Author: Ishtiaq Mahsud
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Pakistan Taliban chief apparently survives U.S. attack
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and U.S. intelligence wrongly reported the death of the head of the Pakistani Taliban in a CIA drone strike and the brash, ruthless commander is now believed to be alive, Pakistani spies said Thursday in an apparent propaganda coup for the insurgents. The reports that Hakimullah Mehsud survived the January missile…
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Pakistan Taliban say fighters headed for Afghanistan
SHAKTOI, Pakistan — A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming U.S. troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt. Waliur Rehman told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview…
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Pakistan steps up border offensive
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Troops fought militants on three fronts and fighter jets bombed insurgent positions near the Afghan border Monday as Pakistan pressed ahead with an assault on the country’s main Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold. The army and the Pakistani Taliban have each claimed early victories in South Waziristan, a lawless, semiautonomous region…
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Pakistani jets soften up militant targets
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani jets softened up militant targets along the Afghan border Tuesday ahead of what the government promises will be a ground offensive into the Taliban’s main stronghold, authorities said. The government’s resolve to send large numbers of troops on a risky operation into mountainous South Waziristan has deepened after a…
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Civilians flee Taliban stronghold in Pakistan
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani soldiers traded rocket and mortar fire with militants, on Monday as hundreds of civilians fled the Taliban and al-Qaida’s main stronghold in the northwest. A suicide car bomber killed five people including a prominent tribal elder. Pakistan’s civilian government has vowed to root out militants in the northwest, many…