Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief – January 19, 2010
US drone attacks continue to target militants in the FATA; TTP commander Hakimullah Mehsud releases an audiotape following drone strikes; Indian troops kill Pakistani soldier in LOC incident; Pakistani troops kill ten militants in South Waziristan; suicide bomber targets Pakistani troops in Kashmir; Pakistan and Iran to conduct joint patrols along shared border; US, Afghan, and Pakistani officials meet in Chaman.
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US missiles struck a compound owned by the Mehsud tribe in the Shaktu area of South Waziristan on Sunday, killing at least 20 people. Four Taliban commanders were among the individuals reported killed in the attack. The same tribe that owned the compound is leading the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, but other militants not directly affiliated with the TTP were also present in the compound. According to officials, the al-Qaida-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader, Usman Jan, was also present, along with other IMU members. Jan’s status from the attack is still unknown. In a suspected drone strike two days prior in South Waziristan, a key commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Punjab, Azmatullah Mawiya, was confirmed dead.[1]
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Hakimullah Mehsud released an audiotape on Saturday, following persistent rumors that he had been killed in a US drone attack. The TTP commander claimed he was neither wounded nor present during any strike.[2]
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Indian troops fired across the Line of Control near Rawalakot on Tuesday, killing one Pakistani soldier and wounding another. Pakistani officials filed a formal complaint in New Delhi, demanding a meeting between Indian and Pakistani military forces regarding the situation.[3]
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The Pakistani military reportedly killed 10 militants during fighting on Tuesday. The Army was conducting a search and clearance operation in the Admi Kot area of South Waziristan when they encountered the militants. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a nearby location while also engaging militants.[4]
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A suicide bomber targeted the Pakistani military on Saturday near the town of Rawalakot, located in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The suicide bomber detonated the explosives as a convoy of military vehicles passed, injuring two Pakistani soldiers.[5]
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It was reported on Tuesday that the Balochistan Frontier Corps and Iranian Border Forces will conduct joint patrolling operations along the Pakistan-Iran border. The operation seeks to track illegal movement along the border in order to stop smugglers and criminals present in the area.[6]
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NATO Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal, Southern Command Commander Lt-Gen Khalid Shamim Wynne, FC Inspector-General Maj-Gen Salim Nawaz and Afghan Border Security Force Commander Gen Abdul Raziq held a meeting in Chaman, located in Balochistan on the border with Afghanistan. During the meeting the officials discussed security measures on both the Afghan and Pakistani sides of the border, in addition to starting biometric processing to identify individuals.[7]
