• Afghanistan,  Global War on Terror,  Pakistan,  Terrorists

    Global War on Terror Watch: Pakistani Airstrikes Spark Protests

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    Pakistani activists from Islami Jamiat Tulba — the student wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami fundamentalist party — shout slogans after setting US flags alight during a protest in Karachi. Radical Islamic leaders in Pakistan called for mass protests 31 October after around 80 people died in an airstrike on a suspected Al-Qaeda-linked training camp at a religious school.

    AP: Pakistani airstrike sparks protests

    Pakistan’s army spokesman said Tuesday that the military used intelligence from U.S.-led coalition forces in a helicopter attack that left 80 people dead. Thousands of angry tribesmen decried both governments over the killings.

    Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the chief army spokesman, told The Associated Press that American forces did not take part in Monday’s attack on a religious school, or madrassa, that Pakistan called a front for an al-Qaida training camp.

    But he said his government received intelligence as part of long-standing cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition forces in
    Afghanistan to battle terrorists operating along the porous border between the countries.

    “Intelligence sharing was definitely there, but to say they (the coalition) have carried out the operation, that is absolutely wrong,” Sultan said. “One doesn’t know … what was the percentage of help (was provided).”

    Sultan later contacted the AP to deny he had made the remarks.

    Ok, whatever!

    How much did the Coalition forces contribute to yesterday’s airstrike is irrelevant. The fact that the airstrike happened and struck into Pakistan is noteworthy. But is it enough?

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    Pakistani students from Islami Jamiat-e-Talba group shout slogans and burn an effigy of U.S. President George W.Bush during a protest held in Peshawar October 31, 2006 to condemn an army attack on a religious school in the Chenagai area of the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan . Over 15,000 armed Pakistani tribesmen protested on Tuesday against a Pakistan Army helicopter attack on an al-Qaeda-linked madrasa in Bajaur tribal region that killed around 80 suspected militants.

    Bill Roggio has more about the airstrikes.

    How was the attack carried out?

    Also Alexis Debat reports U.S. ‘drones’ – actually this would be Predator UAVs, conducted the strike, and not Pakistani helicopters. An American intelligence source informs us that the Pakistani Army does not possess the capabilities to conduct precision night strikes such as this attack. There are several possibilities here: it could have indeed been a Predator strike, or, more risky would be a strike by U.S. C-130 gunships. Conducting manned strikes over Pakistani airspace has its risks, including that of a shoot down and follow on rescue mission. The Asia Time’s Syed Saleem Shahzad reports this was a ‘NATO airstrike” by “helicopter gunships,” however it is highly unlikely this strike occurred under the aegis of NATO. Look for signs of Task Force 145 having carried out this raid, with unmanned Predators firing Hellfire missiles.

    The protests will come (children were killed, the Korans were burned in the attack) but the message is continuing to be pounded into the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

    America is the STRONGER HORSE

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    Debris lies scattered from a collapsed Islamic school which was destroyed by Pakistani helicopters in Khar.

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    In this photo released by the Press Information Department of Northwest Frontier (NWFP) Province, Senior Minister of Pakistans North West Frontier Province Siraj ul-Haq, who announced he would resign in protest, addresses a gathering, Monday, Oct. 30, 2006, in Chingai village near Khar, the main town of Bajur, at the Pakistani tribal area along the Afghan border. Pakistani troops backed by missile-firing helicopters killed an estimated 80 militants when they destroyed a purported al-Qaida-linked training facility near the Afghan border, the military said.

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  • Afghanistan,  Global War on Terror,  Islamofascist,  Pakistan,  Terrorists

    Global War on Terror Watch: Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Pakistan Attack

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    Satellite map of Bajaur and neighboring Kunar province in Afghanistan. Location of strike in Chenegai in red. Photo Courtesy of Bill Roggio.

    ABC News: Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan

    Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

    ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda’s No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda’s winter headquarters.

    Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources now tell ABC News that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane.

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    Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri

    Stay tuned for the demonstrations of American incursion on Pakistan’s sovereign territory. But. some bad guys seem to have bitten the dust.

    Between two and five senior al Qaeda militants were killed in the attack, including the mastermind of the airliners plot in the U.K., according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

    No word yet on whether or not Zawahiri was killed in the raid, but one Pakistani intelligence source did express doubt that Zawahiri would have been staying in a madrassa, which is an obvious target for strikes against militants. That source, however, did express confidence that Pakistani intelligence is closing in on Zawahiri’s location.

    One of the clerics who is believed to have been killed today, Maulana Liaquat, was one of the two main local leaders believed to be protecting Zawahiri.

    Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News they believe they have “boxed” Zawahiri in a 40-square-mile area between the Khalozai Valley in Bajaur and the village of Pashat in Kunar, Afghanistan. They hope to capture or kill him in the next few months.

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    Tribesmen gather near the bodies of those killed during a Pakistan army air strike in Chenagai in the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan , October 30, 2006.

    But, again, is this a show for the Brits and Prince Charles? Or a more forceful resolve of eliminating Al Qaeda and the radical Taliban?

    Probably a show……..with some surprising results.

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    Global War on Terror Watch: Pakistani Attack on Bajaur Training Camps Kills 80


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  • Global War on Terror,  Pakistan

    Global War on Terror Watch: Pakistani Attack on Bajaur Training Camps Kills 80

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    Satellite map of Bajaur and neighboring Kunar province in Afghanistan. Location of strike in Chenegai in red. Photo Courtesy of Bill Roggio.

    AP: Pakistani attack on al-Qaida kills 80

    Pakistani troops and helicopters firing missiles killed as many as 80 militants training at a religious school used as an al-Qaida training center near the Afghan border, officials said.

    Local leaders said all those slain when the school, or madrassa, was destroyed were civilians.

    Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said initial estimates based on intelligence sources on the ground indicated that the attack killed about 80 suspected militants, who appeared to be in their 20s and were from Pakistan and other countries.

    “These militants were involved in actions inside Pakistan and probably in Afghanistan,” Sultan told The Associated Press.

    The bodies of 20 men killed in the attack were lined up in a field near the madrassa, in Chingai village near Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal district, before an impromptu burial attended by thousands of local people, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

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    Pakistani tribesmen offer prayers during a funeral of alleged militants, who died in the Pakistani military attack, Monday, Oct. 30, 2006 in Chingai village near Khar, the main town Bajur, Pakistani tribal area along Afghan Border. Pakistani troops backed by missile-firing helicopters killed an estimated 80 militants when they destroyed a purported al-Qaida-linked training facility near the Afghan border, the military said.

    Bill Roggio has more of the story: Airstrikes on Bajaur Training Camps

    It is not believed any major al-Qaeda figures were present at the time of the strike. A good sign of this will be if any Uzbeks or Chechens are reported killed, as these two groups have deep roots in the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the region. Liaquat Hussain, the person that ran the madrassa, was believed to have been killed. And the ubiquitous Faqir Mohammed, who hosted the January Taliban and al-Qaeda leadership dinner party in Damadola, is also believed to have been inside the mosque during the strike. His death has not been confirmed. The custom of immediately burying the dead in unmarked graves makes it difficult to quickly identify those killed. The recent confirmation of the death of Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah highlights this problem. He was killed in a similar strike in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan in April of 2006, and was only positively identified at the end of October.

    While the Pakistanis are taking credit for this strike, the question arises as to whether this may have been conducted by Task Force 145, the U.S. special operations terrorist hunter-killer teams. Task Force 145 was responsible for the April raid in Danda Saidgai on the al-Qaeda’s training camp for Osama bin Laden’s Black Guard, his elite praetorian guard. Pakistan initially took credit for the Danda Saidgai strikes, but the Washington Post later revealed this was indeed a U.S. mission. Dawn notes the raid occurred “at around 5:00 am,” which means it was conducted in the dark, which means the Pakistani helicopter pilots would need night training in flight and targeting.

    And the rationale for the attacks:

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    Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shakut Aziz (L) escorts Britain’s Prince Charles during welcome ceremony at the Prime Minister’s house in Islamabad October 30, 2006. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla thanked Pakistan for efforts to counter terrorism on Monday at the start of a visit aimed at fostering goodwill in a country where most of Britain’s Muslims have family.

    Unfortunatley it seems that this attack may be window dressing for the Brits while Prince Charles is in country such as it was the previous time when President Bush was in Pakistan. So will Pakistan keep up the operations on Al Qaeda and the Taliban?

    Well, if Pakistan doesn’t then America and NATO WILL.

    The Pakistanis have a knack for delivering a high level al-Qaeda leader or conducting a high profile strike when the need arises. The strike on Danda Saidgai occurred just as President Bush visited Pakistan and less than a week after the bombing of the Karachi Consulate that killed a U.S. diplomat. Britain’s Prince Charles, the future King of England, is currently in Pakistan, country. The NATO commander in Afghanistan, General James Jones, has just visited Pakistan and stated “the movements [of Taliban and al-Qaeda] across the border have increased since the signing of agreements on the other side of the border,” referring to the Wazristan Accord.

    Stay tuned……..


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