A Battlefield Tourist

Breakthrough in Bajour

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.