FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, MAY 29

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 08 PESHAWAR 000135 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/17/2019 TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, MAY 29 JUNE 4 REF: A) PESHAWAR 119 CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate Peshawar, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (d) Introduction - - - - - - - (C) Pakistan's security forces continued to gain ground in Swat, facing heavy resistance in Kabal, east of Mingora at the end of the reporting period. Fighting also persisted in areas of Lower Dir and northern Buner. Militants continued revenge attacks in Kohat, Shangla, Peshawar, Battagram, Mansehra, Mardan, Nowshera and South Waziristan. Heavy security in Peshawar after the bombings of the previous reporting periods (refs B and D) restricted movements and stifled commerce, creating a bleak mood in the city; militant activity in and near Peshawar continued. ¶2. (SBU) Sporadic fighting continued in Mehsud areas of South Waziristan (SWA) and Frontier Region Tank, including a major militant assault on a Frontier Corps position in SWA on May 30-31 and several other militant attacks. Tribal militants kidnapped over 120 students of the Razmak Cadet College from Frontier Region Bannu, adjacent to North Waziristan, on June 1. Militants released all of the students by June 4, after pressure and threats from the government and tribal lashkars (ref A). As sectarian tensions rose, law and order deteriorated in Dera Ismail Khan. ¶3. (C) Despite a sustained public relations drive by Pakistani government and military officials, many local residents and IDPs from Swat fear that the Taliban will regroup and return after the current military campaign ends. Post's Swat contacts have expressed to us directly, and most newspaper reports have echoed, a mood of skepticism that the Pakistan Army is "serious" about crushing the Taliban. These contacts cite the military's refusal to show journalists any of the dead fighters it announces killed each day; its overreliance on artillery bombardment, which makes for a good "show," but results primarily in collateral damage; the low number of claimed army casualties, which does not reflect the intense fighting claimed by the Army; and the fact that Maulana Fazlullah and his five key deputies have apparently escaped. While these observations may not accurately reflect the military's seriousness of intent, they highlight the difficulty it will face in regaining the confidence of Swatis once the operation has concluded. ; NWFP - Malakand Division - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (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. May 29, Swat: Militants injured five soldiers and two civilians, while the government claimed to kill 28 militants and arrest seven. The Army announced that Peochar valley and Bahrain, in central Swat, were secured. Jet fighters bombed near Shamozai, in lower Swat near the Malakand and Lower Dir district borders, while militants were moving nearby; four homes were destroyed and twenty civilians killed. Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas stated that stolen U.S. weapons had entered into Pakistan from Afghanistan where they were being used against Pakistani security forces. May 29, Buner: Jet fighters targeted the home of a Taliban commander near a militant stronghold in Darai Gokand. Security forces claimed to defuse five improvised explosive devices (IEDs). May 29, Shangla: Militants set-off a roadside bomb, injuring two minors. An IED also exploded on the Alpuri-Besham road, frequently used by security forces as a supply route for Malakand operations, injuring one. Security forces warned local elders of a military operation if they failed to expel militants PESHAWAR 00000135 002 OF 008 from the area within three days. Security forces killed a man. May 30, Swat: Militants killed one soldier as the government claimed to kill 25 militants while announcing Mingora "fully under control." The Army also asked residents to leave nearby Charbagh, in anticipation of fighting there. May 30, Buner: Militants beheaded three residents of Pacha Kallay. Security forces killed two unofficial "spokesmen" for militants in Sultanwas. Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced it was safe for IDPs to return to Buner and Lower Dir. May 31, Swat: Militants killed one officer and five security force personnel and injured six others as government forces entered Kalam valley, claiming to kill 12 militants in the fighting. Militants also burned a government girls' school. Defense Secretary Syed Athar Ali announced the Swat operation would end in 2-3 days. Media returned to Mingora, after a 17-day curfew ended, reporting that the city was in ruins, lacking electricity, gas or phone service, with exposed corpses lying in the streets. May 31, Buner: Militants killed a soldier with an IED. The NWFP government ordered all public employees to return to duty and urged IDPs from Buner to return home. May 31, Shangla: Militants blew up a police post near a rest-house in Yakh Tangi Top. Security forces, using artillery, launched a security operation, killing three militants. Reports indicate that power and telephone services are not functioning in the district. May 31, Lower Dir: Security forces killed two terrorists at a checkpost. June 1, Swat: Militants attacked a checkpost in Matta, injuring three soldiers. Fighting raged in Charbagh, with the government claiming to kill 30 militants. June 1, Buner: Militants continued to fight in the Pacha Killay area, with the DCO admitting that "Pir Baba, Gorkand and Karakar are still volatile." The NWFP government fired 160 policemen for failing to return to duty as ordered. June 1, Upper Dir: Police arrested seven suspected militants, said to be from Peochar valley in Swat, in an IDP camp in Wari. June 2, Swat: Militants killed three soldiers as security forces faced stiff resistance in Charbagh, claiming to kill 32 militants and arrest 18. June 3, Swat: Militants killed one soldier in Matta and injured two as security forces consolidated their positions near Kalam and established two new checkposts near Bahrain. Militants only reached 15 percent of their original FM broadcast coverage, according to the military. Army leaders encouraged the government to adopt new policing strategies in Swat, recommending the government abolish its practice of enrolling 100 percent of its police from the local district, thereby reducing the tendency of local polices to surrender so easily. June 3, Buner: Security forces launched an operation to establish control over Pir Baba and Bhai Killay. June 3, Lower Dir: Security forces launched a new operation to secure the area from Gulabad to Shewa and from Kithiari to Asband. Security forces set up three new checkposts and shifted artillery, tanks and other equipment there. June 4, Swat: Militants killed one soldier and injured two as security forces targeted insurgent positions in Kabal, a town in Swat yet to be cleared of Taliban. Militants also injured two soldiers near Malam Jabba. June 4, Buner: Militants blew up a government school and two houses of military officials after security forces accelerated PESHAWAR 00000135 003 OF 008 attacks in the upper parts of the district, destroying six militant hideouts, and taking control of the main road from Daggar to Pir Baba. June 4, Shangla: Security forces shot at militants fleeing from a checkpost, killing six and capturing four. June 4, Lower Dir: Militants attacked security forces in Lal Qila, but were repulsed; one soldier and an unknown number of militants were killed. June 4, Malakand: Law enforcement agencies arrested three key deputies of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad at Bilal Mosque in Amandara. (Note. Militants later killed two of the TNSM clerics on June 6 in an attack launched as police escorted them to Peshawar. End note.) 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. May 29, Abbottabad: A jirga of five tribes agreed to help the government stop infiltration of militants into the area. June 2, Battagram: Militants planted two bombs on a bridge near the Forest checkpost on Karakoram Highway, causing some damage. June 2, Haripur: Police announced that, working with tip-offs from locals, they had successfully discovered and dismantled 20 militant hideouts and arrested several suspects. They did not specify the time period in which this had taken place. June 3, Mansehra: A bomb exploded in the Shinkiari area, damaging three shops, two houses, and a vehicle. June 3, Kohistan: A jirga of elders from several tribes formed two lashkars to resist militant infiltration, one of which would guard Kohistan's border with Swat and the other of which would guard a Chinese-built dam project under construction. June 4, Abbottabad: Militants kidnapped a Swat tehsil nazim (mayor) at gunpoint. (Militants also kidnapped the nazim's brother, in a separate incident, in Islamabad.) NWFP - Mardan Division - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (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. May 29, Mardan: Police claimed to have arrested 39 suspected militants, who had cut their hair, shaved their beards, and hidden among IDPs in various camps. Police did not specify the time period over which the militants had been arrested. May 30, Mardan: A man seriously injured in an exchange of fire between militants and security forces died in Mardan Medical Complex. June 1, Mardan: Deputy Police Inspector-General Akhtar Ali Shah reported that smuggling and stockpiling of arms and ammunition has been increasing steadily in NWFP's second biggest city. June 4, Mardan: Militants set off a roadside remote-controlled bomb while a security convoy heading for Buner passed, seriously wounding at least 22 policemen. Later, militants hiding in hilltops ambushed security forces responding to the scene, killing seven security personnel, including a captain of the PESHAWAR 00000135 004 OF 008 Frontier Corps and a deputy superintendent of police. NWFP - Peshawar Division - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (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. May 29, Peshawar: The District Coordination Officer (DCO) imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code for thirty days. The ordinance banned pillion riding, vehicles with tinted glass, and brandishing weapons (ref C). Shopkeepers were issued directives not to let any vehicle or motorbike park outside their shops. All routes to Khyber Agency were cut off and many markets were deserted. Police arrested 304 suspects, including 19 Afghans, and recovered arms and ammunition. Police, along with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, sealed an illegal FM radio station and seized the equipment. The Adenzai Qaumi Laskhar released a relative of a taliban leader it had kidnapped two weeks prior in retaliation for killing a police officer. May 29, Charsadda: Police arrested two suicide bombers, one a 15-year-old from Mohmand, who they claimed planned to attack a private school in Peshawar. May 30, Peshawar: The police banned entry of trucks into the cantonment area of the city. May 31, Peshawar: Militants opened fire on a police party in Mathra area when security forces fired back, claiming to kill a top militant commander from Michini. Police arrested 12 militants, including two commanders. June 1, Peshawar: Security officials seized a huge quantity of communication equipment, including 375 walkie-talkies and 1,200 high frequency antennas, being smuggled into the tribal areas. June 2, Peshawar: Militants dressed as security officials broke into the residential quarters where workers of the Bilour Match Factory live, in Hayatabad, killing one and kidnapping eight. June 2, Nowshera: Militants fired a mortar at the Crimes Investigation Agency (CIA) post in Badrashi, injuring one constable. Elsewhere, a security agency arrested one suspected militant from Bannu. June 3, Nowshera: Militants set off a bomb near a scrap dealer shop in Jalozai bazaar, with no casualties reported. June 3, Peshawar: Militants stormed Matani area, bordering Darra Adam Khel, FR Kohat, where a local lashkar resisted their advance. Two persons were killed in the clash. June 4, Peshawar: Militants blew up a government girls' school near Badhber Police Station with five separate 5 kg bombs. Police imposed strict security measures at key exit and entry points to the city and have been checking national identity cards and car registrations. NWFP - Kohat Division - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (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. May 29, Kohat: Militants blew up a CD shop, along with three other shops, injuring a six-year-old girl. The District Police Officer (DPO) Dilawar Bangash banned parking in sensitive places and issued shoot-on-sight orders if suspicious persons refused PESHAWAR 00000135 005 OF 008 to stop for checking. May 29, Hangu: Militants attacked a police van, killing a police constable. Later, police arrested 16 suspects. May 30, Hangu: Militants attacked the Agriculture Department's office and kidnapped three officials. May 31, Hangu: Militants attacked an Army public school, killing an employee and abducting three persons, including two policemen. June 1, Kohat: A bomb exploded at a bus stop, killing six and injuring 18. Police later arrested 26 suspects. June 2, Hangu: Militants killed one at a temporary camp for IDPs. June 2, Kohat: Security forces and police, in a joint operation, arrested 37 suspected militants. June 3, Kohat: Gunmen kidnapped a pickup passenger driver, leaving behind his vehicle. June 4, Kohat: Security forces claimed to have killed one TTP leader from Orakzai and to have arrested another during an operation to rescue four kidnapped persons, including a university professor. NWFP - Bannu Division - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (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. May 31, Bannu: A bomb-disposal squad defused a bomb, improvised from a pressure-cooker, found on a roadside. May 31, Lakki Marwat: Police recovered three hand grenades from a hideout following a tip-off. June 2, Lakki Marwat: Police claimed to foil a terrorist bid by seizing bomb-making equipment and arresting six alleged militants. June 3, Lakki Marwat: Police arrested 99 persons and seized a cache of weapons after a tip-off. NWFP - Dera Ismail Khan Division - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to press and consulate contacts. May 29, Dera Ismail Khan: Militants blew-up a car while security officials were inspecting it at a combined army and police checkpost, killing five security personnel and injuring twelve. Three police vehicles were also destroyed. Elsewhere, security forces opened fire on the car belonging to the Executive District Officer (EDO) for Education, injuring him. May 30, Dera Ismail Khan: Two militants riding on motorcycles shot and killed a man at a local market. May 31, Dera Ismail Khan: Police arrested 34 suspected militants after a tip-off. Elsewhere, after militants fired two rockets, police conducted a search operation and defused a rocket they found. One newspaper reported that three explosive-laden vehicles and six suicide bombers had left DI Khan to carry out terror attacks in big cities. June 2, Dera Ismail Khan: Militants killed a religious scholar, who was also an officer of the agriculture department, and his PESHAWAR 00000135 006 OF 008 driver. June 2, Tank: Four Frontier Corps personnel were seriously injured when their vehicle hit an IED. June 3, Dera Ismail Khan: Unidentified militants riding motorcycles killed one man. June 4, Dera Ismail Khan: Militants riding a motorcycle killed two men, including a government official, and injured another in three separate shooting incidents. Reports indicated the shootings were sectarian. June 4, Tank: Militants kidnapped three persons in two separate incidents. Security forces demolished the house of a cleric said to be involved with militants. Security forces also arrested seven other suspected militants in raids throughout the district. Northern FATA - - - - - - - ¶11. (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). May 29, Khyber: Gunship helicopters bombed suspected militant hideouts in Bara, injuring three children and three women. May 31, Khyber: Security forces killed two militants and arrested a youth, heading to Orakzai agency, near a checkpost in Bara. Elsewhere in Bara, security forces also arrested six men. In Jamrud, militants dumped the body of a dead Khasadar, kidnapped on May 30. Also in Jamrud, two important militant commanders renounced militancy and surrendered to the political administration. June 1, Mohmand: Militants blew up a government girls' middle school in Lakkaro tehsil. The political administration and tribal elders have urged IDPs to return home, claiming the law and order situation has improved in the agency. June 2, Mohmand: Militants blew up three more government schools. June 2, Khyber: Laskhar-i-Islam (LI) imposed a jizia tax (protection fee for non-Muslims) on all Sikhs, Hindus and Christians living in the agency at the rate of 1,000 rupees per year. About 7,000 Sikhs live in Khyber. June 3, Bajaur: Militants kidnapped four officials of the FATA Rural Development Project (FRDP) from Barang tehsil. Militants also set off an IED while elders of the Salarzai tribe were returning from a jirga, injuring two. The political administration imposed a curfew while security forces arrested three foreign militants at Alizai checkpost as they entered from Lower Dir. June 4, Bajaur: The elders of Mahmoond tribe handed over five people kidnapped in August 2008. Bajaur's political agent stressed that tribal elders must honor the 28-point accord signed by the Mahmoond several months ago. June 4, Mohmand: Mohmand Rifles personnel claimed to have arrested 12 militants, including nine Afghans, at various checkpoints, and recovered three Kalashnikovs, 12 hand grenades, and two long-range wireless sets. June 4, Khyber: Militants kidnapped a Khasadar in Landikotal while he was conducting a routine patrol. Southern FATA - - - - - - - ¶12. (SBU) The following is a roundup of incidents of PESHAWAR 00000135 007 OF 008 talibanization and government and community response in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions south of the Khyber Agency. May 29, South Waziristan: A 15-member peace committee of the Mehsud tribe offered to mediate between the Baitullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the South Waziristan political administration. May 30, Kurram: Militants killed an 80-year-old elder of the Turi tribe kidnapped five months earlier. May 30, FR Kohat: Security forces killed eight militants in shelling by helicopter gunships. May 30, South Waziristan: Militants killed a member of the security forces in a rocket attack on a checkpost. May 31, South Waziristan: A large number of militants attacked a security forces checkpost in Spinkai Raghzai, killing eight soldiers and sustaining heavy losses. In another incident, militants attacked a convoy of government forces that had stopped for IEDs. The government troops repulsed the attack, claiming to kill 10 militants. Four soldiers are missing. May 31, North Waziristan: Militants killed a senior doctor, a former superintendant of the agency hospital, at his clinic in Miramshah. May 31, Kurram: Religious scholars, political and civic leaders in Upper Kurram threatened to launch a protest campaign if the government failed to open all roads within a week. Militants have closed the main Thall-Parachinar road for the last 18 months. May 31, FR Kohat: Militants launched rockets at a military checkpost in Darra Adam Khel, killing a member of the security forces. June 1, FR Bannu: Tribal militants kidnapped over 120 students and staff of the Razmak Cadet College from an area populated by the Bakkakhel subtribe, adjacent to North Waziristan. Militants released eighty of the students and staff, after a clash with security forces near the border of North and South Waziristan (ref A). June 1, South Waziristan: Militants killed two soldiers in a rocket attack near Angoor Adda. June 2, FR Kohat: Militants fired rockets at security forces, injuring three soldiers. June 3, Kurram: Three warring tribes (Bangash, Mengal, Turi) may soon sign an accord under the aegis of the Afghan government and NATO to provide safe passage to the two Sunni tribes to Afghanistan. June 3, South Waziristan: Militants exploded a bomb at a government hospital in Wana, partially damaging the building. June 4, Orakzai: Five shops were destroyed by explosives planted by unknown parties. June 4, FR Kohat: Militants in Darra Adam Khel kidnapped the tehsildar of Jamrud in Khyber Agency while he was on his way to Karak. They later released his three guards. June 4, North Waziristan: Militants under tribal pressure released the remaining 42 kidnapped students and two teachers from Razmak Cadet College. Government and Community Response - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶13. (SBU) This is a summary of government and community activities undertaken outside of the NWFP and FATA to halt the PESHAWAR 00000135 008 OF 008 spread of talibanization within those regions. May 29, Islambad: The federal government announced cash rewards of 50 million rupees for the arrest of Maulana Fazlullah, 10 million for Muslim Khan and over a dozen other Taliban commanders. The NWFP government had announced lesser awards the previous week. TRACY