Troops seize Damadola for first time

KHAR The security forces have concluded military operations against militants in Bajaur Agency after successfully overrunning Taliban and Al-Qaeda headquarters in Damadola.
Local military commanders told a group of media persons on Tuesday that as many as 22,00 militants had been killed since the launch of operation 'Sherdil in August 2008, while 149 troops embraced martyrdom and 615 got injured.
Damadola used to be nerve centre of terrorism because of its strategic importance linked to Afghanistan, Chitral, and Swat-Malakand region, Commandant Frontier Corps Major General Tariq Khan said while briefing media persons at Damadola. DG ISPR Major General Ather Abbas was also present.
General Khan said the security forces had razed a key Taliban and Al-Qaeda complex dug into rocky mountains close to Mulla Salam ridge and the Afghan border after killing 75 local and foreign militants.
There were Egyptians, Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans killed in the operation, he said, adding that Al-Qaeda was there and had occupied the ridges. There were 156 caves designed as a defensive complex, he said.
Tariq Khan said that for the first time Pakistan Army uniformed soldiers had arrived in Damadola after a recent operation and the Pakistan flag had been raised for the first time since (independence in) 1947.
Damadola, in the Bajaur tribal region, was the scene of a 2006 US drone strike that targeted Al-Qaeda number 2 Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who managed to escape.
The Commander likened the area in 2008 to an independent state run by an Afghan warrior, he identified as Qazi Ziaur Rehman, who was in charge of administration and collected tax from local people.
Maulavi Faqir Mohammad, who headed Pakistans umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban faction in Bajaur, received help from neighbouring Afghan province Kunar but was now on the run, the military said. We will deal with him, Khan said.
We have now cleared this area till the Afghan border. Military operation is in its final stages and policing has been started, he said, adding that Damadola covered four to six square kilometres and lies nearly 20 kilometres from the Afghan border.
He said that Army first mounted an operation in Bajaur in August 2008 and claimed victory in February last year and switched its focus to Swat-Malakand region and South Waziristan Agency. Then this surrendered valley again turned into militants safe haven, we then came back and cleared the area, he said, adding that now their leadership did not exist. Twenty-five percent of them have gone to Afghanistan, 15 percent have gone back to Swat and other native areas, Khan claimed.
General Khan appealed to international community to help Pakistans security forces in equipment to manage the rugged border as well as assistance to the local people with food and services in a bid to keep Taliban at bay. He said that backing of local tribesmen to the security forces had played important role in the success of the operation.
Answering a question, General Khan said there were two plans for rehabilitation and reconstructions in the recovered areas but due to paucity of funds, the proposal remained dormant.
To another question about former MNA from Jammat-I-Islami, Sahibzada Haroon Rasheed Khan said he had been declared proclaimed offender for his support to militants, adding his brother had been arrested.
When his attention was drawn towards activities of Qari Ziaur Rehman, another militant commander, FC Commandant said he was also on the run and was reportedly operating out from Gangal village on other side of the border.
He also said that ISAFs taskforce operating on the other side of the border was fully cooperating with the Pakistani security forces but due to lack of manpower, its troops were not much effective. They had killed dozens of militants on their side of the border, he said.
Agencies add: Pak Army revealed on Tuesday a vast Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideout dug into mountains near the Afghan border and captured in an offensive that killed 75 local and foreign militants.
Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan and said by one general to comprise 156 caves developed over five to seven years.
The troops seized the complex in its latest offensive against militants in its semi-autonomous tribal belt.
Many townspeople stood on the roof of a pock-marked shell of a building, looking on as militiamen banged drums, danced with their assault rifles held aloft and chanting Long Live Pakistan.
Maj-Gen Tariq Khan told journalists on the visit that the warren of caves in the Damadola area had served as a militant headquarters until it was overrun by troops in an offensive launched in January.
There were Egyptians, Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans killed in the operation, he said.
The first Pakistan Army uniformed soldiers have arrived in Damadola after a recent operation and the Pakistan flag has been raised for the first time since (independence in) 1947, he said.
We have concluded operations up to the Afghan border. We think the Bajaur operations have now more or less ended as dedicated military operations.
Journalists saw bedding such as pillows and mattresses that suggested the inhabitants had camped out for significant periods.
Al-Qaeda was there. They had occupied the ridges. There were 156 caves designed as a defensive complex, Maj Tariq said.
Col Noman Saeed told AFP the latest offensive had killed 75 militants. Another 76 had been arrested and 364 were forced to surrender, he said. Such death tolls are impossible to confirm independently.
As the journalists visited, hundreds of tribesmen celebrated in front of the television cameras, waving guns in the air and hailing the Army. Some vowed to form pro-government militias - known locally as lashkars - to prevent the Talibans return.
I am happy, the Army has brought peace to this area, said local man Habibullah, who has one name only. We are ready to join the lashkar.
Many houses were decked in green and white Pakistani flags, but shops and markets destroyed in bombing runs remained closed.