation for Taliban commander Nasrullah.

Seven militants were killed and a Taliban ammunition depot destroyed as fighter jets pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in the Lower Orakzai Agency.

18 militants were killed as fighter jets targeted Taliban hideouts in the Orakzai Agency. The bombings also destroyed 10 Taliban hideouts in the Ghaljo, Dabori and Mamozai areas of upper Orakzai Agency, the channel reported. Shelling by helicopter gunships also destroyed a Taliban ammunition depot in the area. However, Dawn put the death toll of the militants at 24.

Five militants were killed in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency. The SFs claimed killing five militants in Ahmadwam village on the Jandola-Sararogha Road. Military sources said an exchange of fire took place between the SFs and militants during a search operation in Ahmadwam that resulted in the killing of five terrorists. The sources said the troops cleared the villages of Shavazai, Khaznikai and Odin Sar on the road between Jandola and Sararogha. A cache of arms was recovered in the Tiarza area on the Shakai-Kaniguram Road, where SFs are conducting a search operation. Four roadside bombs were recovered and defused by the bomb disposal squad of the Army during a search operation on the Razmak-Makeen Road. The SFs also reportedly established a check-post in the Shawal Algad area on the same route.

The troops are reported to have cleared the Ladha Bridge and recovered arms and ammunition during the operation in the same area. Sources said the militants launched a rocket attack on the SFs in the Tauda Cheena area. However, no casualty was reported in the attack. The political administration officials told The News that troops were combing suspected locations in Sararogha, Anger Killay and Wucha Khwar for arms and suspected militants. A similar operation was also underway in the Shah Wazai, Kazha Kach and Tora Teeka areas.

Fighter jets bombed the Taliban hideouts in Piazha, Wozai Kach and the adjacent areas, but there were no reports about casualties or material losses. Military sources said the troops had secured Khaisur Killay, Ahmad Gul Killay, Torwam Bridge and Michikhel Killay in their advance from the Wana side.

The political administration sources said a heavy exchange of fire was reported between the militants and SFs in the Maroobi area of Makeen, but there was no word on the casualties on either side. The sources said both sides used heavy and light arms during the clash. They said the national flag had been hoisted on a hilltop in Asman Manza. The troops also fired artillery shells on suspected Taliban hideouts from the high ground of the Razmak military camp in North Waziristan.

The SFs launched a counter-offensive after the militants attacked checkpoints in various areas of Khar subdivision and killed a tribesman in the Mamond sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said that the militants fired several rockets on the checkpoints in different areas of Khar, headquarters of Bajaur Agency, targeting military and Government installations. The SFs subsequently imposed curfew and launched a search operation in the area. The SFs also targeted hideouts of militants in the nearby areas with artillery guns, but there was no word on loss of life. The militants, the sources said, shot dead a tribesman, Sherzai, and blew up his house in Belot area of Mamond. His body was found at a desolate place near Belot village.

Militants blew up a girls' school in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. Tribal sources said the suspected militants had planted explosives in the compound of Government Girls Middle School at Ghazi Gul Killay in the Malikdinkhel area of Bara. The blast destroyed four rooms of the school and created cracks in the whole structure. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the act.

At least 24 Taliban militants surrendered to the SFs in Bajaur Agency. Political administration officials said that the 24 militants had surrendered in Saida Shah, Asghar and Manogai areas of Charmang sub-division and also handed over their weapons to the SFs.

The Army has captured most of the population centres and disrupted the terrorists' food supply line in South Waziristan, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. "The myth has been broken that this was a graveyard for empires and it would be a graveyard for the army," Abbas told reporters in Sararogha. "Major town and population centres have been secured," he added.

An ISPR statement said the SFs had completely cleared Sararogha. "Sararogha has been completely cleared and fully under control of security forces," it said. They secured important feature point 1665, south of Janata, and conducted sanitisation of Khazhikai, Shuza Sar and defused six IEDs. The SFs also consolidated positions at Ghundai Gur, Tikrai Sar, Sultano, Pungai, Ladha Fort and Bangel Khel, and carried out search operations at Gani Khel, Khaikaeh Narai. The ISPR statement said the forces were strengthening their positions on the Razmak-Makeen axis. They also cleared Blanki Sar and destroyed six Taliban bunkers.

Six civilians and 12 militants were killed, while 23 people sustained injuries as jetfighters shelled various parts of the Orakzai Agency. Tribal and official sources said the jet fighters targeted the hideouts and compounds of the militants in Ghiljo, Mishti Bazaar, Mazidgarhi and Tor Kanray, killing 12 militants and injuring 17 others. Eight hideouts and four vehicles were also destroyed in the attack. The sources said that some of the shells missed the targets and hit houses in Shahukhel area, killing three women, two minors and a man while injuring six others. Those killed were identified as Utmankhela, Usmankhela, Naeema Bibi, Asad, Samina and Abdul Wahid.

The residents of Daburi, Khadezai, Mishti Bazaar, Sangra, Mandati Killay, Ghiljo, Ferozkhel, Qasimkhel and Utmankhel have reportedly started migrating to safer locations in Kohat, Peshawar and Rawalpindi after the Security Forces intensified shelling in the area.

Heavy artillery shelling by the SFs in Kurram Agency killed five militants while four militants were killed when fighter jets targeted their positions in Bajaur Agency.

In Kurram Agency, the SFs targeted the Shashu Ghund area with artillery, killing five militants and injuring four others. Tribal sources said the SFs fired 70 artillery shells at the hideouts of militants in Shashu Ghund. Some of the slain militants were identified as Hamza, Masood and Saifullah.

Four militants were killed and two others sustained injuries when fighter planes targeted their hideouts in the Mamond and Nawagai sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency. Official sources said the fighter jets heavily bombed the hideouts of militants in Anga and its adjoining areas in Mamond, destroying several bunkers and hideouts. There was, however, no word on the loss of life. SFs, the sources said, also shelled the militants' positions with artillery and rocket launchers in the Charmang Valley of Nawagai, killing four militants and injuring two others. The troops also recovered heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, rocket launchers, Kalashnikov rifles, hand-grenades, thousands of cartridges and foreign currency, during a search operation in Charmang.

23 militants, belonging to Chinar, Mano, Sor Dagay, Bar Darra and Manogi areas in Salarzai subdivision, surrendered to the political administration. The militants also handed over their weapons to the Government and promised to live peacefully.

SFs claimed killing six more militants in South Waziristan Agency. A statement of the ISPR said six militants were killed when they opened small arms fire on the SFs in the Kund Mela area on the Shakai-Kaniguram Road. Five soldiers, including an officer, sustained injuries in the attack. In retaliatory fire, six militants were killed.

On the Jandola-Srarogha axis, the SFs continued consolidating their positions in Khazhankai, Adirai Mela, Chagmalai and Siltoi. A roadside bomb exploded near a security patrol, injuring one officer and two soldiers. On the Razmak-Makeen Road, the troops destroyed eight bunkers in Lita Sar and Blanai Sar areas. A huge quantity of weapons was also recovered during a search operation in Cheena village, said the ISPR.

Azam Tariq, spokesman for the banned TTP, told a news conference at a secret location in South Waziristan that the Taliban never thought of Azad (independent) Waziristan, which was the propaganda of the "pro-US" government in Islamabad. The TTP spokesman told the journalists that they would continue fighting the American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban in Waziristan had no dispute with the Government of Pakistan and the Army, as the people of this region were patriots. He alleged that the Government had risked the country and the people by lending support to the United States and the TTP would continue its war till the US control ended. He dissociated the Taliban from the blasts in civilian areas and claimed the Blackwater agency was involved in all such attacks. "Look, what it (Blackwater) has done in Iraq with civilians," said Azam Tariq, adding the security agency was brought into Pakistan under a well-planned strategy. An AFP report added that Azam Tariq also said the Taliban's guerrilla war would expel troops from South Waziristan. "We have not been defeated. We have voluntarily withdrawn into the mountains under a strategy that will trap the Pakistan Army in the area," the Taliban spokesman claimed. "The Army claims they have captured most of the towns. This is wrong, in fact we have vacated old forts which we captured from them in previous clashes. The troops are trapped there and we will retake the area," he said.

Four militants were killed and five others injured in a US drone missile strike in the Shanakhora village of North Waziristan. "It was a US drone attack which targeted a militant compound killing four militants and wounding five others," a senior security official in the area said. He said two missiles were fired from a US drone. Another security official confirmed the attack. "The compound was being used by the Taliban militants, however it is not clear whether there were any foreign militants or high-value targets," the official said. Residents in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, said they heard two loud blasts just before midnight.

13 militants and a paramilitary soldier were killed and several other people injured in air raids and clashes in various parts of the Bajaur Agency. Fighter planes and helicopter gunships are reported to have targeted militant hideouts in the Speray, Gatki and Sewai areas of Mamond sub-division. Two relatives of a militant leader, Maulvi Muneer, were killed when a shell hit his house in Sewai. One mortar shell hit the house of militant leader Fam Jan in Kamangara area of Nawagai sub-division, killing him, his wife and two sons. In addition, four militants were killed and five others injured in a clash with the Security Forces in the Charmang area of Nawagai sub-division. The clash erupted when militants attacked a security post in Bar Cheenar area with heavy weapons. The fighting, which continued for over an hour, also left one paramilitary soldier, Sarwar Khan, dead and six others injured. A girl was injured when a shell fired by militants hit a house.

SFs are reported to have killed seven more Taliban militants in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency. The SFs "engaged and cleared a Taliban [hideout] ...near Kikrai" on the Jandola-Sararogha front, said an ISPR statement. "During the clash, seven Taliban were killed," said the ISPR, adding that troops also consolidated their positions around Tor Wam, and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

The SFs also reportedly gained control of positions around Marghaband, and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition. They have started clearing compounds in Janata village, and found some arms and ammunition. The troops are also consolidating their positions on the Razmak-Makeen front, and found the bodies of two Taliban militants in Imarkhel Zangi.

The militants killed a FC trooper and his father in a failed kidnap bid at Darra Ghari in the Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources said the militants from the banned TTP Darra Adamkhel chapter headed by Talha kidnapped an FC trooper, identified as Inayat Ali along with his father Ali Mohsin. The Orakzai-based pro-government TTP group members, headed by Maulvi Nazeer, are reported to have chased the militants to secure the release of the duo. The kidnappers subsequently shot dead the FC trooper and his father after realising that they could not take them along. Both the groups later exchanged fire in Darra Ghari area that resulted in the killing of a militant from the Darra-based group. A militant commander, identified as Talha, sustained injuries.

19 militants were killed in clashes with the SFs in the South Waziristan Agency, Khyber Agency and Bajaur Agency. Tribal and officials sources said five militants were killed and nine persons, including a soldier, sustained injuries during an exchange of fire in the Asman Manza area in the Ladha sub-division of South Waziristan. The clash, which continued for an hour, erupted when the militants attacked a military camp. SFs and militants also clashed in the Maidan area in Ladha but there was no word on casualties. The troops continued search operations in the Rawam area of Tiarza sub-division and Kaniguram and seized an unspecified quantity of arms and ammunition. A small arms factory was also seized in the operation and the SFs established a check-post on the Ladha Road.

In the Khyber Agency, eight militants were killed in a clash with the SFs in the Gandao area. Official sources said the militants attacked a security check-post in Gandao with heavy arms, prompting the troops to retaliate. The exchange of gunfire continued for two hours in which eight militants were killed. Further, a member of the BDU was killed in a roadside explosion in Bara sub-division. Tribal sources said the BDU members were clearing the route for the Security Forces' convoy in the Naway Kamar area in Bara when an explosive device planted by unidentified militants went off at 10:45 am, killing a BDU member identified as Ashraf and injuring three soldiers. Soon after the incident, the SFs cordoned off the area and arrested nine suspected militants in a search operation. They were identified as Ghulam Muhammad, Faqeer, Sarteef, Muhammad Usman, Khiyal Wali, Habib, Aqalamin, Said Ahmed and Sajid.

SFs targeted the hideouts of militants at Charmang in Nawagai and Hazar town in the Mamond sub-division of Bajaur Agency with artillery shells and mortar guns, killing six militants and injuring four others. Four soldiers were killed and three wounded when the militants attacked their check-post in the Chinar area. In Khar, a militant was arrested while two others surrendered to the SFs.

A US drone strike on a compound in North Waziristan Agency killed eight Taliban militants. Two militants were also injured in the attack on the building located in Michi Khel village of Mir Ali revenue-division, 18 kilometres east of agency the headquarters Miranshah. The targeted compound was owned by two brothers and the Taliban militants frequently visited the building. Ahmed Nawaz Dawar, a local tribesman, said the Taliban buried those killed and took the wounded to a hospital.

SFs killed 14 Taliban militants in Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency, as six soldiers, including an officer, were also killed and another four injured. The ISPR said the SFs secured Lakki Ghundi after an intense battle with the Taliban. "During the operation, 14 terrorists were killed, while six soldiers, including an officer embraced martyrdom and four were injured," it said. SFs cleared Gandil Wala area near Jandola and launched a search operation in Sarwekai and Paya near Tiarza. SFs also conducted a mopping up operation at Yargha Khel near Kaniguram and also discovered a 70-foot tunnel in the area. Troops also secured Manna, Tut Kasko Khula and Kandao Sar west of Razmak and secured Laghar Narai as well. The road from Laghar Narai to Nawazkot was cleared and eight IEDs were neutralised. A large cache of weapons was recovered, the ISPR added.

The SFs claimed to have killed 13 militants and conceded one casualty and injuries to five soldiers during an encounter in the Shahukhel area of Orakzai Agency. Military sources said the FC launched a ground assault in the Shahukhel area (bordering Hangu District of NWFP) early in the morning. During the battle, the sources said 13 militants and one Junior Commissioned Officer were killed and five soldiers sustained injuries. Tribal sources said the hideouts and compounds of militants in the Shahukhel area were bombarded by fighter jets, gunship helicopters and artillery. The use of jet fighters, however, could not be confirmed officially. Later, the SFs launched a search operation in the area and arrested 14 militants, but no confirmation of the arrests was available at the official level.

Talking to reporters from an undisclosed location, the banned TTP Orakzai chapter spokesman Ziaur Rehman claimed that no militant was killed in the fighting.

17 militants, including two 'commanders' and two foreigners were killed and eight others injured in bombing by fighter planes and clashes between the SFs and militants in different areas of the Bajaur Agency. Official sources said jet fighters of the Pakistan Air Force carried out intensive bombing on militant positions in the Saparay, Kharkay, Gotki and Sewai areas of Mamond subdivision, killing four militants, including two foreigners, and injuring five others. Four bunkers, they added, were also destroyed in the attacks. In another operation, the SFs killed 10 militants and an important 'commander', identified as Rafiullah, and wounded three others when fierce clashes broke out between the two sides in the Lois am, Inzari and Rashakai areas. Reports said the militants had attacked security checkpoints with automatic weapons, which was retaliated instantly. A local militant 'commander', whose identity could not be established, was among the dead. The sources said the SFs also seized huge quantity of weapons after the clashes. Meanwhile, a militant commander was killed when the troops shelled his house with artillery guns in the Tarkho area in Mamond. The house was completely destroyed in the shelling, the sources added.

Five militants were killed and nine others sustained injuries in the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency. Officials said the troops came under attack from the militants during their advance towards the Pash Ziarat and Shawal areas. The SFs retaliated, killing two of the attackers and injuring five others. The troops subsequently secured control of the Pash Ziarat area after pushing back the militants, the officials added. They were now reportedly advancing towards Shawal, they said, adding a trooper also sustained injury in the clashes. A clash was also reported from the Asman Manza area of Kaniguram. Officials said the militants attacked a camp of the SFs from the Murdar Algad area. Retaliatory fire from the troops resulted in the killing of three militants. One soldier sustained injuries in the encounter.

The SFs said that they had secured the Ladha-Makeen Road and started patrolling the Wana-Kaniguram route. The troops also said they were in full control of the Jandola-Wana Road and that electricity supply has been restored in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan.

November 23

SFs claimed to have killed 17 militants in the Shahukhel area of Orakzai Agency. Official sources said gunship helicopters targeted the hideouts and compounds of the militants in the Shahukhel area. Ground forces also used heavy artillery and took control of the area. The sources said during the shelling, the SFs killed 17 militants and injured eight others. In addition, at least 16 militants, including ‘commanders’ Mitha Khan and Asghar, were arrested during the operation. The gunship helicopters also targeted militant hideouts in Lal Garhi, Teri Killay, Kasha and Shaker Tangi. Reports indicated that other parts of Orakzai Agency, including Daburi, Mamozai and Masjid Garhi, were targeted by fighter jets, where 13 hideouts of the militants were destroyed. The sources said SFs also destroyed two FM radio stations operational in Saiful Darra and Kasha.

Nine more Taliban militants have been killed in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency. An Inter-Services Public Relations statement said that three soldiers were also injured in the fighting. The Security Forces cleared Golden Top west of Pash Ziarat in Tabai Sar following "intense clashes" with Taliban, and consolidated their positions around Lakhi Ghund and the Bunker ridge.

Six people were killed when a shell landed in a civilian area during an exchange of fire between the militants and SFs at Gagra check-post in the Khyber Agency. In addition, 19 persons, including seven soldiers, sustained injuries in the clash. Tribal and official sources said a group of militants attacked a security check-post at Gagra in the Landikotal Tehsil (revenue unit), prompting the SFs to retaliate. The sources said 10 mortar shells landed in a market in Landikotal while one of the shells hit a coach and a pick-up near a filling station, killing six persons on the spot. Those killed were identified as Ali Syed, Iqbal, Akhtar Zeb, Arif, Sanaaf and Rehmatullah.

In a joint operation, the SFs and volunteers of the Khwezai Peace Committee killed a militant and arrested a ‘commander’ and demolished the houses of three other militants in the Spinki Tangi area in the Baizai sub-division of Mohmand Agency. Tribal and official sources said that armed volunteers of the peace committee raided the houses of two militants, identified as Nasir Khan and Yousuf Khan, in the Spinki Tangi area early in the day. An exchange of fire between the volunteers and militants took place when the latter challenged the former, the sources said, adding that a member of the peace body, Zarin Khan, sustained injuries in the two-hour long gunfight. In the meantime, SFs shelled the positions of militants with artillery guns from Bhai Dag camp in which an unidentified militant was killed. The volunteers also arrested a local militant ‘commander’ Abdul Wali and Khan Muhammad, brother of Nasir, and handed them over to the SFs. The volunteers and troops also demolished the houses of Nasir, Yousuf and Ibrahim in the area before setting them ablaze.

The SFs recovered a huge quantity of weapons from the house of a local Taliban ‘commander’ in Bajaur Agency, officials said. Political administration officials said that the SFs and political administration raided the house of the Taliban ‘commander’ at Gatak area in Nawagai sub-division and recovered a huge cache of arms including explosives, hand grenades and Kalashnikov rifles. He said the SFs also defused a bomb at Mamond sub-division of the agency, thwarting a potential terrorist attack. He added that three Taliban ‘commanders’ surrendered to the SFs.

November 24

SFs killed at least 23 militants during an operation in the Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of the Khyber Agency. The SFs were backed by helicopters, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and heavy artillery. A press release issued by the FC media cell in Jamrud said that during the day-long operation, codenamed Khwakh Ba De Sham at least 23 militants were killed and 36 suspects arrested. 12 explosives-laden vehicles were destroyed and a huge quantity of arms and ammunitions seized in different localities of Bara.

The FC said that an important base of the outlawed LI in Gurgurai was taken over by the SFs without any significant resistance. Local officials say that LI militants used the base for most of their attacks. The area also reportedly has a network of caves, training camps, ammunition dumps and private jails. Earlier, the SFs had imposed a curfew in Bara and plugged all points of entry from Orakzai Agency and Tirah to prevent terrorists’ infiltration and escape. The SFs erected barricades at Mamanri, Chora, Sheen Kamar and Zawa, destroyed an illegal Lashkar-e-Islam checkpoint in Merikhel area of Akkakhel and set up their own post.

Tribal and official sources said helicopter gunships pounded the hideouts and compounds of militants in the Daburi, Ghiljo, Khadizai, Mamozai, Tor Smat, Akhunkot, Mazid Ghari, Saiful Darra, Machiney Killay, Arghanjo and Ghundi Killay areas of Orakzai Agency, killing 19 militants and injuring 13 others. In addition, seven hideouts and four vehicles owned by the militants were also destroyed. The helicopter gunships hit a vehicle in the Ghiljo area in which one person was killed and another sustained injuries.

Four militants were killed and several others sustained injuries in clashes with the SFs in the Khar sub-division of Bajaur Agency. Three members of a family, including two children, and a prisoner were killed and four others injured when rockets hit a house in Maminzo area and Bajaur Scouts headquarters in Khar sub-division early in the day. Sources said that militants fired a number of rockets on various checkpoints of the SFs, Levies Force and Bajaur Scouts headquarters. Several shells landed in the compound of Bajaur Scouts headquarters one of which hit the lock-up, killing a prisoner and injuring two troopers. The SFs subsequently retaliated, killing four militants.

November 25

Seven more militants were killed and 10 others arrested as the SFs continued their operations in the Shahukhel area of the Orakzai Agency. Tribal sources said the SFs targeted the hideouts of militants in the Shahukhel area, killing at least seven militants and arresting 10 others. Over 30 militants have been killed in the operation so far.

SFs claimed to have killed three militants and injured eight others in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency. Official sources said the SFs and militants clashed in an area between Asman Manza Nand in the Ladha sub-division, leaving three militants dead and eight others injured. The SFs also fired artillery from Asman Manza at the hideouts of the militants in the Mushta area.

The troops are also reported to have cleared two areas in Push Ziarat, besides Bangewala and Janjol areas in Srarogha and Kotkai. Further, ten landmines planted by the militants in the area were defused. A huge cache of arms and ammunition abandoned by the militants were also seized. The SFs continued a search operation in Brund, Maulay Khan, where two caves being used by the militants were also demolished.

Two women were killed and an equal number of them were wounded when an artillery shell landed in a house in the Storikhel area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency. Local sources said three children from the same family were also injured in the incident.

Dozens of people from Storikhel, Spin Kamar and other areas have started to migrate to safer locations as the Operation Khwakh Ba De Sham continued for the second day. According to the locals, the troops targeted the hideouts of militants in the mountainous Tirah Valley. They said Lashkar-e-Islam militants were hiding on the Bara side of Tirah while the TTP militants were living on the Orakzai side of the valley.

November 26

18 Taliban militants were killed and 14 others injured when fighter jets and helicopter gunships targeted Taliban positions in Orakzai Agency. Seven Taliban hideouts were also destroyed in the raids. Eight Taliban militants were killed when fighter jets and helicopter gunships bombed the Chapri Ferozkhel area of Lower Orakzai, while 10 Taliban militants were killed in air strikes that targeted Dabori, Alf Khel and Toorsimt areas of Upper Orakzai. The sources said Security Forces had gained full control of Shahukhel, defusing eight mines and arresting four Taliban militants.

Troops arrested a wanted Taliban militant, identified as Abdullah Shah Mehsud, in South Waziristan. Abdullah had a head money of PKR 10 million. "Troops arrested a wanted terrorist, Abdullah Shah Mehsud … from Tank … the head money has been paid to the informer," said the ISPR. In Jandola, SFs cleared Bangiwal, Janata, Kunj Mela, Zawar Killi, Gund and Umar Raghzai, arresting four suspects from Shahu and defusing 10 improvised explosive devices. Troops also cleared Spinkot, Sharkai Sar near Kot Langarkhel and Narakai, establishing links in Khuni Mor and Sarwekai and defusing 15 IEDs. Forces also consolidated their positions in Behram Shah village near Laki Ghund, while troops cleared 15 compounds in Pash Ziarat and 20 compounds at Salarai Shag near Kandai Sar. SFs also discovered a training centre in Tauda China Khula.

Troops used planes to drop leaflets over North Waziristan Agency to announce rewards on the capture of leaders and commanders of the TTP. The leaflets carried photographs and announced head money of eight of the TTP’s 19 main leaders. The leaflets only gave the names and the head money for the rest. The leaflets also carried telephone numbers and asked people to contact authorities if they had any information on the TTP members. The TTP leaders and commanders mentioned in the leaflets included Hakeemullah Mehsud with a PKR 50 million head money, Qari Hussain (PKR 50 million), Waliur Rehman (PKR 50 million), Gurguray (PKR 20 million), Mazloom Yar ( PKR 20 million), TTP spokesman Azam Tariq (PKR 20 million), Noor Hameed (PKR 20 million), Maulvi Shamim (PKR 20 million), Muhammad Ismail (PKR 20 million), Jalil Mehsud (PKR 20 million), Sher Azam (PKR 20 million), Shah Faisal Mehsud (PKR 20 million), Nisaruddin (PKR 20 million), Azmatullah Bermand (PKR 20 million), Anwar Kulachi (PKR 10 million), Khan Saeed Duatoi (PKR 10 million), Asmatullah (PKR 10 million), Abdul Wahab (PKR 10 million) and Abdullah Shah (PKR 10 million).

November 27

Troops killed 15 Taliban militants in the military offensive at South Waziristan, said the ISPR. "Security forces cleared Narakai after ... a clash ... 15 Taliban were killed and one soldier injured," said the ISPR in a statement, adding that troops cleared Sarwekai-Siplatoi Road in the same area, defusing 10 IEDs planted along the road. The SFs cleared Bangi Wal, Kunj Mela, Raghazai, in addition to 30 houses in Haidri Kuch and 50 houses in Kot Raghazai. They seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during a clearance operation in Zhawar Killi. A clearance operation in Chagh Malai and Tor Mandao is underway.

The Army conducted a clearance operation around Pash Ziarat, Wachuba and Kot Bandkhel, defusing nine IEDs. Troops also cleared 30 compounds in Mad Amir Killi, and seized a cache of arms and ammunition. A soldier was injured during a clash in the area. A clearance operation is also underway in Shaktu Taba village.

A FC statement said troops backed by helicopter gun ships killed 15 Taliban militants at Khyber Agency. The Army and the FC mounted the operation in Khyber three days ago to crack down on militants, some of whom have attacked convoys supplying foreign troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Military spokesman Major Fazlur Rehman told AFP that three helicopter gun ships neutralized Taliban positions.

A key anti-Taliban leader was killed in a bomb attack at Mamoond tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency. According to local sources, three Taliban militants were injured in the bomb attack. Sources and political administration officials said Malik Shahpur, who was leading the Mamoond tribe anti-Taliban lashkar (militia), was killed in the remote-controlled bomb attack in Badan area of the tehsil. Mamoond Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Jamil told reporters that the attack was carried out near a mosque. The locals said Malik was meeting people following Friday prayers when the bomb went off.

November 29

Troops killed four militants during a search operation in the Bara town of Khyber Agency. "Four militants were killed and several others were wounded in search operations in different parts of Bara," a senior military official said.

Four militants were killed in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan Agency. "Troops retaliated after militants fired rockets at their camp in Wana. Four militants were killed and two were arrested," a local military spokesman said.

November 30

The SFs killed 61 militants and arrested 85 others during the ongoing Operation Khwakh Bad-e-Shum in the Khyber Agency, security officials said. Briefing reporters at the Bara Fort, operation in-charge Brigadier Fayyaz Khan said 25 vehicles were also destroyed during the operation. Brigadier Khan said the SFs had captured several important areas and hideouts in the Tirah valley and had also destroyed several terrorist centres. He said the SFs also recovered tunnels in Bara, where the terrorists used to keep abducted people. Brigadier Khan stated that the troops were advancing towards Gurgury and Shin Qamar areas, believed to be the strongholds of the outlawed LI.

A statement by the ISPR said two SF personnel were injured in clearing operations in the South Waziristan Agency during Operation Rah-e-Nijat. The ISPR said the SFs carried out clearing operations at Kulal Raghzai and consolidated positions in the Jandola sector. It also said that militants fired four rockets at Ladha Fort in the Shakai sector, injuring one soldier. "The security forces also carried out a clearing operation near Asman Manza area," the ISPR added. In the Razmak sector, militants fired rockets, mortars and small arms at Pash Ziarat and Kam Narakai, according to the ISPR. "

Ten militants were killed and 13 others injured when the SFs raided militants’ training camps in the Dhol Ragha area of Kurram Agency. Seven injured militants, including their commander, were arrested and three hideouts destroyed, officials said. The sources said that 10 militants were killed and seven others injured in the fresh offensive in Dhol Ragha. A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was seized and five vehicles laden with weapons were destroyed. Six militants were reportedly arrested in the Badama area of central Kurram.

An AFP report added that Major Fazlur Rehman, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps, said the militants had arrived in Kurram Agency from South Waziristan Agency where an army operation was underway.

December 1

At least four militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries when the SFs attacked the headquarters of the proscribed TTP in the Dabori area of upper Orakzai Agency. Several hideouts of the TTP were destroyed in the Dabori bazaar and its outskirts when artillery shells fired from the nearby Shahu Khel area in Hangu District in the NWFP slammed into them.

Unidentified gunmen killed three tribal leaders in Orakzai Agency, official sources said. The unidentified gunmen killed the tribal chiefs when they ambushed their vehicle in Oblan area. The deceased were identified as Malik Gul Haider, Malik Sabz Ali and Malik Mir Aslam Khan.

The SFs killed four militants in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency. The SFs conducted a search and a clearance operation in Kamarkhel and Dorra on the outskirts of Bara.

The SFs also cleared Dunai Killi, the remaining portion of Janata and seized a huge cache of weapons during Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan in the last 24 hours, an ISPR statement said. "The security forces conducted patrolling in areas around Bxu, Bakka Khel, Rucha, Bapsa, Sagai and Talib Khel," it added. The ISPR also said the SFs arrested 10 suspected terrorists during search operations in two different areas of Swat and Malakand in the NWFP.

December 2

Planes bombed a number of areas in the Warh Mamond and Nawagai sub-divisions of Bajaur Agency, killing four militants and injuring three others. Official sources said the Security Forces targeted positions of militants in the Kharkay, Anga, Almazo and Gotki areas in Mamond sub-division and Sharif Khana and Shah Khana in Nawagai.

Militant ‘commander’ Mulla Launcher and one of his accomplices were killed and six others sustained injuries in clashes with the SFs in various areas of Kurram Agency. In addition, the SFs arrested three militants along with some heavy weapons while the militants blew up a key bridge on the Parachinar-Peshawar Road in Arawali area.

December 3

In Bajaur Agency, militants are reported to have attacked security checkpoints on the outskirts of the main town of Khar. "It was an organised attack. Troops effectively repulsed it, and five militants were killed in the retaliatory fire," said Fazal Rabbi, deputy commander of the local tribal police force.

The Security Forces arrested Taliban ‘commander’ Hayatullah and his two associates from the Larmai area of Mamoond sub-division in Bajaur Agency.

December 4

Eight militants were killed and their three hideouts destroyed in strikes carried out by the PAF fighter jets in the Ferozkhel area of the Orakzai Agency. Official and tribal sources said fighter jets targeted the hideouts and compounds of militants in the Ferozkhel area, killing eight militants and destroying their three hideouts and four houses. The sources added that the jets also destroyed an arms depot of the militants.

Six persons were killed and 13 injured when a bus carrying a marriage party hit a landmine in the Safi sub-division of Mohmand Agency. A political administration official said Amanullah, resident of Qala Gai Lakaro, Baseer Khan, Safi Jan, Haji Bakht Noor, resident of Landi Arbab, the driver Khaista Rehman, resident of Haleemzai, and an unidentified person were killed in the incident. The injured, including Amroz, Saifullah, Hamayatulalh Khan, Rukhsana and Ayesha, were taken to a hospital where four of them were said to be in critical condition.

December 5

Around 40 Taliban militants attacked an Army checkpoint in Wana of FATA, killing one SF. Six Taliban militants were also killed in the retaliatory firing of the SFs. "Soldiers at the checkpoint on a bridge in Wana retaliated after coming under fire on Friday night," said an unnamed Security official adding that "There were 30 to 40 Taliban who first fired rocket-propelled grenades at our post and then opened fire with AK-47 rifles which killed one of our soldiers. But we retaliated and killed six of them."

Taliban militants in Ladha of South Waziristan killed one SF, as troops continue the ongoing military operation in the region. "A soldier was martyred when militants shot and killed him in Ladha," the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

SFs arrested 35 Taliban militants, including three important commanders, during search operations in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency.

SFs arrested former TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud’s right-hand ‘commander’, Rafiuddin, along with five other terrorists in Hangu, official sources said adding the SF had also killed a Taliban commander. The Taliban commander Zahir Shah was killed during a military operation in Tal area of Hangu.

December 6

Eight militants were killed and many others sustained injuries in attacks by fighter jets in lower parts of Orakzai Agency in FATA. Tribal sources said the fighter jets pounded the compounds and hideouts of militants in lower parts of the tribal agency, including Saifal Darra, Shakarkand and Sra Gharai, killing eight militants and injuring many others. Also, three hideouts and five vehicles of the militants were destroyed in the raid.

Four SF personnel were seriously injured in a roadside bomb blast in the Chinari area of the Mohmand Agency. Official sources said SFs were patrolling the Chinari area in Safi sub-division when their vehicle struck a remote-controlled device planted by the militants. Four soldiers sustained injuries in the blast.

Two anti-Taliban tribal elders, identified as Khan Wali and Rehmatullah, were killed and another two were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast near a mosque in Malangi area under Mamond tehsil (revenue unit) of FATA. The injured persons were identified as Abdul Wadud and Abdul Hadi. "Two tribesmen were killed and two were injured in the blast. The bomb was planted outside a mosque," senior Police official Fazal Rabbi said. An intelligence official in the area confirmed the incident and said both tribesmen were respected elders who spoke out against the Taliban.

Fighter jets bombed Kharki, Gatki and Sparay areas of Salarzai tehsil and Banda area of Mamoond tehsil. No casualties were reported.

December 7

Eight Taliban militants were killed and several others sustained injuries in different areas of Bajaur Agency in FATA. The official sources added that fighter jets pounded suspected hideouts of insurgents in Kharkay, Gotki, Anga and Banda areas in which four militants were killed and several others injured. Two hideouts were also destroyed in air raids.

There were reports that three militants were killed when explosives stored in a house went off in the Damadola area in the Mamond Sub-Division. The house was reportedly being used by militants as their hideout and was completely destroyed in the blast.

A fierce clash took place in the Chinar area of Charmang Valley in the Nawagai Sub-Division when militants attacked SFs. The official sources said one militant was killed and several others sustained injuries in the clash.

SFs conducted a search operation in Inayat Killay, the second business hub of the Bajaur tribal region near Khar headquarters, and arrested five militants and recovered weapons from their possession.

25 militants belonging to Sor Dagai, Chinar and Lara Darra areas in Salarzai, surrendered along with their weapons before SFs in Khar town.

A US missile strike killed at least three civilians in a village near Mir Ali, a main town in North Waziristan near the Afghanistan border of FATA. The official sources also confirmed that the missiles destroyed a car carrying three people.

December 8

Two Arab nationals were killed in a missile strike on a car by the CIA -operated spy planes at Spalga village in North Waziristan of FATA in the morning. A senior Government official based in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, told by telephone that the drone fired two missiles on the car. He said two Arab nationals were travelling in the car when it was struck by the drone. Four drones were flying at the time of the attack over the area. The Taliban sources also confirmed that both the men killed in the drone attack were foreigners and belonged to Saudi Arabia. Both of them had just left their homes and were on their way to the Afghan border, where they were supposed to meet their colleagues, the Taliban sources said. They said the identity of the two ‘guest fighters’ could not be ascertained as their bodies had been blown apart. A tribesman of Spalga village, Hafiz Rasool, told The News by telephone that the car was torn into pieces after being hit by the drone.

The SFs arrested 13 suspected militants in the last 24 hours during Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Rah-e-Rast in South Waziristan. According to a statement by the ISPR, the SFs carried out a search operation at Ziarat in the Jandola sector and also cleared Ospana Raghazai in the Shakai sector. Clearance and search operations at Kudi Ghar Sar, Nanu and Khaisura are underway. Taliban militants fired six rockets at Spin Jamaat, which were responded to effectively. The forces also cleared 46 compounds, including a training centre at Marobi West and defused nine improvised explosive devices in the Razmak sector. The Taliban also fired 10 rockets and fired Kalashnikov rounds at the Saidullah Post near Dua Khula and Pash Ziarat, to which SFs retaliated.

PNR 19,716 cash cards have also been issued to displaced families of South Waziristan.

December 9

Three Taliban militants were killed in the military operation in Bajaur Agency of FATA. Political administration officials said that three Taliban militants were killed in clashes between SFs and militants in the Chinar area in Nawagai tehsil (revenue division) of the Bajaur Agency.

The SFs neutralised a militant plot and defused three powerful remote-controlled bombs at Mamond tehsil (revenue division) of the Bajaur Agency.

The SFs arrested 11 suspected Taliban militants from Khawaza Khela tehsil (revenue division), while two Taliban militants, including a key Taliban ‘commander’, surrendered before the SFs in Charbagh tehsil, officials said.

Five suspected militants were arrested at Miachan Baba in Shakai sector. The SFs also cleared 25 compounds at Tara Tiza Alghad and Mairobi Raghzai in Razmak sector and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.

The SFs cleared Aka Khel Pungai near Ahmadwam and Abdullah Noor Kaskai near Kotkai in Jandola sector during the latest action in Operation Rah-e-Nijat and destroyed several improvised explosive devices. The SFs also cleared Ghujre, two kilometres north of Pash Ziarat, and destroyed tunnels and underground bunkers.

The SFs sources said that 589 Taliban militants have so far been killed in Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan, while 79 of their personnel died. According to a statement by the ISPR, a large cache of arms and ammunition had also been recovered from different terrorist hideouts since the operation began.

Unidentified Taliban militants blew up a boy’s school in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency in FATA in the night. Sources said that unidentified Taliban militants arrived at the Government High School for Boys at Shlobar and abducted the school watchman. Later, the militants blew up the school. However, no casualty was reported. Taliban blew up two schools in Khyber Agency, officials said. They said most of the buildings were reduced to rubble but no one was injured. "Both main school buildings were completely destroyed," said Shafeerullah Wazir, the top Administrative Official of the District, adding only two classrooms remained standing in the two adjacent schools. Wazir said the Taliban had buried large quantities of dynamite around the outer walls of the schools. "Both Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam are involved in this act," he said.

December 10

SFs killed 15 Taliban militants in ongoing operations in Khyber Agency and South Waziristan of FATA. The SFs targeted militant hideouts in Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber, killing 10 militants in Zava area of Tirah valley, official sources said. Sources said that troops also destroyed four militant hideouts in the area, adding that three militants, including a commander, were arrested during a search operation in Akakhel area of Bara.

SFs killed five militants, while a trooper was killed in the clashes in South Waziristan. The ISPR said the SFs cleared the Nanu area and destroyed militant hideouts in Barwand, including that of Taliban commander Waliur Rehman. The SFs also cleared Partigai area near Ahmadwam and Kazha Kats, and also secured 30 militant’s compounds in the area around Abdullah Nur Kaskai, Bangiwala and Aka Khel Pungai. The SFs conducted a search operation in Marobi Raghozai near Makeen and neutralised an ammunition factory, along with a cache of arms and ammunitions.

December 11

SFs killed at least 17 Taliban militants in the ongoing military operations in FATA. In Orakzai Agency, nine Taliban militants were killed and two of their hideouts destroyed in air strikes on Ghiljo and Mamoonzai tehsils (revenue unit), Paramilitary Force spokesman Major Fazalur Rehman said. They included a man identified as a local Taliban ‘commander’, Bacha Akbar, Military spokesman Major Mushtaq Khan said.

Seven militants were killed and 20 others injured when troops clashed with the LI in Shalobar area of Bara tehsils (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency. The clash occurred when troops raided a house in the area.

One unidentified militant was killed in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsils (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency.

Three Taliban were arrested from the Mamoond tehsils (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency. The SFs also destroyed two Taliban hideouts in Nawagai.

A top al Qaeda leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi, was killed in a drone missile strike in South Waziristan of FATA. Yahya managed to escape from the Bagram Airbase of Afghanistan in 2005. He was born in Libya in 1963 and enjoyed close relations with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri. United States authorities had offered a bounty of USD five million for his capture, dead or alive. According to an ISPR statement, no US drone hit South Waziristan on December 10. Since August 2008, at least 65 such strikes have killed around 625 people.

SFs discovered a Jannat (heaven) in South Waziristan Agency, in which militants used to brainwash suicide bombers. According to ISPR, a team of journalists visited the jannat at Nawaz Kot area of the agency. The ‘heaven’ consisted of four rooms. Each room contains beautiful paintings of running canals of milk and honey surrounded by hoors (maidens of paradise). Conducting Officer Major Saleem said Taliban clerics showed the jannat to the would-be suicide bombers to convince them that once they blew themselves up they would enjoy a status equivalent to that of the companions of Prophet Muhammad. He said they were also told that they would live forever in the company of beautiful hoors. He said SFs had also seized hate literature, CDs, hashish and other drugs from the site. The official said two would-be suicide bombers and their trainers were also arrested from the place.

December 12

At least 10 Taliban militants were killed during the ongoing military operation in the Kurram Agency of FATA. The killed Taliban militants included a ‘commander’ wanted by Police in several incidents of sabotage and insurgency. The SFs launched a massive operation in Marghan, Dogar, Gawadar, Zangey and Terley area. The SFs are advancing into other areas and have destroyed four Taliban hideouts so far. They have also seized a large amount of ammunition and explosive material.

10 militants were killed while more than 150 suspects arrested in the Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency. Officials said the SFs retaliated when Taliban militants fired at them in the Shalobar area of Bara during the operation, jointly conducted by the Army and the Frontier Corps.

A patrolling party of the Levies Force escaped a remote-controlled bomb attack in the Kotki area of Khar tehsil in Bajaur Agency. They said 19 suspects had been arrested in search operations. The sources said a bomb went off during a routine patrol of the Levies Force, while another remote-controlled blast occurred in the Nawagai bazaar.

The SFs also captured an underground cave in South Waziristan Agency that was used as a depot by the Taliban militants for storing arms and heavy weapons, besides seizing a large cache of foreign-made weapons. Major Saleem of the army told the journalists that the SFs had also recovered a 22-pound cannon that could strike long-range targets. He said the seized foreign weapons included anti-aircraft guns, missiles, rocket launchers, mortar guns, hand grenades and land mines.

The SFs arrested two suspects from Ghalanai tehsil of Mohmand Agency. According to the Mohmand Agency’s political administration, one of the suspects was arrested from Kashmir Kor by the SFs while the second was arrested by the Ghalanai tehsildar.

December 13

The SF killed at least seven militants in Kurram tribal region of FATA. Two soldiers also died in the fighting, officials told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media. People began fleeing the area after SF urged villagers to leave, the officials said. Reuters quoted administration officials and intelligence agents as saying that the SF, backed by artillery and fighter aircraft, had attacked terrorists in Kurram and destroyed 10 of their hideouts. 20 militants and 12 SF personnel were also injured in the exchange of fire.

Unidentified militants blew up and set ablaze the houses of eight Government officials in Sharif Khana of Charmang area in Nawagai sub-division of Bajaur Agency. The sources said that militants first blew up one by one all the eight houses located in Sharif Khana, some 20 kilometres from Khar headquarters, and then set ablaze all the structures. The houses were completely destroyed in the blasts and fire. No casualty was reported as the families had abandoned the houses when the military operation was launched against militants in the area. Eyewitnesses said that eight Government Officials identified as Abdul Kabeer, Nazifullah, Mujtaba, Abdul Hadi, Muhammad Zubair, Abdul Khaliq and Muhammad Aziz were earlier living in these houses. Nobody claimed responsibility for the act.

December 14

The SFs killed 18 Taliban militants in the ongoing military operations in FATA. The SFs killed five Taliban militants in Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan, the ISPR said. It said the SFs killed four militants at Mola Khan Sarai in the Shakai sector, while a trooper was also injured during the clash. Another militant was killed and a soldier injured during a clash in the Razmak sector.

Six militants were killed when helicopter gunships targeted a terrorists’ vehicle in Kurram Agency.

SFs killed two Taliban militants and injured another three militants in various areas of Khar and Nawagai in Bajaur Agency.

SFs carried out an operation at village Tanga Patai and destroyed nine IEDs and recovered a cache of arms from the area.

Unidentified militants blew up a girls’ school in Saddokhel area of Khyber Agency in FATA. Local residents said it was the second attack on Malik Ashraf Killi Primary School. They said as many as 200 girls were enrolled in the school. Political administration and security officials also visited the site and warned Afghanistan nationals to vacate the area within a week. "They are Taliban. They are the same people who do not want children to get education," Rahim Gul Khattak, a senior administration official said.

December 15

SFs killed 36 Taliban militants in separate military operations in Orakzai, Bajaur and Kurram Agencies of FATA. Sources said that 25 Taliban militants were killed when gunship helicopters pounded their hideouts in the Khost Sturi Khel and Sultanzai areas of Orakzai Agency. They also said three hideouts and two vehicles were also destroyed in the attack. An important training centre at Sultankhel was also destroyed.

Frontier Constabulary sources said SFs killed nine Taliban militants in Kurram Agency.

SFs killed two Taliban militants and injured two other militants in Charmang, Mamoond and Nawagai tehsils of Bajaur Agency. Eighteen Taliban surrendered to security forces in Inayat Killay and various parts of Mamoond tehsil (revenue unit).

Gunship helicopters also pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in Tarali, Sultani, Tari Tank, Dogar and Alwara Mela. As many as five Taliban militants were injured and several of their hideouts were destroyed. Orakzai is believed to be the base of Hakeemullah Mehsud, leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and is part of Pakistan’s tribal belt on the Afghanistan border.

SFs recovered a cache of arms and ammunition in South Waziristan Agency. SFs also cleared Aqhzar, Tauda Uba, Jani Kot and arrested two suspects. They also consolidated their positions in Shakai sector.

SFs conducted search operation near Tara Tiza and neutralised 22 militant hideouts, including two tunnels (35 feet long) in Razmak sector. SFs successfully established link up at village Zawar near Ghariom. In Pash Ziarat, 15 militant hideouts were neutralised and a cache of arms was recovered.

During ‘Operation Rah-e-Raast’ in Malakand Division, SFs recovered a cache of arms from Lalkhu Gharai, Batku, Hatrang, Tangar, Darogzar and Bashkhela. SFs also conducted a search operation in Tutaki near Matta, Manglaur, Charbagh, Harichand, Devolai, Imamdherai and Tighak-Galoch and arrested 17 Taliban militants.

Four Taliban militants surrendered at Shahdand Banda and Bara Banda.

December 16

The SFs killed 49 Taliban militants in separate military actions in the FATA. "At least 18 militants were killed when helicopters pounded Toori Khel town of Orakzai Agency when they (militants) were holding an important meeting," paramilitary spokesman Major Fazlur Rehman said. Local Administration Official Riaz Khan confirmed the toll and said four more were killed in air strikes in the Sultanzai town of Orakzai Agency.

The SFs lunched a ground and air offensive in Dagar town in the Kurram Agency, killing 21 Taliban militants, paramilitary spokesman Major Fazlur Rehman said. However, Dawn put the death toll to 27. Another 18 Taliban militants were arreted from the same town.

Six Taliban militants and one soldier were killed in the raids and clashes in the South Waziristan.

As many as four persons were killed and 27 others were injured when unidentified militants hurled grenades at the participants of a music concert at Shah Kas area in Jamrud tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency in FATA.

SFs arrested 25 suspected militants, including a ‘commander’, Syed Noor, during a search operation in Shalober, Qamberkhel and Akakhel area of Bara sub-division in Khyber Agency.

December 17

A key al Qaeda operative, Zohaib Al-Zahidi, and seven other foreigners were among 17 persons killed in two separate drone strikes in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. Zohaib Al-Zahidi was an important al Qaeda cadre involved in planning and executing several militant attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the first attack, five US drones fired at least 10 missiles at two houses in the Ambarshaga area killing at least 15 people. Another US drone killed two Taliban militants as it fired two missiles at their vehicle around 4 AM (PST) in Godi Wala village in Datta Khel tehsil (revenue division), 40 kilometres west of Miranshah. Official sources said the first missile missed the target due to which several militants escaped, while two of them were killed by the second missile. However, The News put the death to 16.

Six persons, including three SF personnel and three Taliban militants, were killed while five SF personnel injured in two separate attacks in Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency in FATA. The sources said two SF personnel were killed when a remote-controlled bomb struck a security convoy in the Malikdin Khel area of Bara tehsil. In the second incident, the Taliban militants attacked a security check post in the Feroz Khel area, close to the Orakzai Agency border. A SF official was killed while five others were injured in the attack. Three Taliban militants were also killed when SFs retaliated.

December 18

SFs backed by fighter jets killed 16 Taliban militants and injured another 22 when they targeted militant hideouts in various areas of Orakzai Agency in the FATA. Sources said the jets destroyed four hideouts in Dabori, Ghalju, Mamuzai and Malpati areas of Upper Orakzai.

A US drone fired four missiles in the Shagga village of North Waziristan, killing eight Taliban militants and injuring five others. The US drone struck at around 3:30pm (IST) in Pyekhel area of Dattakhel tehsil (revenue division), 25 kilometres west of Miranshah. "The US drone fired four missiles, hitting a house, a compound and some makeshift buildings," a Security Official in Peshawar said. "It looks like some key Taliban or al Qaeda figures are hiding in this area, and that’s why the drones are targeting this area again and again." An official said, "Our informers told us that the Taliban had gathered to attend the funeral prayers of those killed December 17’s missile attacks," he said.

SFs in South Waziristan neutralised 30 bunkers and compounds, which were previously being used by the Taliban militants. The SFs conducted a search operation in Song Khula near Asman Manza and destroyed a watchtower that was used by the Taliban militants. The Taliban militants fired with small arms at a SFs checkpost near Razmak, injuring a soldier.

Unidentified militants destroyed a boys’ college in Alamgodar area of Bara tehsil (revenue division) in Khyber Agency. The sources said that the militants attacked the college in the early hours of morning. They tied up the guard with ropes and blew up the building using explosives. The sources said 20 rooms of the college were completely destroyed.

SFs arrested 14 suspected militants during a search operation in the Malakdin Khel and Qambar Khel areas of Bara tehsil.

December 19

SFs killed 20 militants in operations across the FATA. The SFs killed six militants in Bara tehsil (revenue division) of Khyber Agency and arrested another four militants during a search operation in the area. The six militants were killed when they tried to attack the Janki Post in Bara, while the militants were arrested from the Shalobar area. The SFs also blew up the house of LI ‘commander’ Arif.

SFs killed six militants and neutralised three militant’s hideouts in the Orakzai Agency. Also, unidentified gunmen shot dead two militants in the area. The helicopter gunships pounded Feroz Khel and Shaikhan areas of Lower Orakzai, killing six militants and neutralised three of their hideouts. The two bodies of militants were recovered from Sanpaga Kandao area of Upper Orakzai.

SFs killed six militants in the Razmal area in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan. "Security forces conducted a search operation in Lowara Punga near Mana. During the encounter six terrorists were killed," The Inter-Services Public Relations said. The SFs secured Sain Tanga and Malik Shahi areas in South Waziristan and arrested four suspects during the clearance operation in several areas of the Jandola sector.

SFs conducted search operations in several areas of the Jandola sector in South Waziristan and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunitions.

SFs also conducted a search operation in Badam Shah near Pash Ziarat and neutralised three militant compounds, two bunkers and a tunnel and cleared four suspected houses.

The militants fired rockets and small arms at a SFs patrol near Mana, which was effectively retaliated. SFs also cleared 52 compounds in various areas and recovered a cache of arms.

In North Waziristan, the SFs conducted a search of Waziristan Hotel in Miran Shah and arrested two militants and recovered three grenades and a jacket from them.

December 21

Two Taliban militants were killed and three others arrested in the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat in the South Waziristan Agency of the FATA. The ISPR sources said the militants fired with small arms at the SFs check-post near Janata, which was effectively retaliated. In the Shakai sector, the ISPR said, the militants engaged SFs positions in Pungai near Ladha from southwest of Narakai. During the ensuing clash, two militants were killed, ISPR said. In the Razmak sector, militants attacked the SFs check-post near Mana and Pash Ziarat, which was effectively retaliated.

December 22

At least 17 Taliban militants were killed and another eight injured as the SFs, backed by helicopter gunships, continued their offensive against terrorists in Orakzai Agency of FATA. A private news channel said helicopter gunships pounded militant’s hideouts in the region, killing seven militants and injuring another eight. Six more militants were killed in Ferozekhel during a encounter with the SFs. Ihsanullah, an important Taliban ‘commander’, was also among the dead. However, another TV channel claimed that Ihsanullah’s killing was a result of clash between two militant groups.

The SFs killed four militants in separate clashes during the Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Salvation) in South Waziristan. Sources said that two militants were killed and two injured in Nazar Khel near Gani Khel. The SFs killed two more militants during a search operation in Ghariom.

The SFs conducted a search operation in Janata area and recovered an unspecified number of arms and ammunitions.

A girl’s school was bombed in Kamar Khel area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency by unidentified militants. Sources said that the militants planted explosives in Government Girls Middle Schools. The blast damaged the compound and rooms of the school, a local said. Moreover, the continuing curfew has forced the closure of all educational institutions in Bara.

The SFs discovered and defused a roadside landmine in Shin Drang area. Officials said that militants had planted the bomb to target the SFs.

December 23

SFs killed 10 Taliban militants in Bajaur Agency of FATA after they came under attack in Charmang area of Nawagai tehsil (revenue unit). Taliban militants attacked two check posts in Charmang area, upon which the SFs killed 10 of the militants in retaliatory fire. However, The News put the militant fatalities to 12.

In the Bara tehsil, SFs arrested five suspected persons, including a wanted militant, during a search operation.

The SFs neutralised a house in Akakhel area and arrested a Taliban ‘commander’ Malki Khan, his two brothers and a son.

December 24

Three SF personnel were injured when militants fired rockets at two military check posts in Chamarkand area of Mohmand Agency late in the night. Tribal sources said the militants fired rockets at Marjan-I and Marjan-II check posts in Chamarkand area in Safi tehsil (revenue unit). Three troopers on duty at the checkpoints were injured in the attack. In retaliation, the SFs pounded the hideouts of militants with artillery cannons but there was report on any human and material losses inflicted on the militants.

December 25

The SFs shot dead nine suspected Taliban militants in Orakzai Agency of FATA. A Government official Muhammed Yasin said the Pakistan Army had killed at least nine suspected Taliban militants in the country’s northwest tribal region near the Afghanistan border. The Army had used helicopter gunships to destroy three Taliban hideouts in Orakzai Agency, he added further.

The SFs arrested a militant during a search operation in Nawagai area of Bajaur Agency.

Three militants surrendered before the SFs in Lagharai area of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency.

The SFs neutralised the house of a militant ‘commander’ in Mamond by using explosives, besides targeting several militant positions in Mulla Said area with artillery shells and mortar guns.

December 26

10 Taliban militants were killed in Orakzai and Mohmand Agencies of the FATA as SFs continued operations against the Taliban militants. Six militants were killed and 11 injured when helicopter gunships bombed militant hideouts in the Orakzai Agency, officials said. Political Administration officials said that SFs attacked militant hideouts in areas close to the border with Hangu, killing six militants and injuring 11, adding that two militant hideouts were also neutralised in the attacks. A clash between SFs and militants left at least four militants dead and seven injured in Mohmand Agency. According to security officials, the clash occurred in the Chamarkand area in the night of December 24. SF personnel have started search operations in various areas of the Mohmand Agency.

Three Taliban militants were killed and two injured when a US drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound in North Waziristan. The sources said that the missiles hit the house of a local, Asmatullah, in Danday Saidgy village, 20 kilometres north of Miranshah, at around 7pm (PST). Another Security official confirmed the drone strike to AFP, adding that Asmatullah had links with the Taliban.

Five militants were killed and two others injured in a clash between two banned militants groups, Ansar-ul-Islam and Lashkar-e-Islam, in the Tirrah Valley of Khyber Agency. Political administration officials said that armed militants of the two groups were using heavy weaponry to target rival hideouts in the valley. The SFs fired at hideouts of Lashkar-e-Islam, neutralizing two of them.

Unidentified militants assassinated an anti-Taliban tribal elder and dumped his beheaded dead body by the roadside in Bajaur Agency. According to a local official, Gul Muhammad (42), an elder of the Salarzai tribe, had been actively participating in raising a village militia to battle the Taliban in the region. "The body of Gul Muhammad was found this morning in Mamund village," Faramosh Khan, the official, said. "A note found on the beheaded body said that anyone who would join the militia against the Taliban would be killed in the same manner," he added.

December 27

A US missile attack that demolished a suspected Taliban compound in North Waziristan killed 13 militants. A US drone slammed two missiles into the building in Danday Saidgi village, seven kilometres north of Miranshah, official sources said. "The Taliban have recovered more dead bodies from the debris today (December 27). We have reports that a total of 13 terrorists were killed and three injured," an intelligence official in Miranshah said. "One of the local ‘commander’, Abdur Rehman, was also killed," he added. "The compound was used by local Taliban attached to the Haqqani network, which has attacked US troops in Afghanistan," said another Senior Security Official.

Eight Taliban militants were killed and 14 injured in attacks on militant hideouts and in a clash between militants and tribesmen in Orakzai Agency. Sources said that air strikes pounded militant hideouts in Sturikhel area of Orakzai Agency, killing five militants and injuring eight others. The sources said three militant hideouts were also neutralised in the strikes.

Three militants were killed and six injured in a clash between militants and members of the Sturikhel tribe. Sources said the militants had been threatening members of the Sturikhel tribe in a bid to stop them from enrolling in the Frontier Corps. They said the situation had escalated to such an extent that a clash erupted between the militants and members of the tribe firing at each other. Resultantly, three militants were killed and six others injured.

Suspected Taliban militants blew up the home of a Government official in Kurram, killing him and five children as they slept, officials said. "Unknown assailants planted dynamite near the boundary wall of the house and exploded it between 2-3 AM (PST), completely destroying the house," Abab Ali, an Administration Official, told AFP by telephone. A junior local official, Sarfraz Khan, one of his sons and four other relatives died. Three other relatives were wounded," he said.

"Besides the official, those killed were aged five to 11. We don’t know who was responsible," he added.

December 28

At least 15 militants were killed in the ongoing Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path to Salvation) in South Waziristan Agency of FATA, a press released issued by the ISPR said. The militants raided Boya Narai Post in South Waziristan Agency. SFs retaliated and as a result 15 militants were killed including militant ‘commander’ Zainual. Two Security personnel, Lance Havaldar Sikandar and Havaldar Aftab were killed while three others were injured during the gun battle. Soon after successful retaliation the SFs conducted search and clearance operation in Marobi Raghzai and Zhawar Killi in Razmak sector and a compound in Landi Wah near Lakki in Shakai sector and recovered a cache a large cache of arms and ammunition.

The clash, which was started between Taliban and a tribal militia in Orakzai Agency on December 27, killed 15 persons more. The clashes broke out when Taliban fighters attacked homes and trenches dug by the anti-Taliban militia in the Sturikhel area of Orakzai Agency. Eight Taliban militants were killed and 14 injured on December 27. Security officials said the Taliban destroyed several houses and killed nine men from a rival militia, which was set up to challenge the Taliban who hold sway in parts of Orakzai. "They also killed local tribal elder Malik Sharif and took over his house," one official said. "We have reports that nine militia men and six militants have been killed. The fighting is still going on," a Security official based in the neighbouring garrison city of Kohat said by telephone.

Two SF personnel were killed when suspected militants attacked a checkpost in Chamarkand with rockets in the night. Five SF personnel were also injured. Troops retaliated quickly and killed one militant and injured several others. Militant hideouts were pounded with artillery, but there was no report about casualties.

Unidentified militants blew up a shop located along the Pak-Afghan Highway in Landi Kotal tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency.

SFs arrested seven militants from Bara tehsil of Khyber agency.

December 29

Five civilians, including four children and a woman, and two SF personnel were killed in an exchange of fire and shelling in Mohmand Agency of FATA during last 24 hours. Local people said the children were killed when a mortar shell hit a playground in Sagai Bala area of Safi tehsil (revenue unit). Another shell hit the house of Qazi in Chamarkand area, killing a woman.

Unidentified militants killed one trooper of the Bajaur Levies, Havaldar Mukarram Khan, in Inayat Qila Bazaar of Khar tehsil.

Helicopter gunships pounded militant’s positions in Shiekh Baba, Soran Dara, Golono and Sagai areas.

The Taliban militants detained a freelance journalist working for the Associated Press (AP) for shooting in the volatile tribal region in violation of a ban imposed by them in Miranshah of North Waziristan. Taliban spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi said by phone from somewhere in North Waziristan that the reporter had been taken into ‘custody’ for violating the ban. He said the detained reporter identified himself as Mohammad Rashid and was working for AP, an American wire service. He said the 45-year-old journalist was arrested by a group of Taliban fighters while making video of motor bargain centres in the evening of December 27. He belongs to Rawalpindi, said Ahmadi. Miranshah is the hub of non-custom paid expensive cars smuggled into the area from Afghanistan. Dealers come from all over Pakistan and buy these vehicles and take them to other parts of the country. The Taliban spokesman said they seized a car, an expensive video camera and some other items from the detained journalist.

The TTP have warned khasadars (local tribal force) and construction contractors against carrying out their duties by distributing pamphlet in Miranshah in North Waziristan. The TTP said the decision had been made to protect the life and property of the tribal people belonging to the Mehsud tribe.

December 30

12 Taliban militants were killed in a clash between SFs and militants in Bajaur and Mohmand Agency of FATA. 10 Taliban militants, including ‘commander’ Shahabuddin, were killed and 18 injured in clashes between SFs and Taliban militants in Chamar Kand of Safi tehsil (revenue unit) in Mohmand Agency. The SFs also neutralised a militant hideout. Two Taliban militants were killed and another injured during an encounter between SFs and Taliban militants at Mamoond tehsil in Bajaur Agency. Political administration said that Taliban militants attacked a SFs checkpost at Mamoond tehsil. Retaliating, the SFs shot dead two militants and injured another.

A would-be suicide bomber and his three accomplices were killed before reaching the intended target after their explosive-laden vehicle exploded due to mishandling of the explosive material in Orakzai Agency.

One key anti-Taliban elder, Taj Muhammad (38), was shot dead and his bullet-riddled body found dumped on a roadside in Bajaur Agency. The bullet-riddled body of Taj Muhammad, an anti-Taliban elder of the Salarzai tribe, was found by a road in a village in Bajaur. "He had been shot with an automatic weapon and a note from the Taliban said anyone working against them would be killed in the same manner," said local Administration Official Faramosh Khan. Local residents said the Taliban abducted Muhammad along with five other persons a few days go.

SFs arrested 15 suspected Taliban militants while other four surrendered during the last 24 hours as part of the on-going Operation Rah-e-Rast. According to the ISPR, SFs carried out search and clearance operations in and near Charbagh, Qambar, Tilligram and Garai Kalle. The SFs arrested 10 militants and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition. Also, four militants surrendered to SFs at village Chamtlai and Khawazakhela. The SFs conducted search and clearance operations in Baz Darra Bala, Thana and arrested five suspected militants and recovered one stolen car.

December 31

The SFs killed four foreign Taliban militants and a woman during a raid on a private hospital in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan Agency, of FATA in the morning. The SFs laid siege to the private clinic in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, at 2 AM (PST), leading an encounter until around 7 AM, said local Administration and Intelligence Officials. A Security Official said the raid followed a tip off that wounded Taliban were brought to the hospital from Sherwangi. "Commandos and Security Forces raided the hospital. Taliban fired at the troops and in the gunfight, which lasted more than four hours, four Taliban and a woman were killed, while 22 others were arrested," said the official. "One soldier was also injured. The three dead terrorists appear to be Arabs and one of Sudanese origin," added the official. The identity of the woman was not initially clear, said the official. An Intelligence Official said 27 suspects were also arrested in the raid.

A US drone strike killed at least four persons in North Waziristan, Security and Intelligence Officials said. The missile struck a compound in Machikhel village, 25 kilometres east of Miranshah. "A US drone fired two missiles, which hit a compound of a local tribesman, Karim Khan, killing four people and injuring two others," a Senior Security Official said. The identity of those killed was not immediately known, adding it was also not clear whether any high-value target was present in the area at the time of the strike, the Security Official added further.

The suspected Taliban militants blew up two boys’ schools in Bajaur Agency. A 21-room Government high school and a five-room primary school, side by side in Shago village of Bajaur, were blew up with explosives overnight, local Administration Official Muhammad Jameel Khan said. "It is the work of the Taliban … they have destroyed several schools in the past," he said, adding that there were no casualties. Gul Rehman, a Bajaur Education Officer, said Taliban had destroyed more than 60 schools over a year in the District.