Pakistan army

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Pakistan Suicide Bombing Kills Moderate Cleric

(Newser) - One of Pakistan’s most prominent anti-Taliban clerics was killed today in a suicide bomb attack, the Times of London reports. Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, who supported the Pakistan army’s campaign in the Swat Valley, died on the way to the hospital after an explosion at his Islamic college in...

Pakistan Says It's Close to Swat Victory

(Newser) - Pakistan’s defense secretary says the army will crush Taliban militants in the Swat Valley within days, the BBC reports. Just "5% to 10% of the job" is left, Syed Athar Ali told an Asian forum, though an army spokesman declined to give an actual timeline. Meanwhile, 40 rebels...

Taliban Warns Pakistan of Major Attacks

Tells residents to flee after blasts in two more cities kill 11

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed responsibility for bombings in two more Pakistani cities today that killed at least 11 and promised that more attacks were on the way, the New York Times reports. The group also took credit for yesterday's bombing in Lahore that killed 26, calling the new wave of assaults...

30 Killed in Lahore Bomb Blast
 30 Killed in Lahore Bomb Blast 

30 Killed in Lahore Bomb Blast

(Newser) - At least 30 people were killed today when a bomb flattened the main police station in the Pakistan city of Lahore, reports the BBC. Some 100 were injured in the attack that began as gunmen opened fire and hurled grenades before a vehicle packed with explosives hurtled through a barricade...

Pakistan Claims Key Square in Swat City

(Newser) - Pakistan says it has claimed a crucial part of the Swat Valley’s largest city from the Taliban, the New York Times reports. Ten Taliban fighters and six Pakistani soldiers died fighting over Mingora’s Green Square, known as “Slaughter Square” for its reputation as a beheaded-body dumping ground...

Pakistani Town Beats Back Taliban

Locals raid militant invaders as army gains in Swat

(Newser) - Armed residents of a town in the troubled Swat Valley fought off Taliban forces yesterday,  the latest sign that locals are helping the Pakistan army beat back militants, reports the Wall Street Journal. Several Taliban fighters were captured when hundreds of residents stormed out of the mountain town of ...

Pakistan: 1000 Taliban Dead in Swat Offensive

Move could signal a shift to bloody urban battles

(Newser) - Pakistani security forces fought Taliban militants in the northwest's Swat Valley and entered two Taliban-held towns there, the army said today, foreshadowing what could become bloody urban battles. A top government official said the offensive had already killed more than 1000 Taliban fighters, while a group of pro-government religious leaders...

Thousands Flee Pakistan War Zone as Curfew Lifted

UN warns that refugee crisis could destabilize Pakistan

(Newser) - Pakistan has temporarily lifted a curfew on the war-torn Swat Valley to let civilians flee the fighting, the BBC reports. Some 150,000 people are believed to be trapped in the city of Mingora, where Taliban militants have dug trenches and mined roads. The Pakistan military has vowed to clear...

Pakistan PM Claims 700 Taliban Killed

Army has already killed 700 militants: minister

(Newser) - With more than a million of its citizens fleeing violence within its borders, Pakistan's prime minister said today the army has killed more than 700 militants in the last two weeks, in an operation in which "the very existence of the country was at stake.” Syed Yousaf Raza...

Refugee Tally Hits 1.3M as Pakistan Plans Ground Strike

(Newser) - Pakistani forces told more residents of Swat Valley to flee during a 9-hour lull in fighting today, sparking an even greater migration that is snarling roads and deepening a humanitarian crisis, the Guardian reports. A quarter million refugees have now registered for help, bringing the homeless tally to 1.3...

Musharraf Mulls Return to Politics

Pakistani leaders' bickering stokes ex-president's hopes

(Newser) - Pakistan's civilian leaders have squandered months on a struggle to oust one another, just when the global financial crisis and ever-bolder religious militants are further destabilizing the country, Time reports. One man sees opportunity in the current fiasco: Pervez Musharraf. After months out of the public eye, the ousted former...

Pakistani Colonel Linked to Mumbai Attacks

India says officer had contact with gunmen; 37 suspects wanted

(Newser) - Indian police have accused an officer in Pakistan's army of involvement in the November 2008 terrorist attacks that left 170 people dead, reports the Times of London. In a document detailing the charges against surviving assailant Ajmal Amir Kasab, which runs more than 11,000 pages, Indian authorities mention that...

Pakistan, Taliban Call Indefinite Truce

Militants agree to extend ceasefire in Swat valley

(Newser) - Taliban militants and Pakistani officials have agreed to an indefinite ceasefire in the country's troubled Swat valley, Reuters reports. The agreement extends an earlier 10-day truce in which the Taliban agreed to lay down their arms in return for Islamic sharia law being enforced in the area. Militants in the...

US Secretly Training Pakistani Commandos

Forces help troops to fight Taliban, al-Qaeda

(Newser) - Dozens of American military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to train armed forces to battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda, reports the New York Times. The Special Forces soldiers are providing intelligence and advising the Pakistani military on combat tactics, although they are not conducting combat operations....

Pakistan Moves Troops Toward Indian Border

Shift comes amid tensions after Mumbai crisis

(Newser) - Pakistan began moving thousands of troops away from the Afghan border toward India today amid tensions following the Mumbai attacks, intelligence officials said. The move represents a sharp escalation in the standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors and will hurt Pakistan's US-backed campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban taking place near...

Resilient Taliban Drives Pakistan to Brutal Tactics

200,000 displaced in tribal regions as state battles militants

(Newser) - In the lawless Northwest Frontier Province, the Pakistani army has been fighting the Taliban for 3 months for control of just a sliver of land. State forces had expected the battle to be a cursory victory, but the Taliban is stronger and more deeply entrenched—literally, in a network of...

Pakistan to Arm Local Militias
 Pakistan to Arm Local Militias 

Pakistan to Arm Local Militias

Insurgency strategy, successful for US in Iraq, boosts American confidence in ally

(Newser) - Pakistan plans to give weapons to thousands of  tribal fighters along its border with Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports—a strategy that has helped the US in Iraq. The move to link the militias—called lashkars—to anti-Taliban efforts is a boost to US confidence in Pakistan’s military efforts,...

Pakistani Troops Fire on US Helicopters

US forced back across border to Afghanistan

(Newser) - Pakistani troops fired on two US helicopters crossing the border apparently to attack militants last night and drove them back into Afghanistan, Reuters reports. The aircraft crossed the border in the restive North Waziristan tribal region, according to Pakistani sources. US officials refused to confirm the report. Pakistani officials have...

Pakistan Orders Troops to Fire if US Launches Raid

Civilian leaders say they seek diplomatic solution

(Newser) - Pakistan's military has ordered its forces to open fire if US troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said today. The orders come in response to a highly unusual ground attack by American commandos earlier this month, and subsequent repeated reports of US...

Pakistan Army Fires on US Troops Trying to Cross Border

Tensions high as shots rebuff helicopters

(Newser) - Pakistani soldiers fired shots into the air to prevent American troops from crossing the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan, according to officials in the region. The BBC reports that 9 US helicopters landed at around midnight on the Afghan side of the border, and troops then tried to enter into...

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