Pakistani Terrorist chief Baitullah Mehsud, who led a violent campaign of suicide attacks and assassinations against the Pakistani government, has been killed in a US missile strike, a TTP commander and aide to Mehsud said Friday.
‘I confirm that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan,’ Kafayatullah told The Associated Press by telephone. He would not give any further details. [Source]
In February this year, PKKH had reported on how Baitullah Mehsud had outlived his shelf-life, and was of no further use to his American masters. With the TTP defeated in Malakand, he had been cornered in his hometown in South Waziristan and it would only have been a matter of days before he was captured.
It now increasingly looks like Baitullah Mehsud is living on borrowed time. It would be interesting to see who gets to him first, the Pakistanis or the Americans. Pakistan Army would be well advised to attempt to capture him alive, something that the Americans and Indians would try and ensure does not happen.
We should criticize the Swat flogging [if it isn’t fake] without endorsing ‘Asma Jehangirism’. Understand the problem of these terrorists masquerading as ‘Pakistani Taliban’ and you’ll understand enemy from friend in our tribal region.
We had predicted in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks:
We can now expect an intense and sustained terrorism campaign in Pakistani cities in an attempt to destabilize the country along ethnic / sectarian lines – New Delhi’s time-tested method. On the diplomatic front India will be lobbying hard to have the ISI (and Pakistan Army) declared as terrorist organisations. We can also not rule out another false flag attack in the next few weeks.
Seeing his influence wane in recent days in face of Pakistan Army’s continued offensive against the TTP and fearing his capture, the US had tentatively struck, for the first time since his emergence, camps run by Baitullah Mehsud earlier this year. Taking heed of these warning shots, Agent Mehsud has sprung into action.
There are many similarities in the terrorist attack on the police training academy in Pakistan and the BDR mutiny in Dhaka. Apparently there were 14-25 gunmen who entered the training compound and opened fire on cadets and police officers who were taken completely by surprise. The gunmen were heavily armed and committed to their task and their objective was to kill as many people as possible. The similarity between this attack in Pakistan and the BDR mutiny, however, ends there. The manner in which the Pakistan security forces promptly dealt with the threat was both efficient and utterly ruthless. The following is a short description of what happened:
KARACHI: Two men have been arrested for photographing Karachi’s Saeedabad police training centre, SAMAA learnt Tuesday.
Security has been increased in the southern province of Sindh after a police training centre was attacked in the Punjab Monday in a devastating ambush.
Sources said that the men who were detained spoke Pashto and did not appear to understand Urdu. [Samaa]
In another development, five more persons, involved in the terror attack here in Manawan, were arrested from various areas of Lahore. Sources said that these arrests were made on pointing out by a terrorist Hijratullah, who was arrested from Manawan. [GEO]
NEW DELHI: Indian security experts have praised Islamabad for conducting a successful operation against terrorists and the Pakistani media for its coverage of the terrorist attack at a police training college in Lahore on Monday with the ‘highest degree of professionalism and without raising hackles’.
Even a senior Indian government official had fulsome praise for the coordination and swift response of the Pakistani authorities. “Within half-an-hour, they had blocked all roads with barbed wire, cutting off every chance of escape,” he said.
Further, the security experts have taken notice of the fact that Pakistanis ended the crisis within a few hours – which is also in sharp contrast to what happened in Mumbai: the elite National Security Guards (NSG) took nine hours to reach the city to start its operation.
The chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, has told the BBC his group was behind Monday’s deadly attack on a police academy in Lahore. [BBC]
It has emerged that atleast one of the terrorists arrested yesterday is an Afghan national [The News]. Meanwhile, the authorities continue to question the arrested terrorists captured during a police academy siege on the outskirts of Lahore. [Dawn]
According to news correspondents who are inside premises of the Academy, commandos of elite force and army have captured the terrorists alive.
Reports suggest that 4 of the terrorists were taken down by Police snipers, 3 blew themselves up while 4 have been captured alive.
Earlier, hundreds of local residents had gathered to form a security cordon around the area and the police helicopters and to provide refreshments and snacks to the policemen and news reporters. Some of these locals helped capture one of the arrested terrorists as he tried to lob a grenade towards the police helicopter on the ground.
After clearing the compound and arresting the terrorists, the commandos fired in jubilation and screams of “Allah Akber” and “Pakistan Zindabad” could be heard all over.
According to sources, the operation has been successfully completed after eight hours of intense gun battle.
LATEST: FOUR Terrorist Arrested
LAHORE: Security Forces have arrested four terrorists, described as Afghan nationals, during the operation against terrorists entrenched in Manawan Police Training Centre in Lahore. Official sources have not yet confirmed the arrests, however we have information that four terrorists have been arrested and sent to an undisclosed location by helicopter.
Time to cut off rail, air, and road links with India, including denying Indian airlines the right to use Pakistan airspace and denying Indian overland trade to Central Asia pending the investigations and a review by Pakistan of Indian activities inside and around Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—A second Mumbai-style attack in Lahore in less than a month, both targeting Lahore, a city that has traditionally bore the brunt of Indian-inspired terrorism inside Pakistan.
The level of training of these people and the choice of targets leaves little doubt that someone is trying to teach Pakistan a lesson. It is baffling to see Interior Advisor Rehman Malik so eager to quickly pin the blame on groups such as Lashkar Tayyeba or Lashkar Jhangvi that were active in the Kashmir freedom struggle in the past and are dormant now. Accusing these groups is an indirect swipe at the Pakistani security and intelligence agencies that implemented State policy in the past of supporting the freedom fighters inside the disputed territory with India.
Block India’s Land And Air Routes until Pending Investigations
This is the Indian surgical strike, second in row after the attack on Sri Lankan Cricket team. This is the topper from RAW in addition to the insurgency created across Pakistan. We need to rise as one nation, well over our personal strifes and interests. ‘Human Intelligence’ should be the order of the day; people fully backing the government with knowledge, wisdom, vigilance and unity, and the government assigning full support in letter and spirit to the ISI and Armed Forces of the country. The media, emissaries, diplomats and special delegations must strongly speak of Pakistan’s case in the historic perspective and present situation. The land and air passage given to India for access to Afghanistan should be immediately stopped, war alert be declared, and special prayers be offered seeking blessings and help from God The All Mighty to save the honor and sovereignty of our most beloved motherland. Welfare and Sovereignty of Pakistan is of paramount importance for the world, particularly for the region and the West, take my word for this.
There are many similarities in the terrorist attack on the police training academy in Pakistan and the BDR mutiny in Dhaka. Apparently there were 14-25 gunmen who entered the training compound and opened fire on cadets and police officers who were taken completely by surprise. The gunmen were heavily armed and committed to their task and their objective was to kill as many people as possible. The similarity between this attack in Pakistan and the BDR mutiny, however, ends there. The manner in which the Pakistan security forces promptly dealt with the threat was both efficient and utterly ruthless. The following is a short description of what happened:
