Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PESHAWAR449
2008-09-16 07:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Peshawar
Cable title:  

FATA AND NWFP: BI-WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION: AUGUST

Tags:  PTER MOPS PGOV PK 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 13 PESHAWAR 000449 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/16/2018
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: BI-WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION: AUGUST
16-31

REF: PESHAWAR 435

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne M. Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)
Introduction:
-------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 13 PESHAWAR 000449

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/16/2018
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: BI-WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION: AUGUST
16-31

REF: PESHAWAR 435

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne M. Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(b),(d)
Introduction:
--------------


1. (C) Aggressive military operations in Bajaur and Swat
continued into the start of Ramadan. Pakistani military sources
estimate that 560 Pakistani and foreign fighters were killed in
the Bajaur operation, which started on August 7. Local taliban
denied that the Bajaur-based Tehrik-i Taliban deputy leader
Faqir Muhammad, was among them, and according to local press, he
surfaced for a public rally in early September. Violence was
high throughout the province and FATA as the militants reacted
to the mounting pressure of military operations. In Swat,
militants began targeting local political leaders and their
families, particularly those from the Awami National Party
(ANP),killing nine and destroying their property. A suicide
bombing at a hospital in Dera Ismail Khan claimed 32 lives, and
local taliban said that such attacks would continue if the
Bajaur and Swat operations were not terminated. A U.S.
Consulate vehicle was attacked in what appeared to be an
attempted kidnapping.


2. (C) Internally displaced persons (IDPs) remained a
significant problem, as somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000
people left Bajaur. Some IDPs returned to the agency by the end
of the reporting period. Conditions in the camps were not good
(reports of inadequate sanitation, disease, and overcrowding),
and many IDPS chose to stay with families. Locals also began
fleeing violence in Swat, Kurram and Darra Adam Khel.


3. (C) Inter-tribal violence escalated in Kurram, claiming 400
lives in the last two weeks of August amid reports that the
Shi'a and Sunni tribes were supported by outside elements. The
Kurram Militia of the Frontier Corps was given orders to launch
a limited operation in the agency and began shelling both tribes
without effect. In Khyber Agency, Mangal Bagh arrived in Landi
Kotal with a large militant contingent, only to be repelled
within days.


4. (C) In settled areas and FATA, grassroots movements to repel
the militants have sprouted up during the last two weeks of

August. Local tribesmen established armed lashkars (volunteer
militias) in Bajaur and Kurram, adding to those recently created
in Lower Dir, Buner, and Lakki Marwat. The Bajaur lashkars have
reportedly made headway against local taliban in some areas.
Peace committees in Mardan, Upper Dir, Badhaber, Nowshera and
Mattani are doing joint night patrols with police or have
declared they will take up arms should the need arise. While
the lashkars and peace committees appear to have had some
apparent initial successes in driving out militants, the ability
of these local ad hoc security forces to hold ground is unclear.


Swat: Operation Rah-e-Haq-II Remains in Full Swing
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Clashes between militants and security forces in Swat
continued, with additional heavy fighting in Bajaur. Local
taliban launched a campaign of killing local pro-government
tribesmen and political leaders, particularly from the Awami
National Party (ANP),charging that the military operations were
being carried out at the behest of the ANP-led provincial
government. They also continued to attack police posts and burn
girls' schools, bringing the total number of girls' schools
destroyed over the past ten months to nearly 130, nine of which
during the last half of August. The security forces appeared to
become more strategic in their targeting, hitting ammunition
dumps, training camps and a communications center. According to
press reports, locals have begun fleeing the area due to
continuing civilian casualties and property destruction. The
following is a timeline of significant events according to local
press and post contacts through August 31:

August 16: Militants set fire to four girls' schools in Matta.
Separate fighting damaged a link bridge in Basharray and a

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chairlift in Kholija.

August 17: Local taliban claimed they killed two security
officials. Separately they burned down a health center and a
barber shop in Charbagh, as well as a girls' school in Matta.
Security forces killed five, including two women, and damaged
several houses.

August 18: The local taliban killed a policeman at the Wenai
checkpost in Matta, which was followed by heavy fighting between
security forces and militants. The local taliban killed a man
in front of his son due to his opposition to their activities.

August 20: Taliban claimed to kill three security officials in
Matta. Militants burnt two girls' schools in Matta.

August 21: Taliban killed a pro-government tribal elder in
Kabal, west of Mingora. Militants killed Mohammad Amin in
Kabal, a local ANP leader and former nazim, along with four of
his associates, though the local taliban denied responsibility.
The local taliban claimed to kill three security personnel at
the Donial checkpost and blew up a portion of a bridge in
Charbagh.

August 22: Local taliban militants beheaded a man for spying in
Kabal and set fire to a girl's school in Mingora. Local taliban
kidnapped a policeman at gunpoint and attacked a security check
post in Kabal, injuring a security official.

August 23: During one of the fiercest battles in the Swat
operation, air attacks killed 40 militants in Kabal as they
tried to ambush troops. Included among the dead were allegedly
a militant commander and Chechens, Uzbeks and Tajiks. Security
forces claimed they destroyed over 40 militant bunkers and a
training camp.

August 23: A suicide attack on a police station in Charbagh
killed eleven, including three policemen, and destroyed nearby
shops. Four link bridges were destroyed in Kabal.

August 24: In Kabal, assailants ambushed and killed a local ANP
leader. Security forces hit militant hideouts in Kabal, while
militants killed four men ostensibly for spying and circulated a
pamphlet listing a dozen people on their hit list.

August 25: Approximately 150 local taliban stormed the residence
of a member of the National Assembly from the ANP and killed
three members of his family, a neighbor who belonged to the
Frontier Constabulary and seven guards, claiming to seek
vengeance for innocent civilians killed in Kabal.

August 25: Militants attacked a checkpost in Matta, killing a
member of the paramilitary forces, while a blast at a police
post in Shahdara wounded two police officials and eight others.
Militants killed two pro-government tribesmen near Shakardara.

August 25: Two shops were destroyed, one of them owned by the
brother of Muslim Khan, the spokesman for the Swat chapter of
the local taliban.

August 25: The security forces destroyed a bunker and a
munitions dump, injuring several combatants.

August 26: Militants killed a local ANP leader in Kabal, and the
local taliban took responsibility for burning down six houses
owned by the leader of the ANP in Matta and his three brothers.
They also apparently killed a confidante of local taliban leader
Maulana Fazlullah by accident.

August 26: Militants destroyed a government girls' high school
in Manglawar and set off a bomb at the Shah Dara police post,
destroying the post and killing a boy.

August 27: Militants blew up a market in the bus station of
Matta owned by an ANP leader Afzal Khan Lala. Gunmen opened

PESHAWAR 00000449 003 OF 013


fire on a car carrying the grandson of a PML-Q leader, Haroon
Rasheed, killing a passenger and injuring the grandson.

August 27: Helicopter attacks hit militant hideouts in Shahibagh
and Koza Bandai, killing several militants, injuring nine
civilians and damaging a school. The local taliban denied that
their people were killed.

August 28: The body of the brother-in-law of the district
president of PPP-Sherpao was found in Kabal after being
kidnapped several days before. Militants killed four people
they suspected of spying on them in Aligrama and Charbagh. The
local taliban asked the people to leave the troubled areas of
Swat as reports came out that locals were fleeing the fighting.

August 28: Militants killed the former district president of the
Pukhtoonkhwa Milla Awami Party, who had been recently abducted.

August 30: Militants dynamited a factory and bombed eight houses
in Manglor, including those of a union council nazim and his two
brothers.
Separately the local taliban killed a police constable while
claiming to hold 38 security officials hostage.

August 31: The Swat taliban rejected the government's offer of a
ceasefire for Ramadan.

Bajaur: Displaced Families Begin to Return after Heavy Operation
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Despite the ceasefire declaration for Ramadan, the
government sustained its initiative in the Bajaur campaign
through the end of August, as it continued heavy bombardment of
the agency. The military estimated that 560 Pakistani and
foreign militants were killed since August 7. They said that 20
members of the security forces were killed and thirty missing.
Tribes in the Salarzai and Khar areas both raised armed lashkars
to fight the militants, with estimates of the number of
volunteers ranging from less than a thousand to more than ten
thousand. The humanitarian conditions for the 200,000-300,000
IDPs were dire but by the end of August, some had left the camps
or their hosts to return home. Military officials estimate that
approximately 250 militants have been killed since fighting
began on August 7, though the Ministry of the Interior places
the number at over 500. Although the NWFP Governor said
privately he was 99% sure that an air attack had killed Bajaur
taliban leader Faqir Muhammad, local taliban spokesman Maulvi
Omar denied the claim. The following is a timeline of
significant events according to local press and post contacts
through August 31:

August 16: Local taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed that
Faqir Muhammad, the leader of the Bajaur taliban, is still alive.

August 17: Local taliban in Mamond erected a checkpoint to
forcefully stop those fleeing from leaving the area in order to
use them as human shields.

August 19: Dozens of local taliban attacked a Frontier Corps
post in Nawagai, 25 kilometers west of Khar. Twenty-five
militants, five security forces and eight civilians were killed
in the ensuing clash. Qari Ziaur Rahman, who claims to be an
Afghan Taliban commander, said his fighters took seven Frontier
Corps men hostage in the fighting. Militants handed over the
bodies of twelve soldiers killed in the local taliban ambush on
Loyesam on August 7.

August 23: Official sources said that the local taliban killed
three security officials on charges of spying for the US
coalition forces and local security forces. Security forces
shelled militant hideouts and hit a home, killing nine civilians.

August 24: The local taliban beheaded a man whom they claimed
was spying for US troops in Afghanistan, while separately they
announced a unilateral ceasefire at the behest of a tribal

PESHAWAR 00000449 004 OF 013


jirga. The government immediately rejected the ceasefire and
called for the local taliban to surrender instead.

August 25: Militants blew up an abandoned levy post at Lagharay
in Mamond, and separately shot dead two prominent elders and a
well-respected cleric.

August 28: Militants destroyed a government girls' school in
Sidiqabad near Khar.

August 30: The taliban abandoned their main camp and a captured
school in Salarzai.

Kurram: Escalation of Violence
--------------


7. (C) Daily violence escalated between the Shi'a Turi tribe
and the Sunni Bangash tribe in both Upper and Lower Kurram amid
reports that outside forces were fomenting the unrest. The
death toll since the most recent wave of violence broke out on
August 3 neared 600, nearly as many as had been killed in the
agency since April 2007. Nearly four hundred were killed in the
last two weeks of August alone. According to local press, some
Afghan National Army soldiers are supporting the Turi, but the
Kurram Political Agent downplayed these reports. Post contacts
state that local taliban from North Waziristan are allegedly
supporting the Bangash, in part to maintain control of one of
their supply routes into Afghanistan. Press reports indicate
that both sides have missiles, mortars, machine guns and rockets
and that violence has included heavy property damage. A jirga
sent from Hangu and Orakzai failed to broker a peace, while
locals continued to flee the area for Kohat and Peshawar due to
the unrest and shortages of food and medicine. The following is
a timeline of significant events according to local press and
post contacts through August 31:

August 17: Two local taliban commanders, Hazrat Ali and Maulana
Akbar Din, were killed in Lower Kurram when local taliban
militants attacked Turi positions. A Bangash group claimed to
capture seven Afghan National Army personnel, but the political
administration denied the claim.

August 18: The 72-hour deadline that Interior Minister Rehman
Malik issued for a halt to fighting expired but the fighting
continued. Among the fifty killed was a militant leader,
Kashmir Khan, and three women. Militants set fire to six
villages. The leader of the Turi tribe, Haji Gulab Hussain,
called for a ceasefire.

August 21: A local tribe claimed to have captured two uniformed
Afghan soldiers who allegedly said they were being paid to help
the Turi tribesmen and that their government had sent thousands
of troops over the border. The soldiers further claimed that
the Afghan president met with Turi leaders a few months ago.

August 22: The jirga left after failed talks with elders from
the Bangash tribe.

August 23: The Bangash tribe claimed to have executed an Afghan
National Army soldier in Kurram. The political administration
denied reports that Afghan soldiers had been arrested.

August 24: The Kurram Militia of the Frontier Corps reportedly
halted its limited operation after militants threatened to
attack the Arawali Fort. Press reports claim that 50,000 people
have fled Parachinar and surrounding areas.

August 26: The Shi'a Turi tribe announced a unilateral ceasefire
but did not vacate their positions.

August 31: In the heaviest day of fighting in this reporting
period, the death toll reached 95 with 200 injured after the
Bangash launched three suicide attacks against the Turi.

NWFP

PESHAWAR 00000449 005 OF 013


--------------


8. (C) The following incidents have occurred in the
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and settled areas
of the NWFP:

August 16, Peshawar: Unidentified gunmen killed prominent Shi'a
leader, Mumtaz Ali Qizalbash, the Provincial General Secretary
of Tahrik Nifaz-i-Fiqua Jafria in Hayatabad. He had been
receiving death threats due to his political and religious
activities.

August 18, Peshawar: Unidentified militants placed explosives in
three music shops, damaging the buildings.

August 18, Shabqadar: Unidentified people destroyed an internet
cafi and public call office in Gulbahar but no casualties were
reported.

August 18, Shabqadar: A missile struck a police post, killing
one policeman and injuring two more.

August 18, Dera Ismail Khan: Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) took
responsibility for a suicide bombing outside a hospital
emergency room in Dera Ismail Khan that killed 32 and left 25 in
critical condition. Three policemen, including the deputy
superintendent of police, were among the wounded while
conducting crowd control at the hospital following the killing
of a Shi'a leader earlier that day. The local taliban warned of
more such bombings if the military operations in Bajaur and Swat
were not halted.

August 19, Kohat: A police constable was injured and a militant
killed in an encounter between suspected militants and a police
patrol on Hangu Road.

August 20, Peshawar: The bullet-riddled bodies of two women were
found in a Peshawar suburb after being kidnapped a few days
earlier in Charsadda district. A note from Jaish-i-Islami
accused them of being prostitutes and warned others engaged in
immoral activities of a similar fate.

August 21, Kohat: An army major in civilian clothes was gunned
down near the officers' colony in Kohat while taking his
children to school.

August 22, Peshawar: Militants fired on a Korean camp erected to
support the construction of the Lowari Tunnel but no injuries
were reported.

August 22, Peshawar: Militants fired five rockets on the
Badhaber police station, killing a policeman, injuring two
Frontier Constabulary personnel and damaging the station.

August 22, Shangla: A remote controlled bomb went off next to a
security force vehicle in Bisham, killing a security official
and injuring fourteen.

August 22, Bannu: The local taliban said it would harshly punish
flour smugglers who transported flour into Afghanistan. Prices
of wheat flour immediately dropped over 10 percent.

August 22, Mansehra: Heavily armed militants attacked a vehicle
of security forces at Basham Maira with a hand grenade, killing
two security personnel and injuring two more.

August 22, Lower Dir: The local taliban freed the son of a
policeman who had been kidnapped on August 11. They had been
demanding that the Swat police release a Talib and that the
father resign his post, though the family was able to secure the
release without capitulating to those demands.

August 22, Hangu: At least 16 militants, including two Chechens,
were killed when security forces opened fire on an
explosives-laden vehicle near the Sur Pul security checkpoint.

PESHAWAR 00000449 006 OF 013


According to reports, there were two suicide bombers in the
vehicle.

August 25, Badhaber: Unidentified militants blew up a girls'
high school and distributed pamphlets asking people not to
support the government or the Americans for the glory of Islam,
otherwise they would be punished.

August 25, Badhaber: Militants attacked the Ghazi Baba police
post and the Badhaber police station after coming under fire.

August 25, Mardan: Militants blew up a barber shop and three
other shops, partially damaging a private girls' school and a
pharmacy.

August 25, Lower Dir: Unidentified gunmen killed Malik Mehmood
Jan, a leader of TNSM, and his son near Maidan.

August 25, Peshawar: Two government officials from the Social
Welfare Department in Hangu and Jamrud were kidnapped from their
vehicle in Hayatabad.

August 26, Peshawar: Gunmen attacked a U.S. Consulate vehicle.
None of the three consulate employees in the vehicle were
injured.

August 26, Nowshera: Militants fired rockets on the Maraji
police post and exchanged fire with the police for several
hours, but there were no casualties.

August 27, Shangla: The local taliban in the district have
created losses of over $1 million in their attacks on government
and private properties recently.

August 28, Bannu: Seven police officers and three civilians were
killed when a remote-controlled bomb exploded as a police van
passed by carrying prisoners to court. A bridge was also
damaged.

August 29, Kohat: Militants blew up three bridges on the Indus
Highway, two in Akhorwal and a third in Zarghun Khel.

August 29, Kalat: A bomb explosion near a bakery in Surab
critically wounded five and destroyed several shops.

August 30, Peshawar: Approximately 25 militants attacked the
Shinwari Qilla security post south of Peshawar.
August 30, Lower Dir: Two Chinese engineers were abducted by the
local taliban allegedly near Khall. This was reportedly the
first kidnapping in this area of foreigners.

August 30, Haripur: Assailants shot dead a local spiritual
leader, Pir Syed Mushtaq Shah of Maira Toot.

August 31, Mardan: The Kalpani bridge was badly damaged in two
bomb blasts. Four other bombs on Jalala bridge in Takht-i-Bhai,
north of Mardan, were defused before exploding.

FATA:
--------------


9. The following is a roundup of incidents of talibanization in
FATA's tribal agencies and frontier regions:

August 16, South Waziristan: Local taliban commander Baitullah
Mehsud issued a decree that a parallel judicial and dispute
arbitration system would be set up in South Waziristan.

August 16, FR Kohat: Local taliban militants assassinated four
tribesmen and left their bodies in Darra Adam Khel's main
bazaar, accusing the tribesmen of criminal activity.

August 17, North Waziristan: Militants beheaded a local in
Saidgi village near Miranshah, and left a note on his body
accusing him of spying for NATO forces.

PESHAWAR 00000449 007 OF 013



August 18, FR Peshawar: Militants fired on the Mattani Police
Station with automatic weapons, retreating after the security
forces retaliated.

August 19, South Waziristan: A bomb blast in Zyara Leeta killed
two.

August 22, South Waziristan: Supporters of local militant
commander Maulvi Nazir attacked a checkpost near Wana, injuring
a soldier.

August 23, North Waziristan: Local taliban killed two tribesmen
in Dosali near Miranshah for allegedly spying for the United
States.

August 23, South Waziristan: Baitullah Mehsud reportedly
nominated three of his commanders as deputies to coordinate with
TTP partners around FATA and NWFP, amid reports that he had
serious chronic medical conditions. The TTP later claimed that
he was making a speedy recovery, without providing more
information.

August 24, South Waziristan: Militants attacked a security
checkpost in Zam Chan near Wana injuring three South Waziristan
Scouts and abducting five.

August 24, North Waziristan: Local tribesmen fired at what they
claimed were US drones and cobra helicopters, as the choppers
fired at Deugar Saidgi and Danday Saidgi villages near Miranshah.

August 24, North Waziristan: An Afghan man was allegedly killed
for spying on behalf of the U.S.

August 25, South Waziristan: Militants loyal to militant leader
Maulvi Nazir of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe attacked a military
camp in Tiarza near Wana, angered by the alleged violation of
Pakistan's airspace by US spy planes. Eight militants were
seriously injured in the fight. Maulvi Nazir subsequently
announced a unilateral ceasefire and pledged to support the
Political Agent in maintaining law and order and in return
demanded a meeting with the governor on the US incursions.

August 25, Khyber: Local militants in Bara set free a Punjabi in
exchange for the release of two of their militants, held by
rival group Lashkar-i-Islam.

August 26: North Waziristan: Local taliban in Miranshah banned
entry of non-local journalists into the agency without prior
permission, accusing journalists of being spies.

August 26, South Waziristan: Militants kidnapped a government
official from the Works and Services Department in Sarwakai as
he was en route to inspect development projects.

August 26, Mohmand: The body of Frontier Constabulary member was
dumped near a road in Safi near Ghallanai.

August 27, FR Lakki: Five members of the Bhettani tribe
reportedly kidnapped three individuals from Mastikhel near Lakki
Marwat. In response the political administration cracked down
on the clan in order to secure the release of the kidnapped.
(Note: on August 28, the political administration secured the
release of those kidnapped. End Note.)

August 27, South Waziristan: Between 75 and 100 Mehsud militants
attacked the Tiarza Fort. Troops repulsed the attack, killing
11 militants and wounding 15-20 in the gunbattle. This exchange
took place on the border between the tribal areas controlled by
Mehsud and Wazir tribes.

August 28, Khyber: Unidentified gunmen abducted two drivers
along with their containers bound for Afghanistan from the
bazaar in Jamrud.


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August 28-30, Khyber: 500 armed members of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI),
headed by Mangal Bagh, returned to Landi Kotal in their first
show of strength since Operation Sirat-i-Mustaqeem in Bara in
late June. LI reportedly took over control of two mosques
belonging to rival faction. Mangal Bagh announced
implementation of his code of conduct in Landi Kotal: no
anti-social or anti-Islamic activities and started settling
disputes. When the Shinwari and Zakhakhel tribes failed to
reach consensus on expelling Mangal Bagh, the FC and Levies
started patrolling the area. On his FM radio station, Mangal
Bagh broadcast a demand that the people of Landi Kotal follow
his manifesto or be punished and fined.

August 29, FR Kohat: The Peshawar road link with the southern
districts was cut off when a car driven by a suspected suicide
bomber was shot and blew up at the Kohat Tunnel near Darra Adam
Khel. Two drivers were killed, and 36 security personnel,
including a colonel, injured. Thousands of families fled the
area.

August 30, Khyber: Militants blew up a container truck carrying
goods for ISAF troops in Afghanistan on the Peshawar-Torkham
road at Jamrud.

Government / Military Responses:
--------------


10. (C) This is a summary of government and military responses
to talibanization according to press reporting and consulate
contacts:

August 16, Swat: Artillery and air attacks killed nine local
taliban in Swat, and security forces arrested nine more. Press
reports indicated there were 25 civilian casualties.

August 16, Bajaur: Twelve militants were killed and five injured
in helicopter attacks, one of which hit a mosque in Dabar.
Political authorities asked displaced people to return to their
homes in Khar.

August 16, South Waziristan: The press reported that five
explosions in Angor Adda near Wana but reported no casualties.

August 16, Peshawar: The NWFP government began publishing ads in
the local Urdu newspapers to urge people to join with the
government in fighting militancy.

August 16, Peshawar: Health officials announced they would not
launch the national anti-polio campaign in Bajaur and Kurram due
to the security situation.

August 17, Lower Dir and Malakand: The government set up 17
relief camps, though Jamaat e-Islami (JI)'s foundation,
Al-Khidamat, received much of the early credit for being
responsive to the crisis.

August 18, Bajaur: Security forces destroyed the empty house of
Bajaur TTP leader Faqir Muhammad in Chopatra. To avoid being
attacked by the cobra helicopters, residents were advised to
exit their homes or vehicles and place their hands in the air,
though local taliban regularly hid in the maize fields.

August 18, South Waziristan: Security forces arrested four
suspected militants allegedly carrying sophisticated arms. They
were driving on the Wana-Tank and Tank-Dera roads.

August 18, Buner: Police raided hideouts of suspected militants
in Daggar Tangay, arresting two people and recovering arms and
ammunition.

August 19, Lower Dir: The provincial government established 17
relief camps for IDPs from Bajaur and allocated over $175,000
for relief. The government said these camps were taking care of
60,000 of the over 264,000 displaced people.


PESHAWAR 00000449 009 OF 013


August 19, Peshawar: The FATA Secretariat announced 140
scholarships for the children of tribal leaders and government
employees killed in operations against militants in the region.

August 20, Bajaur: Security forces bombed militant hideouts and
residences of relatives of militant commanders in Salarzai and
Mamond.

August 20, Kurram: The government announced that the Kurram
Militia of the Frontier Corps had been given a green light to
intervene between the warring tribes because they ignored a
deadline for the ceasefire. An FC army major was reportedly
injured in an attack on a checkpost.

August 20, South Waziristan: Two missiles allegedly fired from
Afghanistan hit a house near Wana owned by a local tribesman
with links to militants, killing eight including some non-locals
suspected to be Arab nationals and Punjabis.

August 21: The Bajaur Scouts of the Frontier Corps shelled
militant strongholds in Mamond and Salarzai.

August 21: The Mardan district government convened a donor's
conference with both international and local NGOs to raise funds
for displaced families.

August 21, Kohat: Following the killing of an army officer and
reports that foreign militants from Kurram and Orakzai were
entering Kohat, the district administration imposed a local
state of emergency. The police deployed a Quick Response Force,
consisting of two platoons of anti-terrorist squads, eight
platoons of the Frontier reserve police, eight platoons of
Frontier constabulary. (Note: A platoon contains approximately
40 men. End Note.) Kohat is the headquarters of the army's 9th
division, which has been engaged in operations in Waziristans,
Kurram and Hangu.

August 22, South Waziristan: Retaliating against a checkpost
raid near Wana, security forces called in air support and
injured seven militants.

August 22, Hangu: Local police arrested two Afghan Taliban after
a clash between police and taliban in Tal.

August 23, Hangu: Police arrested five suspected militants and
seized rocket launchers, among other weapons, after they refused
to stop at a police checkpost and opened fire on the police.

August 24, South Waziristan: In retaliation for an attack on a
checkpost in Zam Chan near Wana, security forces killed three
militants and injured more in an attack in Sholam.

August 24, Khyber: Political authorities arrested 13 suspected
militants and confiscated their large supply of explosives at
the Arakbandi checkpost in Kam Shelman near Landi Kotal.

August 24, Kohat: Frontier Constabulary shot and critically
injured a lawyer on suspicion of being a militant when his
vehicle tried to overtake the FC convoy.

August 24, Mansehra: Mansehra and Battagram police took into
custody 36 people suspected of involvement in the attack on an
army convoy in Dandai, on the border between Battagram and
Shangla districts.

August 25, Nowshera: NWFP and Punjab police recovered a cache of
explosives, two suicide jackets and rockets that they linked to
the suicide bombing at the Wah Cantonment.

August 25, Islamabad: The federal government banned
Tehrik-i-taliban Pakistan (TTP) under the Anti-Terrorism Act,
following the suicide attack at the Wah Cantonment. The
government asked the State Bank to freeze any TTP bank accounts.

August 25, Mohmand: Border security forces arrested two Afghan

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nationals who crossed into Mohmand from Kunar Province in
Afghanistan.

August 26, Khyber: A local political administrator detained
seven levy constables near Landi Kotal, charging them with
neglecting their duty. The levy constables claimed they were
beaten up and detained for disloyalty for trying to bypass the
chain of command with their complaints, which they passed to the
Political Agent.

August 27, Rawalpindi: The Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi
accepted a police petition to declare Baitullah Mehsud, Chief
Commander of the Tehrik-i-taliban Pakistan (TTP),a "proclaimed
offender" for allegedly planning attacks on former president
Musharraf.

August 27, Khyber: Intelligence agencies arrested six people
near Jamrud, using information from the interrogation of a
suicide bomber from Khyber who had intended to take part in the
bombing on the Wah Cantonment on August 21. He did not carry
out the bombing and was subsequently arrested.

August 27, Swat: Security forces continued to attack suspected
militant hideouts and arrested four local taliban after
militants kidnapped two locals.

August 27, Bajaur: In the most serious aerial bombing on local
taliban positions since the start of the Bajaur campaign,
security forces killed 36 suspected militants in Loisam and
Salarzai. Four foreigners were among the dead and three were
from South Waziristan. Displaced families who were trickling
back into the agency fled again.

August 28, Swat: The army claimed it killed 23 militants and
others reported eight civilian casualties in three separate
clashes.

August 28, South Waziristan: A jirga made up of Ahmadzai Wazir
tribal members mediated between the political administration and
the local taliban. The political administration as a result
lifted the curfew, opened the Wana-Jandola road and released 39
suspected militants affiliated with the Maulvi Nazir group of
Ahmadzai Wazirs.

August 28, Khyber: Khassadars arrested an Afghan national near
the border at Torkham and recovered 2,000 AK-47 rounds.

August 28, FR Kohat: Security forces arrested four suspected
militants in Darra Adam Khel, two of whom were identified as
local commanders, Mufti Ajmal and Shah Zaman. The latter was a
close aide of Tariq who is wanted for killing 15 security
personnel in February.

August 29, Swat: Military air strikes over two days in Peochar
killed more than 40 militants and two senior commanders, while
destroying an ammunition dump and reportedly hitting their
communications network. Mufti Saeedur Rehman was allegedly one
of the commanders killed, though there was no independent
confirmation.

August 29, Khyber: The political administration convened a grand
jirga to ask the elders of the Zakhakhel and Shinwari tribes to
expel Lashkar-i-Islam chief Mangal Bagh from their area, after
he took control of two local mosques but the Zakhakhel tribe
refused.

August 29, Buner: Police arrested five suspects in the attack on
the Sawari police posts near Daggar.

August 30, South Waziristan: A missile strike, allegedly from
Afghanistan, hit a house near Wana, killing five militants,
including two Canadians of Arab origin and two Punjabi taliban,
in an area controlled by Maulvi Nazeer.

August 30, FR Kohat: In clashes with militants, rockets from

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security forces killed two and injured four when they hit a
house near Darra Adam Khel. Helicopter gunships targeted the
headquarters and training camp of militants in Tora China.

August 30, FR Peshawar: More than 18 young militants from
Mattani and Adezai surrendered to the Peshawar police and
pledged to cooperate with the government after three days of
negotiations with police and tribal elders. The police had
issued notices to their parents offering the young militants
complete amnesty if they promised to refrain from militancy.

August 30, Peshawar: After coming under attack at the Shinwari
Qilla security post south of Peshawar, the police and armed
tribals joined to pursue the militants who retreated to Darra
Adam Khel.

August 31, North Waziristan: A missile allegedly hit a house in
Tappi just east of Miranshah, killing six and injuring eight.
The dead were reportedly foreign militants, including Arabs and
Uzbeks.

August 31, Kohat: Security forces targeted militant mountain
hideouts in different areas of Kohat with artillery and
helicopter gunships, killing the brother of local taliban
commander Asif.

August 31, Khyber: The political administration issued an
ultimatum to Mangal Bagh to vacate his new bases in Landi Kotal.
As the Khyber Rifles and Khassadars launched a joint operation,
Bagh and hundreds of his supporters left the area for Tirah
Valley. Security forces fired mortar shells on the residence
where he was staying. In separate clashes, security forces
killed an Lashkar-i-Islam fighter near Jamrud and suffered one
casualty. Ten armed LI militants were arrested in Jamrud when
they tried to flee to Bara. Authorities sealed a mosque and
seized an illegal FM radio transmitter. (Note: The Khyber
Political Agent said the militants have two transmitters and the
one turned in was broken. End Note.)

Grassroots Efforts to Halt Talibanization
--------------


11. (SBU) The following events are examples of activities taken
by local communities to halt the spread of talibanization:

August 16, Lower Dir: The local taliban agreed to leave the
Maidan area after two rounds of talks with a local jirga. The
local taliban asked for safe exit and that local checkpoints be
abolished, both of which the jirga agreed to.

August 16, Bajaur: Jamaat e-Islami set up some relief camps in
Mohmand Agency and Lower Dir for those displaced from Bajaur.
Hundreds of families were reported to be moving into Kunar
Province in Afghanistan, though many more flooded into
neighboring districts in Pakistan.

August 16, Mardan: A Grand Jirga agreed to burn down the houses
of those who support or shelter the local taliban.

August 17, Bajaur: Groups of tribesmen were reportedly
patrolling Khar to check the movements of militants.

August 17, Kurram: The six major Shi'a tribes announced full
support of the government in its efforts to push the militants
out of the area and decided to raise a lashkar to fight the
militants.

August 17, Lower Dir: Local taliban fighters, including foreign
fighters, were reported to leave Lower Dir following talks with
a local jirga.

August 18, Malakand: A local jirga in Tota Kan extended full
cooperation to the Malakand Levies to purge the area of
militants and especially non-locals.


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August 18, Buner: A jirga formed a committee for the maintenance
of peace in the area, vowing to take action against those who
killed innocent people.

August 19, Kurram: An 18-member peace jirga from Hangu and
Orakzai arrived in Sadda to hold talks with the warring
factions.

August 20, Bajaur: The tribes in Salarzai formed a Lashkar led
by Mufti Fazal Hanif and Haji Rahat Yousaf, which the political
administration agreed to support with weapons.

August 20, Mardan: A grand jirga established a lashkar to
maintain the peace in the district. They also said they would
oppose any military operation within the district. They asked
the police to consult them before launching any operation of
their own.

August 20, Khyber: When a vehicle carrying local militants and
associates from Darra Adam Khel refused to stop for locals in
Bara, the two sides exchanged fire. Four militants, allegedly
associated with Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP),were killed. In another
area, locals surrounded four local taliban on patrol and forced
them to surrender.

August 21, Kurram: The jirga from Hangu and Orakzai obtained a
pledge of cooperation from the Turi tribe but not from the
Bangash. The Turi tribal elders agreed to hand over their
hideouts to the security forces if a larger operation began.

August 24, Bajaur: Tribesman took to the street to protest the
killing of civilians, blocking the Bajaur-Peshawar highway.

August 25, Bajaur: Tribal elders appealed to the local taliban
not to resume attacks against security forces and government
installations.

August 26, Bajaur: The tribesmen of Salarzai raised their first
ever anti-taliban lashkar of 200-300 men, following the
assassinations of their elders the day before. The lashkar
killed a militant who had entered the agency from Mansehra.

August 26, Swabi: The political parties in the district agreed
to convene a grand peace jirga to restore peace in the district.

August 27, Kurram: Locals called for government intervention in
the ongoing inter-tribal violence.

August 28, Bajaur: The tribal lashkar killed a suicide bomber
and detained two others who were allegedly about to attack a
jirga in Salarzai. The lashkar cleared several girls' schools
that the militants were using as training centers and Shari'a
courts and set up checkposts around the area.

August 28, Bajaur: A jirga in Khar raised a lashkar to repel the
militants.

August 28, Lower Dir: A 70-member peace jirga in Timergara asked
the local taliban to leave their area. The local taliban
representatives apparently asked for time to consult their
central leadership.

August 28, Badhaber: The locals formed committees comprising 200
members to patrol the area at night with the police.

August 29, Bajaur: The Salarzai lashkar prepared positions for a
confrontation with the taliban faction headed by Naimatullah.

August 29, Lower Dir: The local taliban chief Hafeezullah agreed
to pull his men out of Lower Dir, following the peace jirga, on
condition that all cases registered against them be withdrawn,
their local hosts be protected, and the local taliban be given
safe passage. The district agreed to the second two conditions
and referred the first to the provincial government.


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August 29, Nowshera: Elders convened a jirga in which they
decided to form peace committees to root out militancy in the
district initially by mounting joint patrols with the police.

August 29: Upper Dir: After hundreds of armed militants entered
the area to set up camps, a tribal jirga raised a lashkar to
repel them and deter a military operation. In talks with the
local taliban, the jirga told the militants to leave or face
action.

August 29, Mattani: Locals are banding together with the police
to repel the militants by launching armed patrols.

August 30, Bajaur: The Salarzai lashkar issued shoot on sight
orders if a militant was seen in the area and warned local
people not to provide shelter to foreign militants, otherwise
their houses would be torched and they would be fined over
$10,000.

August 31, Bajaur: After warning militants to leave the area,
the Salarzai lashkar launched a campaign, destroying militant
command centers and 14 houses, including the house of a local
taliban commander. Militants freed six soldiers they had
earlier kidnapped.

August 31: FR Kohat: Gunmen shot dead a local militant commander
in Darra Adam Khel.
TRACY