ISLAMABAD: In the first major victory for the Pakistani military in its war on the Taleban, soldiers on Saturday captured Kotkai, the hometown of militant leader Hakimullah Mehsud, in South Waziristan.
The majority of houses in the town had been converted into bunkers, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said while briefing the media about the army operation against the insurgents on its eighth day. The security forces are in the process of clearing the built up area from mines and booby traps.
Abbas said Mehsud and Qari Hussain, his aide who ran a training camp for suicide bombers in the town, are on the run. He said the forces are in the process of securing surrounding heights. In the battle for the town 12 terrorists and three soldiers were killed. Eight soldiers were injured.
Kotkai lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically important gain. “Thank God, this is the army’s very big success,” Abbas said. “The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taleban ranks. Their aides are deserting them.”
Abbas said some of the fleeing Taleban have shaved their beards and cut their hair to try to blend in with the fleeing civilian population. The United Nations says some 155,000 civilians have fled the region.
In Dera Ismail Khan, a town near South Waziristan where many of those fleeing have congregated, the refugees reacted to the news of Kotkai’s capture with suspicion. “They are making tall claims of conquering Waziristan in a few weeks, but we think this is not doable even in five to six years,” said Azam Khan Mehsud, who hails from the Makeen area.
The US has launched scores of missile strikes at militant targets in Pakistan’s tribal belt over the past year, killing several top insurgents including former Pakistani Taleban chief Baitullah Mehsud.
On Saturday, a pilot-less drone fired a missile at Chuhatra village in the tribal region of Bajaur, local government official Mohammad Jamil said. The target appeared to be Faqir Mohammad, a prominent Taleban leader, but he is believed to have left the hide-out minutes before the strike, Jamil said. Twenty-two people were killed, most of them Afghan nationals, he said.
Asked if the missile attacks are a distraction or help, Abbas said Pakistan would prefer to go it alone. “We do not want any assistance or interference from outside.”
Commenting on reports of multinational and Afghan forces vacating forward bases in Paktia, Paktika and Khost provinces bordering Pakistan, Abbas told Arab News: “We are taking up this subject both with ISAF and government of Afghanistan and will ask them to man their forward posts so that TTP terrorists do not get easy access to Afghanistan.”
— With input from agencies
