Pakistan - South Waziristan

Military advances towards Taliban heartland

Article published on the 2009-10-24 Latest update 2009-10-24 15:31 TU

Pakistani soldiers fire an anti-tank gun during a battle between Pakistani security forces and Taliban in South Waziristan
(Photo: Pakistan Government/Handout via Reuters TV)

The Pakistani army says it is advancing on the Taliban's "heartland" after capturing the key town of Kotkai overnight. Officials describe the town as "the stronghold of Taliban and the hometown of Hakimullah Mehsud", the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

"It’s a great achievement," army spokesperson Major-General Athar Abbas told RFI.

He adds that the military's offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area will now advance towards areas which are the heart of the Taliban operation there.

Ground forces had surrounded Kotkai for the last three days, they say, while jets and helicopter gunships pounded rebel positions.

The town was "infested with mines and IEDs [improvised explosive devives] and booby traps but has now been cleared, says Abbas.

As well as being Mehsud's hometown, "this was the town of a terrorist by the name of Qari Hussein, who was supposedly the mentor of all the suicide bombers.”

Abbas puts military losses during the offensive at 22 and claims that 140 Taliban have been killed.

"Kotkai was a significant milestone for the success of the army operation," correspondent Rana Jawad told RFI. "This will obviously dent the pride of the militants," he added.

The army launched the Waziristan ground offensive last Saturday with about 28,000 troops. But it encountered stiff resitance and during the week declared that progress would be slower than initially predicted. 

The country has been rocked by a series of bombings as the offensive continues. And thousands of civilians have fled the violence, although preparations to receive them were not ready before the army moved in.

However there is no information on the whereabouts of Mehsud and his top associate Qari Hussain.

"But still the fact remains that these two individual were not killed, they were not there," says Jawad, speaking from Islamabad. "They may have fled this region," he added.

At least 14 people were killed in another tribal area Saturday. Local officials said that a US drone hit a house in Damadola village in Bajaur district in the north-west of the country. But the army later said that the blast was caused by munitions being loaded onto a lorry.