Oct 27 at 8:08pm by David Tate
An American commando raid into Syrian territory has resulted in the “decapitation” of the primary network responsible for facilitating the Iraqi insurgency from Syria, this according to Bill Roggio at The Long War Journal.
According to Roggio, the raid killed the group’s leader, Abu Ghadiya, as well as his entire senior leadership.
By Bill Roggio
October 27, 2008 4:51 PM
“Al Qaeda leader Abu Ghadiya was killed in yesterday’s strike inside Syria, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. But US special operations forces also inflicted a major blow to al Qaeda’s foreign fighter network based in Syria. The entire senior leadership of Ghadiya’s network was also killed in the raid, the official stated.
Ghadiya was the leader of al Qaeda extensive network that funnels foreign fighters, weapons, and cash from Syria into Iraq along the entire length of the Syrian border. Ghadiya was first identified as the target of the raid inside Syria late last night here at The Long War Journal. The Associated Press reported Ghadiya was killed in the raid earlier today.”
Read More here —> The Long War Journal
Continue Reading
Oct 25 at 12:12pm by David Tate
The Pakistani military claims their forces have captured the key militant stronghold of Loi Sam, Bajour Agency, in a fierce push to wrest control of the area from Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.
Loi Sam sits at a pivotal intersection connecting three major roads that extend into different regions deep into Pakistani territory.
The battle is the latest in an ongoing series of offensives that kicked off August 6. The stated goal of offensive is ridding Bajour of thousands of militants who use the agency as a staging area and command and control for militants fighting the security forces defending Afghanistan.
Leaders of the security effort in Afghanistan, led by the United States, says attacks in Kunar Province (directly across the border from Bajour) are noticeably down since the offensive began. Pakistani news reports say militants in Afghanistan have left that fight to reinforce fighters in Pakistan.
30 Days of Fighting
The offensive against Loi Sam began September 20 when joint Pakistani army units and Frontier Corps fighters, backed by tanks and US supplied helicopter gunships, began pushing into the area under heavy fire. Tribal militias are being used to enforce security in the aftermath as the military force moves on.
Current estimates put the death toll for militants at more than 1,500 while Pakistani security forces have lost 72 members. 95 civilians have also been listed as killed in the fighting. More than 300,000 people have also been displaced; thousands who have fled across the border into Kunar Province Afghanistan. The displacement has not only created a humanitarian concern for Afghanistan, but a security concern as well.
With roughly one million people, Bajour Agency is the smallest of the seven semi-autonomous, Pashtun dominated, tribal agencies that make up FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Area) of Pakistan’s northwest frontier alongside Afghanistan’s very troubled eastern border.
The fight for Bajour is being watched closely by all parties and is seen as a litmus test for Pakistan’s claimed commitment to the war against terrorism.
Continue Reading
Oct 23 at 11:11am by David Tate
Heavy fighting in Deh Rahwood district, Oruzgan Province has left at least 60 militant fighters dead, including a top commander.
The fighting erupted on October 21 when coalition intelligence pinpointed the location of Taliban commander Sharif Agha. Agha was spotted, with 14 other militants, near a river bed as they were preparing an attack against a Coalition patrol. An air strike was called in killing all 15 militants.
Agha was a known terrorist leader responsible for attacks against Coalition and civilian targets in both Oruzgan and Helmand Provinces.
A second firefight erupted in the same district when a large Taliban force attacked a joint Coalition/Afghan patrol. During the battle, close air support was again used resulting in the deaths of 55 suspected militants.
Three other militants were killed the same day in Khas Oruzgan district after a joint Coalition/Afghan patrol received small arms fire from a compound. One Afghan and one coalition member were also wounded.
Continue Reading
Oct 20 at 5:05pm by David Tate
After more than a year of planning and nearly six months of moving, Polish troops are preparing to take security control of Ghazni Province in Afghanistan’s volatile eastern part of the country.
Originally hoping to take control of Paktika Province, the Poles recently completed a move into four US-built bases across Ghazni and expect to be fully in charge by early November. Poland is trading locations with US troops who have been in Ghazni full time since early 2004.
The Americans are moving their Ghazni components into neighboring Paktika Province, complimenting American forces already in place along the Pakistani border area with Waziristan.
Looking For More
Poland, preparing its fourth rotation of troops to Afghanistan, has been vying to take over security of a province in an effort to consolidate its forces for maximum efficiency. Up until this point, Poland had some concentrated troops in Paktika Province (headquartered in Gardez) with hundreds of other troops scattered throughout the country from Bagram to Kandahar.
Unfinished Business
As the Americans wrap up their move out of Ghazni, they are also ratcheting up operations in the province, seemingly working hard to leave the province’s security situation in as favorable a condition as possible. Within the past two weeks alone multiple operations, particularly in the restive Andar district, have been persistent:
Oct. 10 – Four militants are killed and two captured after coalition forces come under fire during an operation. A Taliban commander and an al Qaeda commander are among the dead.
Oct. 12 – An operation in Andar district targeting a local Taliban commander leads to a firefight that kills five Taliban fighters, including the wanted leader.
Oct. 13 – Coalition forces targeting a Taliban sub commander in Rashidan district come under fire. In the ensuing fight five militants, including the commander, are killed.
Oct. 14 – Coalition forces targeting an IED cell in Andar district capture three militants.
Oct. 16 – Eight fighters are captured during multiple operations in Andar and Waghez districts. One of the fighters is wounded during a brief firefight.
Currently more than 1,600 Polish troops are in Afghanistan with more likely on their way as Poland wraps up its mission in Iraq to focus on central asia. That number includes 400 reinforcements that have recently completed deploying in the lead up to the transfer of control.
Poland’s primary mission will be controlling more than 180 miles of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway (the main artery serving a majority of Afghanistan’s population) and training Afghan security forces also deployed around the province.
Fighting in Ghazni has increased 99% since 2007 when 113 incidents were reported. By October 2008, the number of attacks was already 221 on the year. Ghazni is the fifth most active province, in terms of fighting, in Afghanistan.
Continue Reading
Oct 4 at 2:02am by David Tate
In a major change in dynamics on the ground in Bajour Agency, Pakistan, members of the powerful Mamoond (Mamund) tribe have pledged allegiance to Pakistani security forces and are raising a militia to help combat militants.
On October 4, hundreds of members of the tribe held a grand jirga that resulted in the official formation of a lashkar (militia) to help expel the militants and bring stability to the agency. In an operation declared to begin October 5, the Qaumi Lashkar is directed to burn any house found to harbor militants with a one million rupee fine ($12,800) to follow.
The jirga also agreed to peace efforts extended by the government and support its security forces.
All three major tribes in Bajour are now actively supporting the Pakistani government, with fighters, against the militants. Militant strength throughout the agency is believed to number in the thousands.
While the US government has been actively courting tribal leaders for months, signs began showing last week that the Mamoond Tribe was beginning to defect to the government side. Traditionally, the Mamoond Tribe is known to be aligned with militants, particularly because of inter-marriage with Al Qaeda fighters, and are represented on both sides of the border with Kunar Province, Afghanistan.
Since the offensive in Bajour began, attacks across the border in Kunar have decreased. Reports suggest fighters attacking coalition forces in Kunar Province have been reinforcing their commrades in Bajour to the benefit of the Americans. Kunar Province is the second most active province, in terms of militant attacks, in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military has been pressing an offensive into Bajour since August 6 which has killed more than 1,000 militants and some 70 Pakistani soldiers. The fighting has also displaced more than 300,000 civilians.
The fight for Bajour is being closely watched by the Americans who are pressuring the Pakistanis to be tougher on the Taliban fighters openly operating in the border regions with Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military expects the operation to be wrapped up by year’s end; a task much more realistic with the defection of the Mamoond Tribe.
Continue Reading
RECENT COMMENTS