Sunday, January 6, 2013

TTP leader Wali Muhammad aka Tufan Mehsud reported killed in Drone strike

Key TTP leader killed in US drone strike

MIRANSHAH: Commander Wali Muhammad aka Tufan Mehsud, a key Pakistani Taliban figure, has reportedly been killed in a US drone strike which also killed 11 other people, sources said on Sunday.

According to reports, the militant commander was a close relative of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud and succeeded another commander Qari Hussian following his killing.

AFP adds: US drones fired a volley of missiles at militant hideouts in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 12 Taliban fighters near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The missile attack took place in Babar Ghar village in South Waziristan, a tribal district bordering Afghanistan which is a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"US drones fired several missiles at two militant compounds. At least 12 militants have been killed and several others were wounded," a security official in Miranshah told AFP under condition of anonymity.

The official earlier said eight militants were killed. "There are members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) among those who have been killed," he said, adding that a close relative of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud was among the dead.

"Most of the militants were from Punjabi Taliban group and a close relative of Hakimullah Mehsud," the official said.

Another security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the drone attacks and casualties.

Intelligence officials in Miranshah said that militants had died after US drones fired up to 10 missiles on three militant compounds in the Babar Ghar attack, but the security officials could not verify that account.

Residents said that militants had cordoned off the area and were looking for more dead or wounded in the debris.

from thenews.com.pk
January 06, 2013 - Updated 2015 PKT

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In Several Joint Clearance Operations, Seven Armed Taliban Killed (Jan.06.2013.)



Publish Date: Jan 06, 2013
In Several Joint Clearance Operations, Seven Armed Taliban Killed

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched eight joint clearance operations in Kabul, Uruzgan, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Khost and Farah provinces.

As a result of these operations, seven armed Taliban were killed and nine others including a local commander of Taliban were arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated three AK-47 rifles, 67 mortars, seven rockets, 100 kilos of ammonium nitrate, 2000 light rounds and some amount of explosives.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused seven different types of mines in Kandahar, Herat and Helmand provinces.
 
Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained two suspects accused of murder in the 10th and 11th Districts of Kabul-City yesterday.
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3 killed, 15 injured in Spin Boldak attack

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): Two militants stormed the Spin Boldak district headquarters in southern Kandahar province on Sunday, killing three tribal elders and wounding 15 others, officials said.

One of the insurgents crashed his explosives-packed vehicle into the government building around 12.00 noon, the district chief told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Mohammad Hashim Agha said the second attacker entered the office complex and blew himself up inside the building where a meeting of the local council was in progress. The roof of the meeting hall collapsed, killing a tribal elder and injuring 15 others.

But the governor’s spokesman, Javed Faisal, said three tribal elders were killed and 15 other people, including three policemen, injured.

The injured were taken to the main district hospital, where some were in critical condition, a doctor said on condition of anonymity.

No one has so far claimed responsibility, but officials often such attacks on the Taliban insurgents.

from Pajhwok
By Bashir Ahmad Naadem Jan 6, 2013 - 13:06

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Jan. 06., 2013. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested the senior Taliban leader in Nad ‘Ali district during a security operation in Now Zad district, Helmand province, Jan. 6.

The leader provided operational guidance to Taliban insurgents in Nad ‘Ali district and acquired and distributed homemade explosives, weapons and ammunition to suicide bombers.

The security force also detained several suspected insurgents and seized multiple firearms as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Jan. 4. The leader planned and executed small-arms fire and improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, and oversaw the acquisition and distribution of weapons, ammunition and IEDs to insurgent fighters throughout Nad ‘Ali and Nahr-e Saraj districts. During the operation, the security force also detained two suspected insurgents.

East

An Afghan and coalition force detained one suspected insurgent and seized multiple weapons during a security operation in search of a Taliban leader in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, Jan. 6. The Taliban leader directs attacks against Afghan government officials as well as Afghan and coalition forces in the district.

In Pul-e ‘Alam district, Logar province, Jan. 4, an Afghan and coalition security force arrested a member of the Haqqani network who planned attacks against Afghan government officials. He also organized and managed the delivery of weapons and materials to Haqqani insurgents for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. During the operation, the security force detained one suspected insurgent.

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Jan. 06., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces detained one insurgent and cleared two improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Jan. 5.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained one insurgent during an engagement in Dehyak District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IED's in Khowst Province.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Somalia: Heavy Fighting in Gedo Region Between Govt Forces and Al Shabaab

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)
Kismayo — Heavy fighting erupted Saturday afternoon in Gedo region of southwestern Somalia, when Al Shabaab militants attacked a Somali government convoy, Garowe Online reports.

Local reports say that a convoy of Somali government forces and Ethiopian troops traveling between Luuq and Garbaharey districts of Gedo region were ambushed by Shabaab militants and heavy fighting ensued.

Somali military officials told local media that 2 Somali soldiers were killed and 7 other soldiers were wounded during the fighting. The military officials vowed to remove Al Shabaab militants from districts of Gedo under the militants ' control, including Bardhere district.

Casualties inflicted upon Al Shabaab militants could not be verified.

Since August 2011, Somali government forces aided by African Union forces and Ethiopian troops retook control of key towns from Al Shabaab militants affiliated to Al Qaeda, including Mogadishu, Beledweyne, Baidoa, Jowhar, and Kismayo.

from allAfrica/Garowe
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16 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan on Sunday

Map showing location of North and South Waziri...
Map showing location of North and South Waziristan in northern Pakistan and bordering on Afghanistan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and seven others injured when U.S drones fired a number of missiles at different targets in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of South Waziristan on Sunday, reported local media Geo.

Three militant hideouts were also destroyed in the strike.

According to the local media reports, five U.S. drones were involved in the attack and an estimated eight to ten missiles were fired at different targets in the Babar Ghar area of South Waziristan, which is home to militants of the Hakim Ullah Mehsud group of the Pakistan Taliban and Haqqani network.

Fire erupted following the strikes on houses in the area, local media quoted residents in the area as saying, adding that many killed were burnt beyond recognition.

The identities of the killed and injured are not immediately known.

Local media believed that some high-profile militant leaders were targeted in the strike.

Sunday's U.S. drone strike is the third of its kind in Pakistan in the new year. On Thursday, in the wee hours, U.S drones fired four missiles at a target in South Waziristan, leaving at least ten militants killed, including an important Taliban commander Mullah Nazir. Later in the day, U.S. drones launched another strike in North Waziristan, killing at least four militants.

Following the strikes, thousands of tribesmen staged a rally in protest against the U.S. drone strike in Waziristan on Saturday and Pakistan foreign office spokesman also condemned the strikes.

However, the U.S. side has turned a deaf ear to the protests and condemnation and continues to press ahead with its drone strike in Pakistan's northwest tribal areas of North and South Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan.

U.S. insists that drone strike is an effective way to wipe out the militants hiding along the Pak-Afghan border, who often launch cross-border attacks on the U.S.-led NATO troops and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.

from XINHUA
2013-01-06 16:53:21
Editor: Fang Yang

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10 rebels killed in Helmand

LASHKARGAH (PAN): Ten militants were killed and eight others wounded in two separate operations in southern Helmand province, an official said on Saturday.
The operation was carried out by the Afghan National Army (ANA) commando unit in Kajaki district, killing nine rebels, the 201th Maiwand Military Corps spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Rassoul Zazai told Pajhwok Afghan News one more rebel was killed and eight were wounded in another operation on the outskirts of Nawa district on Friday night.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, claimed the fighters inflicted casualties on foreign troops in roadside bombings in some areas of the province.

from Pajhwok
By Shams Jalal Jan 5, 2013 - 14:49

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C.A.R. Rebels Seize New Territory

Reports from the Central African Republic say a rebel coalition has captured at least one more town just days before they are set to begin negotiations with C.A.R. government officials.

Reports from the government and from local residents near the town of Bambari say the new seizures were in that area. The Associated Press quotes a resident of the nearby town of Alindao as saying it has been captured. If the reports are confirmed it would be the latest in a series of rebel seizures of towns and villages over the past month.

The new reports cast doubt on prospects for peace talks scheduled to start Tuesday in Libreville, Gabon.

On Friday the U.N. Security Council called on the rebels advancing on the Central African Republic's capital to stop their campaign and join negotiations to find a political solution to the impoverished country's problems.

The rebel coalition Seleka unites fighters from as many as four insurgent groups from the north that say the government went back on 2007 and 2008 peace accords that were supposed to pay rebels to disarm or integrate them into the national army. Seleka is demanding the resignation of President Francois Bozize.

The president says he is willing to form a coalition government, but will finish out his second elected term, which ends in 2016.

from VOA News
January 05, 2013

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Taliban promise 'sacred jihad' if US forces remain in Afghanistan past 2014


The Taliban have vowed to continue their "sacred jihad" if the Afghan government agrees to allow the United States to keep forces in Afghanistan past 2014. The Taliban made the statement as the Afghan government is freeing hundreds of Taliban prisoners and the US government is debating the size of a residual force for post-2014.

The statement, which was released today on Voice of Jihad, the official website of the Afghan Taliban, is signed by "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

"If America wants peace in Afghanistan and the region as well as a way out for its people from this ongoing quagmire then it should immediately remove all its troops from Afghanistan and practically put an end to this futile war," the Taliban said.

The Taliban said "the American presence in Afghanistan" is the cause of "all this turmoil and anarchy in the region."

"Therefore if America wants to leave a small or large number of its troops for whatever length of time then it means war and destruction will continue in the region for that same length and it shall only be America that shall suffer the most," the statement continued.

The Taliban rejected any security agreement between the US and the Afghan government as "a personal deal between Karzai and America," and said "it shall hold no legal credibility."
"The Islamic Emirate shall continue its sacred Jihad against it just as it has for the past eleven years," if a "even a single American soldier" remains in country, the Taliban stated.

Over the years, the Taliban have consistently stated that a key condition for any peace negotiations with the Afghan government must include the full withdrawal of US and NATO forces. The Taliban have also insisted that the Taliban's Islamic Emirate be restored; that sharia, or Islamic law, be enforced; and that any prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Bagram, and other US facilities be released. In addition, the Taliban have refused to denounce al Qaeda, but despite this, the Obama administration has been eager to conduct negotiations.

The Obama administration is currently debating the size of the stay-behind force after US and NATO combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014. The administration is expected to settle on a rump advisory force of between 6,000 to 9,000 troops, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The bombastic Taliban statement occurs as the US, NATO, and the Afghan government have been upbeat about the prospects for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. The Afghan government has freed more than 250 Taliban prisoners and plans on releasing an additional 150 this week. Additionally, Pakistan has been allowing Taliban leaders who have been detained to return to Afghanistan. The Afghan government has not been able to track the freed prisoners, and some are thought to be returning to the battlefield.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/01/taliban_promise_sacr.php#ixzz2H9KjShQK
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Taliban leader behind attack on Polish troops arrested

English: Map of the districts of Ghazni provin...
English: Map of the districts of Ghazni province of Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A senior Taliban leader Mullah Kabir was arrested following a joint military operation by coalition security forces and Afghan police in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan on Friday.

The Taliban leader who was involved behind major insurgency attacks in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan was arrested in Spinde village in eastern Ghazni city.

He was directly involved behind the roadside bomb attack that killed five Polish soldiers in a Nato convoy in eastern Afghanistan in December 2011.

Polish media said the soldiers were a few miles from their base in Ghazni province when the bomb exploded. Three soldiers died at the scene. Another two were said to have died of their wounds at a military hospital.

The soldiers had been part of a convoy of around 30 vehicles which was heading to the opening of a mausoleum, described by Polish media as one of the projects the reconstruction team had funded.

He was also involved in kidnapping and assassination of Afghan workers and Afghan police forces.

Taliban group yet to comment regarding the report.

from KHAAMA
By Mirwais Adeel - January 5 2013, 12:05 pm

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