FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 08 ISLAMABAD 001386 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2019 TAGS: MOPS PGOV PINR PK PREL PTER SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JUNE 5 - JUNE 11 REF: A. PESHAWAR 128 ¶B. PESHAWAR 127 ¶C. PESHAWAR 126 ¶D. ISLAMABAD 1272 ¶E. PESHAWAR 125 ¶F. PESHAWAR 124 Classified By: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate Peshawar, U.S. Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (d) Introduction - - - - - - - ¶1. (C) The government continued low-intensity fighting during the first full week in June with pockets of militants in Swat, Buner, Shangla, and Lower Dir. The latter showed that they pose a continued threat by destroying schools in Lower Dir and Buner, and resuming kidnappings of civilians in Swat. In Frontier Region Bannu, adjacent to North Waziristan, the military has begun operations against militants affiliated with Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The response from militants to the government campaign continued apace, however, as the TTP killed more than a dozen and wounded scores of people in a high-profile vehicle-borne suicide attack (refs C, E) at the Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel in Peshawar on June 9. TTP and other militants also launched several smaller-scale attacks in Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel (ref B). ¶2. (SBU) International organizations suspended their activities in Peshawar after the bombing of the PC Hotel on June 9. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),the World Food Program (WFP),and several other international bodies temporarily halted their activities by directing workers to restrict their movements (ref D). The WFP said it would continue serving the needs of IDPs in Malakand Division. Slow commerce and a bleak mood continued in Peshawar. ¶3. (C) In Dir, two noteworthy developments occurred over the reporting period. A suicide bombing in Upper Dir spurred the formation of a lashkar to fight militants there, who were routed in the ensuing campaign (ref F). In Lower Dir, imprisoned leaders of Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammedi (TNSM) died during an apparent attempt to free them from the military forces moving them to Peshawar (ref A). ¶4. (U) Militants have killed over 600 Pakistani soldiers in the last year, according to the Army's lead spokesman. Athar Abbas said on June 11 that 1,700 Pakistani soldiers have died since September 11, 2001. NWFP ) Malakand Division - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), where the Pakistani government has been conducting combat operations since the last week of April. Malakand Division includes the districts of Malakand, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla, and Buner. June 5, Upper Dir: Militants launched a high-profile suicide bombing at a mosque during Juma (Friday) prayers, killing 42, including 12 children. 70 others were injured. Local elders prominent in anti-Taliban activity attended the mosque. June 5, Lower Dir: Security forces blew up six houses of alleged militant commanders in Adenzai and Maidan tehsils. June 5, Swat: Militants killed one soldier near Mingora. The military claimed to kill 10 militants, while recovering 35 IEDs, two FM transmitters, 500 detonators, three long range antennas and a large number of pistols and rifles from a militant compound. Civilians streamed out of their homes following evacuation orders from the military. Military helicopters dropped leaflets overnight to announce the government would ease curfew restrictions. ISLAMABAD 00001386 002 OF 008 June 5, Shangla: Security forces backed by artillery cleared several areas, claiming to have killed six militants in the process. Four farmers harvesting wheat crops in the field were also killed by mortars. June 5, Buner: After militants killed an Army captain with a remote controlled bomb, security forces advanced west from Jowkhel base camp to Char village, heading toward Salarzai, performing search operations. June 6, Swat: Militants killed four soldiers. Security forces claimed to secure the Sarsanai area and kill 17 militants. June 6, Lower Dir: The Taliban attacked a security forces convoy, killing Tehrik Nifaz-i-Sharia-i-Muhammad (TNSM) deputy leader Maulana Alam and spokesman Amir Izaat while they were being transported to Peshawar. Elsewhere, locals killed four Taliban after hundreds of tribesmen formed a lashkar and attacked their homes. The military secured the road between Chakdara and Gora Gat. June 6, Shangla: Security forces continued operations in Puran and Chakesar areas. June 7, Swat: Militants in the Kanju area of central Swat kidnapped two brothers and a nephew of Dr. Shamsher Ali, an ANP-affiliated member of the NWFP Assembly; the nephew and a police official were killed. Militants killed three security forces personnel, including an officer, and injured seven others, while four militants were also killed during the ongoing operation. The military consolidated their positions and established checkposts in Bara Bandai, Koza Bandai and Ningulai areas, according to ISPR. A junior officer, previously captured by militants in late April, escaped captivity. June 7, Upper Dir: Armed villagers of Hayagay Sharqi, backed by people from dozens of other villages, besieged militants from all sides. The laskhar claimed to have killed 11 taliban, including two commanders. June 7, Lower Dir: Militants set on fire seven government schools in Gal, Mulano Banda, Shahi Kot, Miramai, Atto, Mualan Banda and Taran areas of Maidan. Elsewhere, mortar shells hit a group of people fleeing the fighting from neighboring Swat valley in the Gulibagh area, killing five civilians, including two women and a child. June 7, Shangla: Security forces claimed to secure various areas, including Aloch, Puran tehsil headquarters, along with the Alpuri-Puran road, as they advanced toward the border of Buner. A mortar shell fell on a house in Tawa, killing three. June 8, Swat: Militants killed one soldier in Kalpani and injured six in Peochar. Security forces claimed to kill 14 militants and arrest 22 others. June 8, Upper Dir: Armed villagers, supported by Pakistani military, killed seven militants, while two Laskar men were injured, one of them seriously, during clashes in Doog Darra area. Locals said the encircled militants started to resist by using heavy weapons against the Lashkar. June 8, Buner: Militants destroyed a government college, a government high school, and two bridges in northwestern Buner, where fighting between the Frontier Corps and militants continued as the FC advanced toward Jure. Separately, the Pakistani military claimed to have killed several high-ranking militants in an encounter near Ambela in southern Buner. June 9, Swat: Security forces claimed to kill 14 more militants during a search operation in Peochar area. Government troops also destroyed Maulana Fazlullah,s headquarters in Imam Dheri, near River Swat, the reputed center of militancy in the valley. June 9, Lower Dir: Militants blew up two girls' schools in Maidan. ISLAMABAD 00001386 003 OF 008 June 9, Upper Dir: An anti-Taliban tribal laskhar secured four villages and claimed to have killed 13 militants. Helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts in Doog Darra to support the lashkar, which engaged the militants in Shatkas and Ghazigay villages, facing stiff resistance. June 10, Swat: Militants killed two soldiers and wounded 12 others, including two officers. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed that over a dozen terrorists had been killed in the day,s fighting. June 10, Lower Dir: Security forces claimed to kill five militants in Maidan. Security officials asked locals not to grow maize (corn) crops this year because militants could hide in the growth. June 10, Upper Dir: The armed villagers fighting the Taliban in remote Doog Darra area made advances into Shatkas village after using heavy weapons, destroying several bunkers and killing two more militants. June 10, Shangla: Waliuallah, a reputed "hard core" militant commander, surrendered to the Pakistan Army. June 11, Swat: Militants wounded three soldiers in Matta and one in Peochar. Security forces claimed to kill 10 and arrest six. Security forces closed borders to Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Chitral to close off militant escape routes. June 11, Lower Dir: Security forces claimed to kill five militants in a fight in the Kambar area. Security forces also foiled an attempt to blow up a bridge on the main Mingora-Peshawar road, near Amandara, while killing a suspected militant. June 11, Upper Dir: The lashkar from Patrak captured four members of a militant group. Two children were killed in fighting between a lashkar of villagers and militants. The Pakistan Air Force warplanes fired missiles on suspected hideouts of militants in Shatkas area of Doog Darra. NWFP ) Hazara Division - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Hazara Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Hazara Division includes the districts of Kohistan, Mansehra, Battagram, Abbottabad, and Haripur. June 6, Mansehra: Militants blew up a CD shop in Oghi, which also damaged nearby shops. In response, police banned exhibition of films in CD and video shops in order to deprive militants of a pretext to attack such shops in the future. June 8, Battagram: Explosives planted next to a police post in the Changal area reportedly were detonated; however, no casualties were reported. June 9, Kohistan: A prominent supporter of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and an important leader of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) Maulana Waliullah Kabalgrami, surrendered to security forces in Thakot area. NWFP ) Mardan Division - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Mardan Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Mardan Division includes the districts of Mardan and Swabi. June 5, Mardan: Law enforcement agencies launched a search operation in the Rustam area after militants involved in the June 4 ambush that killed seven police and Frontier Corps and wounded many others. June 6, Mardan: Security forces claimed to have arrested at least 60 terrorists hiding among IDPs in various camps over ISLAMABAD 00001386 004 OF 008 an unspecified period of time. June 7, Mardan: Security forces killed two people who had violated curfew and injured a third. Police also arrested six militants. NWFP ) Peshawar Division - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Peshawar Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Peshawar Division includes the districts of Peshawar, Nowshera, and Charsadda. June 5, Peshawar: Pakistani press reported the arrest of Anwarul Haq Mujahid, reputed Taliban commander for Nangarhar province and son of deceased Afghan Hizb-i-Islami (Khalis) leader Yunus Khalis, along with three companions. Press also reported that law enforcement agencies arrested Dr. Mohammed Ismail, who they claimed was a commander in a militant network with links to al-Qaida, and two of his colleagues. The police claimed to have arrested a total of 30 suspected militants during checks at various entry and exit points to the city over an unspecified period of time. June 6, Peshawar: NWFP government officials debated how to handle its estimate that only half of IDP families qualified for aid. The government said it had "no mechanism" to distinguish between the needy and the imposters. June 7, Nowshera: Police claimed to arrest 37 suspects and seized arms in different parts of the district. June 7, Peshawar: Among rumors of potential suicide bombings, police tightened security in the capitol by setting up special checkpoints, thoroughly searching vehicles, banning tinted glass on cars, deploying on rooftops, placing barbed wire and barricades outside government buildings, and establishing a one kilometer "red zone" around police stations and police posts. June 8, Peshawar: Militants killed four persons, including a former MNA from Mohmand, in two separate incidents at Faqirabad on Kohat Road. Police arrested Tehrik Nifaz-i-Sharia-i-Muhammad (TNSM) Swat chapter chief, Iqbal Khan, and another associate, in Hayatabad. The FATA Secretariat in Peshawar banned all public entry into its Peshawar administrative offices. Also, a policeman was killed and a passerby injured when an apparent remote-controlled bomb destroyed a police van. June 8, Nowshera: Police defused a 10 kg home-made bomb planted along a roadside in the cantonment area. June 9, Peshawar: Militants staged a high-profile suicide attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel by driving a lead vehicle (sedan) followed by a small truck through the guard post without challenge or screening, then detonating a bomb that killed nine (refs A, B). Guards at the entrance appeared to run away as the vehicles turned onto the PC,s driveway. An previously unknown al-Qaeda-linked group, Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack. June 11, Peshawar: Militants attacked a police checkpost on the Grand Trunk Road, in the Lateefabad area, on the northeast outskirts of Peshawar. The two-stage attack initiated when militants threw a hand grenade at a mobile police van forming part of the checkpost; a man wearing a suicide vest then approached the police and civilians who had congregated in the vicinity of the initial blast, killing two and wounding ten others, while destroying two police vans (ref B). June 11, Nowshera: Security forces reportedly captured a top taliban commander, Qari Khurshid, a close aid of Swat-based commander Maulana Shah Dauran, along with two associates. Khurshid had operated in Buner, and is also accused of robbing banks, burning utility stores and kidnapping for ransom. ISLAMABAD 00001386 005 OF 008 NWFP ) Kohat Division - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Kohat Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Kohat Division includes the districts of Kohat, Karak, and Hangu. June 5, Kohat: A police official described to the press a trend that may signal Talibanization ) the killing of alleged prostitutes in the district. Police have discovered over eight mutilated bodies of girls and women in Skhdardarra, Ustarzai and Kohat over the last month. No one will claim the bodies due to the social stigma attached to the kidnapping and killing of females. June 6, Hangu: The commissioner summoned a peace jirga to discuss ways to make the Hangu-Parachinar highway safe and to stop kidnappings. June 11, Kohat: The police elite force announced they had arrested a would-be suicide bomber (trained at a TTP camp in Orakzai Agency),a trainer, and 23 other militants from Khyber, Bannu, and Waziristan over an undefined period of time. Police also said that they had set up 35 new checkposts, specially fitted to reduce damage from rocket attacks, throughout the district. June 11, Hangu: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet fighters bombed suspected militant locations in the district (and in Orakzai Agency; see below). The strikes hit a house in Zaghari and a school, killing 13 people including women and children in the family of Hangu district JUI-F chief Maulana Din Asghar. NWFP ) Bannu Division - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Bannu Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Bannu Division includes the districts of Bannu and Lakki Marwat. June 5, Lakki Marwat: A mortar shell fell on a house, killing four. Also, security services razed a portion of the house of an alleged militant in Kotka Khan Bahadur. June 6, Lakki Marwat: Militants planted an IED, which exploded and injured a man. June 6, Bannu: Law enforcement agencies arrested a foreign national trying to procure a Pakistani National Identity Card from the local NADRA office. June 9, Lakki Marwat: A jirga, meeting with civil and military officials, pledged to uproot militancy in the district. Lakki Marwat is near the Janikhel area of FR Bannu, where military operations commenced. NWFP ) Dera Ismail Khan Division - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶11. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. Dera Ismail Khan Division includes the districts of D.I. Khan and Tank. June 6, Dera Ismail Khan: Militants threw a hand-grenade at a house, injuring one female. A second explosion destroyed an electronics shop. Elsewhere, gunmen opened fire on a truck near a police station, killing a resident of Khyber. June 7, Dera Ismail Khan: Gunmen on a motorcycle killed two Shi'a brothers at an auto mechanics shop. Hours later, a man hurled a hand grenade into a Sunni Muslim mosque, injuring four. In a third incident, a gunman opened fire at a vendor's stall, killing one. Trade centers closed in the city after the incidents. The District Police Officer (DPO) said that motorcycles would be banned from the city for an indefinite period. ISLAMABAD 00001386 006 OF 008 June 8, Dera Ismail Khan: Police arrested 60 suspects in the city as tensions increased over targeted killings. June 8, Tank: Malik Turkistan Bhittani, commander of a militia affiliated with Qari Zainuddin's anti-TTP Mehsud militant group, warned a Mehsud tribal jirga to refrain from extending any support to TTP. June 9, Dera Ismail Khan: Militants threw a hand grenade at a mobile police van, injuring eight, including five police. June 11, Dera Ismail Khan: Two motorcyclists hurled a hand grenade into a cloth store, injuring 20. Later, militants threw a grenade at Deputy Superintendant of Jail, injuring him and his brother at their residence. In a third incident, assailants threw a hand-grenade at a grocery store, killing a vendor and injuring seven others. Northern FATA - - - - - - - ¶12. (SBU) The following is a roundup of incidents of talibanization and government and community response in the Bajaur, Mohmand, and Khyber Agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). June 4, Khyber: Militants kidnapped the political tehsildar of Jamrud. In a separate incident, gunmen kidnapped the assistant line officer of the Khasadar force from Jamrud. Political authorities fined 20 Afghan nationals 1,000 rupees each and deported them at the Torkham border. June 5, Bajaur: Security forces claimed to have arrested three foreign militants on their way to Lower Dir; they confiscated weapons and jihadi literature. June 6, Bajaur: Militants affiliated with Faqir Mohammad fought a rival group, led by Masood Salar, in Mamoond area over a purported money dispute. Three deaths were reported in the fighting. June 6, Mohmand: Security forces arrested eight suspected militants and demolished 49 of their houses. June 7, Khyber: Militants torched two buses, allegedly packed with smuggled goods, on the Pak-Afghan Highway. Khasadars reported that militants had warned them not to "escort" smuggled goods or U.S. convoys to the Khyber Pass. June 8, Bajaur: The Taliban reportedly took hostage a large number of members of the Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM),including the local chief from Mamoond. The Bajaur Political Agent convoked a jirga of elders from all tehsils in Bajaur except Charmang and received their agreement that they would not support militants. June 8, Mohmand: Security forces arrested twelve suspected militants in a search operation in Khewzai Baizai tehsil after suspected militants fired on security forces there. June 9, Khyber: Militants burned two vehicles loaded with thousands of meters of imported imitation leather in Landi Kotal. Local tribesmen have declared their intent to stop smuggling through the area. June 9, Mohmand: Militants fired 36 mortars at a checkpost in Amabar tehsil, injuring 11 troops. June 10, Khyber: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a doctor working at the Landikotal hospital; the hospital closed in protest. Southern FATA - - - - - - - ¶13. (SBU) The following is a roundup of incidents of talibanization and government and community response in the Orakzai, Kurram, North and South Waziristan Agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions south of the Khyber Agency. ISLAMABAD 00001386 007 OF 008 June 5, FR Kohat: Militants attacked two security checkposts in Darra Adam Khel with rockets. No casualties were reported. Police announced that a majority of the 14,000 proclaimed offenders in the seven FATA agencies and six Frontier Regions have hideouts in Darra Adam Khel and Orakzai. June 5, South Waziristan: Militants killed four soldiers and injured two others when a landmine exploded while a security convoy heading toward Spinkai from Jandola passed, on Jandola-Spinkai Raghzai road. In another incident, militants killed a soldier and injured two others with an IED planted near Angoor Adda, an area inhabited by Ahmadzai Wazir tribes who in 2007 pledged not to attack security forces and government installations in their territory. June 6, FR Kohat: Suspected militants fired four rockets at security posts in Darra Adam Khel. June 6, South Waziristan: NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said that TTP Swat leader Maulana Fazlullah had fled to Waziristan. June 7, FR Kohat: Militants set off 11 explosions and destroyed a government high school for boys in Darra Adam Khel. Police conducted a search operation in various areas of the city and arrested 18 suspects, including seven Afghans. Security forces opened fire on a car feared to be carrying suicide attackers at the Friendship tunnel, wounding two. Police claim that local militants have recently destroyed numerous Khasadar posts and bridges on the Indus Highway. June 7, Orakzai: Health officials reported that militants, tribal elders and local clerics had hindered the recent anti-polio campaign by manhandling health department staffers. They estimated that 35 percent of the children of the agency were deprived of vaccination due to this activity. June 7, Kurram: A jirga of Turi tribesmen demanded the government dismiss the assistant political agent (APA) of Lower Kurram, Ayaz Mondokhel, accusing him of supporting militants in the area. The Hizbullah Militia, a militant wing of the Turi tribe, claimed to have discovered Mondokhel riding as a passenger in the flag-bearing vehicle of local militants. Hizbullah permitted Mondokhel to pass, but kidnapped four members of the Kurram Levy force, riding in the convoy. The four personnel were later released. June 8, FR Kohat: Security forces arrested six further militants in sweeps of suspected militant hideouts around Darra Adam Khel. June 8, Kurram: Militants raided a Turi village in Lower Kurram near Alizai and killed a tribesman who was working in his fields before being driven off by armed villagers. June 9, Kurram: Two gunship helicopters of the Pakistan Army fired several shells at a village in Lower Kurram. June 9-10, FR Bannu: Security forces launched an operation against the Jani Khel and Bakka Khel tribes, killing more than 80 militants and injuring dozens more during a two day operation. Security forces also destroyed five bomb-equipped vehicles. The forces, assisted by gunship helicopters and artillery, targeted militant hideouts. The Army spokesman said that 600 to 800 terrorists were active in the Jani Khel area. June 10, South Waziristan: Militants killed three soldiers and injured five in major attacks on the Siplatoi and Chakmalai checkposts and the Jandola Fort. The army claimed to kill 22 Tehrik-i-Taliban militants in hours of fierce fighting. June 10, Kurram: Heavy fighting was reported between Sunni militants and Shi'a tribesmen in the Makhayzai and Tangi areas of Lower Kurram, after the death of the Turi tribesman on the previous day. June 11, FR Kohat: Militants ambushed and critically injured a NWFP provincial minister in Darra Adam Khel, killing his ISLAMABAD 00001386 008 OF 008 driver and two bodyguards (ref B). NWFP Minister for Prisons Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel was critically injured in the attack. Policemen in an escort vehicle killed the three attackers. June 11, Orakzai: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet fighters bombed suspected militant locations in the agency (and in Hangu district; see above),killing 33 people, including Sunni Supreme Council chief Maulana Muhammad Amin and his nephew, and injuring 29 others. Military officials said Maulana Amin had close ties with militant leaders. June 11, FR Bannu: The Pakistan Army attacked an area bordering militant strongholds in Waziristan, killing scores of Taliban fighters with helicopter gunships and artillery shelling. June 11, South Waziristan: Dozens of militants attacked three army posts, triggering shootouts that left three soldiers and a claimed twenty insurgents dead. PATTERSON