Pakistan - South Waziristan offensive

Army claims 60 Taliban killed in Waziristan offensive

Article published on the 2009-10-18 Latest update 2009-10-19 07:58 TU

A family flees the South Waziristan offensive
(Photo: Reuters)

The Pakistani military claims to have killed 60 Taliban fighters in its offensive in South Waziristan. But it has encountered stiff resistance. The army has fielded about 28,000 troops and puts the number of hard-core Taliban at about 10,000, although other estimates put Taliban strength at double that figure.

"In last 24 hours, reportedly 60 terrorists have been killed in operation Rah-e-Nijat," the military said in a statement. "Casualties of security forces are five soldiers (dead) and 11 are injured."

The figures are impossible to verify since access to the area is restricted.

The military operation, code-named Rah-i-Nijat (path to deliverance), has come up against Taliban armed with rockets and heavy weapons at Sharwanagi, an area of thick forest in the mountains.

Fighter-jets pounded rebel positions in the three-pronged push against an area largely controlled by the Mehsud tribe of current Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who has took from Baitullah Mehsud after he was killed earlier this year.

"The army has blocked all entry and exit points to Waziristan," army spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas told Pakistani television.

Commanders predict that the offensive will last six to eight weeks. It needs to be over before the onset of winter snows. Analysts believe the army faces a tougher task than this summer's offensive against the Taliban in Swat valley.

As well as the Pakistani Taliban, there are believed to be about 1,500 Al-Qaeda-linked foreigners, most of them Uzbeks, in the area. Pakistani officials allege that 80 per cent of the country's terror attacks have been carried out by people from the area.

About 100,000 of South Waziristan's 500,000-strong population have fled the offensive. UN refugee officials say that over 3,000 families, or 21,000 people, have registered with them over the last five days. Government representatives say that the number could grow to 200,000.