FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JUNE 19

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 07 PESHAWAR 000143

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/8/2019
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JUNE 19
- JUNE 25

CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate
Peshawar, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
Introduction
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1. (C) The intensity of Pakistani military operations
accelerated in South Waziristan during the fourth week in June,
with the government conducting intensive airstrikes into Mehsud
territory and sending ground troops to secure key locations
along the critical Wana-Jandola road in preparation for a
presumed major offensive. However, the June 23 assassination of
Mehsud militant commander Qari Zainuddin, sponsored by rival
Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),was a
setback to the Pakistani government's planned campaign in South
Waziristan Agency (reftel). In another apparent preparatory
move for the campaign, civil administration in Lakki Marwat
continued to meet intensively with local jirgas to form
defensive committees that would resist encroachment by militants.


2. (C) In Malakand Division, the military conducted "cordon
and search" operations in pockets of Swat and Lower Dir as
active resistance by militants diminished. In Shangla and
northeastern Buner, however, reports indicated that fleeing
militants were beginning to congregate, and some residents began
to flee the portions of Buner in expectation of an intensified
government offensive. The Upper Dir lashkar continued
low-intensity fighting with Doog Darra, with reduced offensive
activity relative to the previous week. Intense fighting
continued in Bajaur, while Pakistani security forces continued
operations in Mohmand and Orakzai. In Kurram, the death toll in
over a week of fighting between Sunni and Shi'a clans passed 50,
as jirgas on both sides called for government intervention.


NWFP ) Malakand Division
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3. (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 19, Swat: Security forces reportedly secured Akhun Kalle
and established a checkpost in the Chungai area. Security
forces also launched an operation to clear areas around Zara
Khala, Khawazakhela and Matta.

June 19, Buner: Militants wounded one soldier. Four militants
were reported to be killed during fighting with troops in the
Sar Qila area, an area where the army was conducting search
operations.

June 19, Upper Dir: Armed villagers supported by security
forces claim to have killed eleven insurgents and wounded
another in Patrak town.

June 19, Chitral: Chitral police arrested 10 militants fleeing
into the district. An Afghan national was among those arrested.

June 20, Swat: Militants killed three soldiers in an ambush.
Security forces claimed the killing of six militants in a search
operation around Peochar. Security forces arrested three
suspected terrorists and destroyed a complex of four tunnels in
the same operation.

June 20, Lower Dir: Militants wounded two soldiers. Security
forces claim to have killed five Taliban.

June 20, Malakand: Militants killed a soldier while security
forces conducted a clearance operation on a key road.

June 21, Swat: Security forces claimed to have killed one
militant and arrested six others at Langer, Khawazakhela.
Government forces seized a weapons cache and foreign currency in
suspected militant hideouts in Biha valley.


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June 21, Upper Dir: Members of the lashkar fighting militants
in Doog Darra killed seven suspected militants who had been
arrested the previous day in Chitral and were in police custody
in the Patrak area. In response, the militants in the area
kidnapped two local people who supported the lashkars.

June 22, Swat: The military conducted search and cordon
operations, claiming to have neutralized a number of improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) and to have destroyed several tunnels.
They also claim to have killed 22 terrorists and arrested five
others. Security forces claim to have secured Biha Valley, the
last militant stronghold in northern Swat, and cleared Shamozai,
in the west.

June 22, Malakand: According to an unconfirmed, single-sourced
press report, militants ambushed the vehicle of an intelligence
agency officer as he was driving home, killing the man.

June 23, Swat: Militants ambushed a unit of the Baloch Regiment
and killed five soldiers, including a Major, a Captain, and
three Jawans (soldiers) in Charbagh. According to an Army
spokesman, the party was returning after a search operation when
the attack occurred. Maulana Shah Durran, deputy leader of the
Taliban in Sat, was rumored to be seriously injured or killed,
after a military operation in Kabal. Elsewhere, security forces
launched search and sweep operations at various locations in the
district.

June 23, Shangla: Security forces captured three suspected
militants in a search operation west of Alpurai, the district
headquarters.

June 23, Lower Dir: Security forces reported killing six
militants in Shadas village of the Maidan area when gunship
helicopters targeted the house of Miftahud Din, alias Shabar, a
local militant commander. Search operations continued in
Adenzai and Maidan tehsils.

June 23, Buner: Security forces continued using heavy artillery
and shelling from helicopters in the northeastern part of the
district as ground forces continued sweeps in that area.

June 24, Swat: Militants killed six soldiers, including two
officers, in a clash in Charbagh. Security forces claimed to
have killed seven terrorists and arrested several others. The
military stated that almost all major towns in the Swatwere
under the control of security forces. A local jirga met in
kalam to pledge its support for the security forces.

June 24, Shangla: Locals report that hundreds of militants from
Swat and Buner are in the district.

June 24, Upper Dir: The Qaumi Lashkar, comprised of armed
villagers, report that they have successfully cleared a majority
of the area held by extremists, killing 34 militants. The Quami
Laskhar advanced in areas where pro-Taliban militants took the
local population hostage at gunpoint, said lashkar leader Malik
Motabbar Khan.

June 24, Buner: Pakistani military forces bombarded militant
hideouts in Etai Khwar and positioned ground forces at key
blocking points in northeastern Buner.

June 25, Swat: Two soldiers were injured when an anti-personnel
mine exploded, while another was wounded by militant gunfire.
Security forces arrested three terrorists and seized weapons
while conducting search and sweep operations in the Akun Kale,
Gamon Bridge, Rangeela, Khazana, Wakilabad, Baiddarra and Garai
areas. Security forces destroyed the Jawad Hotel in Nishat
Square of Mingora, owned by a suspected militant.

June 25, Lower Dir: Security forces conducted a search
operation in the area around Zhoaib post and Lal Qila.

June 25, Buner: Militants killed a policeman after abducting
him while on his way home in Elum, near Bhai Kalay.

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June 25, Malakand: More than 100 elders of Alladhan and Dherai
areas held a jirga at the office of the DCO promising to
cooperate to flush out militants.

NWFP ) Hazara Division
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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 Abbottabad, Battagram, Haripur, Kohistan and
Mansehra.

June 19, Mansehra: Political authorities in Kala Dhaka
demolished the homes of two locals suspected of harboring
militants from Shangla.

June 21, Haripur: Security forces reportedly arrested members
of the family of Swat TTP chief Fazlullah.

June 22, Battagram: Two people, including a policeman, were
killed and seven others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his
explosive-laden car into a police check post on Karakoram
Highway.

NWFP ) Mardan Division
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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.

June 20, Mardan: Police were able to stop an attempt to blow up
the Jalalabad police post in Rustam and defused a 10 kg
improvised explosive device (IED).

June 24, Mardan: Inadequate relief efforts for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) are allowing militant groups to operate
in camps and communities housing hundreds of thousands of people
displaced by an offensive against the Taliban, according to an
international aid group. Jihadi groups "distribute assistance"
on Fridays and Saturdays at the camps, prompting the
Washington-based group to suspend its visits on those days.

NWFP ) Peshawar Division
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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.

June 20, Peshawar: A police officer was killed when the two
people he arrested were able to free themselves and shoot him.

June 22, Peshawar: Militants blew up a girls' primary school at
Mashogagar. Separately, a truce was reportedly being brokered
between the Darra Adam Khel Taliban and the Qaumi Laskhar of
Adezai (on the outskirts of Peshawar city).

June 24, Peshawar: Militants killed three policemen, including
an officer, in rocket and mortar attacks at Arbab Tapo check
post near Matani Police Station.

June 25, Peshawar: Police killed one kidnapper and arrested two
others in an exchange of fire near Inqilab Road Badabher.
Separately, the Qaumi Lashkar of Adezai confiscated property of
alleged Taliban supporters as punishment for carrying weapons in
the Mattani police area. A laskhar member alleged that local
Taliban, with the support of the Darra Adam Khel-based Taliban,
were trying to increase their movements in the outskirts of
Peshawar.

June 25, Nowshera: A law enforcement agency claimed to have

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arrested two militant commanders disguised as IDPs in a raid on
a local school in the Kheshgi area. The militants changed their
appearance by trimming their beards and hair and were living
with their families settled in the school camp. Separately,
motorway police spotted an explosive device and called the bomb
disposal squad from Peshawar. The bomb disposal squad defused
the explosive device.

NWFP ) Kohat Division
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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.

June 19, Kohat: Police arrested 14 suspected militants and
seized arms during operations in the villages of Kharmatoo,
Jarma, Bahawalnagar, Dheri Banda, Tor Dhand, Zara Mela,
Bilitang, Togh, Sayyab and Chorlakki.

June 20, Kohat: Militants destroyed two power pylons with
explosives in the Tugh area, disrupting electricity to the area.

June 23, Hangu: Militants killed an officer of the Kohat Elite
Force and abducted two people at gunpoint.

NWFP ) Bannu Division
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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.

June 24, Lakki Marwat: Residents of a village formed a peace
committee to improve law and order, while the District Police
Officer (DPO) arrested 83 suspected criminals.

June 25, Lakki Marwat: The DPO asked elders of the Takhti Khel
area to hand over criminals to law-enforcement agencies and
implement a ban on the display of arms. The DCO said the elders
should ensure that miscreants did not enter the area from
adjacent tribal regions.

NWFP ) Dera Ismail Khan Division
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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. Dera Ismail Khan
Division includes the districts of D.I. Khan and Tank.

June 20, Dera Ismail Khan: Security forces opened fire on an
official vehicle, killing a driver for the Forest Department and
injuring a Forest Department official.

June 22, Dera Ismail Khan: Unknown attackers killed a local
cobbler at his shoe shop.

June 23, Dera Ismail Khan: A bodyguard killed Qari Zainuddin, a
vocal opponent of TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud and leader of the
Abdullah Mehsud Group (AMG) at his residence (ref. B).
Baitullah Mehsud's deputy and spokesman Wali Rehman claimed TTP
responsibility for killing Zainuddin.

June 24, Tank: One member each from the TTP and AMG groups were
killed in a clash in Tank bazaar. The dead militants were
identified as Yusuf and Zahir Khan.

June 24, Dera Ismail Khan: Misbahuddin Mehsud, the younger
brother of Qari Zainuddin and new chief of the AMG, said that
his men would continue fighting against Baitullah Mehsud until
he was killed. The 23-year-old stated his "strong support" for
the ongoing military operation in Waziristan. Separately,
unidentified gunmen killed Muhammad Farooq, the general

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secretary of the Minhajuul Quran Foundation, a peaceful group
belonging to the Brailvi school of thought, and injured his
brother. The gunmen reportedly stormed into Farooq's home and
shot him.

June 25, Dera Ismail Khan: Gunmen killed an inspector of the
Intelligence Bureau and injured another when they opened fire on
a Peshawar-bound bus on Dera University Road. Eyewitnesses said
the gunmen were searching for someone who was not among the
travelers when they fired at the vehicle.

Northern FATA
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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 19, Bajaur: Militants blew up two boys' schools and a
college with locally-made bombs. Frontier Corps troops claimed
to kill over a dozen militants after being ambushed while
returning to their post after a routine patrol near Mattak, in
Charmang valley; two soldiers and two civilians also died and
three soldiers were injured. A member of the Levies was injured
when a mine exploded in Mamond tehsil. Security forces defused
another bomb in Haji Lawang.

June 19, Mohmand: Four civilians were injured when mortar
shells hit their houses in Khwazi Baizai tehsil. Security
forces claimed to arrest 47 wanted persons. Troops secured
Mohmand Gate, Nawpass, Ghungat, Kuz and Chamarkand, destroying
three militant hideouts and seizing three mortar shells in Upper
Mohmand. Security forces also claim to have destroyed two
centers used as training camps and recovered 20 shells of 75 MM
recoilless rifles and three rifles.

June 19, Khyber: Militants and security forces fought for over
an hour after a security forces' check post came under attack in
Dalkhat. No casualties were reported. Separately, Khasadar
forces arrested an Afghan national and two locals attempting to
sell heavy weapons in Landi Kotal bazaar.

June 20, Bajaur: Militants ambushed a convoy of security forces
in Hilal Khel, killing an army major and a soldier, while
wounding six. Security forces claim to have killed seven
militants and wounded five others in an operation in Charmang
and arrested Gul Zarin, a lieutenant of Bajaur TTP chief Maulvi
Faqir Mohammad, during a search at a check post in the Omarai
area of Momand tehsil.

June 20, Khyber: Mortar shells fired during combat between
militants and security forces wounded two women and three
children in Khogakhel area..

June 21, Bajaur: The military used jets and artillery attacked
suspected Taliban hideouts in the Taliban stronghold of Banda in
Salarzai, 33 kilometers from Khar. They reported killing 27
militants, including a key Taliban commander.

June 22, Bajaur: Militants blew up a girls primary school in
Chakori area of Khar tehsil. The political administration later
detained 20 tribesmen and issued a two-day deadline to the
Salarzai tribesmen to force militants to leave their areas or
face an operation. Five security personnel were injured when a
remote controlled bomb hit a convoy in Charmang tehsil.

June 22, Mohmand: Militants ambushed a patrol and killed two
security personnel in Mullagori.

June 22, Khyber: Militants killed a Khasadar and injured
another in Jamrud.

June 24, Bajaur: The Taliban fired six missiles at Khar bazaar,
killing one person and injuring four others. Security forces
retaliated against suspected Taliban hideouts, attacking them

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with heavy weapons.

June 25, Mohmand: An explosive device planted in the wall of a
house exploded, killing six, including two children.

Southern FATA
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13. (SBU) The following is a roundup of incidents of
talibanization and government and community response in the
Orakzai, Kurram, and North and South Waziristan Agencies of the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions
south of the Khyber Agency:

June 19, South Waziristan: Pakistani military forces bombarded
positions by militants supporting Baitullah Mehsudand moved
ground troops to secure key positions needed for a coming
campaign against Mehsud areas of South Waziristan. The military
bombed two compounds, three madrassas and a suspected training
camp, killed or wounded several insurgents. Separately,
hundreds of Wazir tribesmen took to the streets of Wana after
Friday prayers to protest alleged U.S. drone strikes.

June 19, FR Bannu: Suspected militants fired five rockets at
homes in Palosa village, killing a Khasadar. A jirga of elders
of the Jani Khel tribe decided to accept all conditions set by
the government if it halted the ongoing operation in the area.

June 20, South Waziristan: Militants killed six soldiers.
Security forces, backed by two jetfighters and two gunship
helicopters, attacked militant positions between Tanai and
Sarwakai, claiming to have killed 32 militants. Troops set
shops and other commercial property on fire in the town of Mauli
Khan Serai, on the Wana-Jandola road. Locals said that three
restaurants, a petrol pump and several shops were destroyed.
Separately, militants fired three rockets at a Frontier Corps
(FC) camp in Wana; FC fired artillery in response, targeting
installations affiliated with Wazir commander Maulavi Nazir.

June 20, FR Bannu: A grand jirga of the Baka Khel tribe
declared it would not provide shelter to Taliban fighters in the
area.

June 21, South Waziristan: Security forces, backed by jets and
gunship helicopters, killed 12 people and wounded eight. The
government arrested several elders and confiscating their
property under the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

June 21, Kurram: Eight people, including two women and an
infant girl, were killed, and 10 others injured, in clashes
between tribesmen from Balishkhel and Sadda.

June 22, South Waziristan: Militants led by Baitullah Mehsud
fought security forces attempting to secure the important
Wana-Jandola Road. 21 people, four of them tribesmen, were
killed in bombing by warplanes and gunship helicopters.
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter planes and gunship helicopters
of the Army continued attacking suspected militant positions in
villages including Makeen, Barwand, Torwam, Srarogha and Tiarza.

June 22, FR Bannu: A rocket fired from the Jani Khel area of FR
Bannu into Bannu district killed three persons, including two
women. Pakistani military bombarded the Jani Khel area in
response.

June 22, Kurram: Four security force personnel were kidnapped
while five militants were killed in Lower Kurram. Separately,
three tribesmen were killed and five injured in more tribal
fighting. A jirga was unable to reach a ceasefire agreement to
stop the sectarian fighting and was suspended.

June 22, FR Kohat: Militants in Shin Dhand publicly executed a
tribesman whom they alleged had killed his daughter-in-law.
Separately, security forces arrested sixteen suspected militants
in Shin Dhand and neighboring Kohat settled district. Militants
also fired rockets at a check post at Kotal Pass in Darra Adam

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Khel; security forces returned fire.

June 23, South Waziristan: All national newspapers headlined a
reported U.S. drone strike that killed 80 people, including TTP
senior commander Khwaz Wali Mehsud. The two attacks reportedly
took place in Lattaka village of Ladkha tehsil. Baitullah
Mehsud lieutenant Qari Hussain and prominent Afghan Taliban
commander Maulvi Sangeen also may have been killed in the
missile attack. (Note: TTP spokesman Mufti Waliur Rehman
denied reports about both deaths.)

June 23, Orakzai: Militants, in the presence of tribesmen,
amputated the hands of a man charged with theft, in compliance
with a punishment ordered by a "taliban court."

June 24, Kurram: At least 17 people were killed and 32 others
injured in clashes between Sunni and Shi'a tribes, primarily in
Lower Kurram. Tribal elders of the Turi Bangash tribe pledged
to fully support the government if they launched a military
operation in the area.

June 25, South Waziristan: Militants blew up a girls' high
school in Shin Warsak town.

June 25, Orakzai: Security forces targeted militant hideouts in
Lower Orakzai from gunship helicopters and claimed to kill eight
militants.

June 25, Kurram: Eight more people died in clashes between
rival factions. Some Turi (Shi'a) residents asked that the
government raise a Turi lashkar to deal with the growing
influence of militants in the area.

June 25, FR Bannu: Tribal elders of Ahmadzai Wazir tribes held
a jirga with the political administration and said that they
would weed out terrorists from the area.
TRACY