Operation Rah-e-Rast

[Xeric]

Please add all news and updates regarding Op RR here

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http://www.geo.tv/8-15-2009/47629.htm

Police seize suicide jacket, explosives in Buner

Updated at: 0251 PST, Saturday, August 15, 2009
Police seize suicide jacket, explosives in Buner BUNER: Police on Friday claimed to have recovered suicide jacket and explosive materials from a house following police raid and arrested a suspected person from here, Geo news said.

The District Police Officer (DPO) Buner Rasheed Khan said police got information about a suspected house in Buner on Friday evening. Consequently, the house was raided.

As a result, the house owner has been arrested and recovery of suicide jacket with other explosive materials, he added.

He said bomb-making formulae; explosive-laden suitcase, detonators, documents and other materials were seized during the raid.

[Xeric]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...t_11931297.htm

40 suspects held in NW Pakistan search operation

www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-23 18:25:15

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Security forces have arrested militants from various areas of Swat in northwestern Pakistan while houses of two commanders have been destroyed.

The private Geo quoted sources as saying that the security forces arrested 40 suspects during the search operation in Beshbund, an area of Charbagh tehsil in Swat while houses of two extremist commanders in the area of Sertaligram were destroyed.

Meanwhile, two extremists surrendered themselves to the forces in Gul Jabba, an area of tehsil Kabal.

All markets and bazaars in Mingora, the main town of Swat, are open Sunday despite the weekly holiday.

Curfew has been relaxed in various areas of the district.

Curfew will be relaxed up to 21:00 (1500GMT) in Mingora, Kabal and Kanju, up to 18:00 (1300GMT) in Khwazakhela, Matta, Warshkhela, Peochar and Madyan.

[Xeric]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/as...attack.foiled/

Pakistan foils suicide terror plot, minister says

updated 1 hour, 41 minutes ago

From Samson Desta

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani forces in the last month foiled a planned attack on the parliament building, the intelligence agency and other federal institutions, the country's interior minister told CNN Sunday.
Pakistan's parliament building was one target of a planned attack, an official says.

Pakistan's parliament building was one target of a planned attack, an official says.

In the last four weeks, authorities arrested three men with suicide vests who were plotting to carry out the attacks, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Malik would not say exactly when the men were caught.

Pakistan is in the midst of an intense military offensive against Taliban militants. The militants are suspected of launching attacks inside Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan from their haven in the mountainous tribal region along the northwestern border.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber in volatile northwestern Pakistan killed at three people and wounded 15 others, police said.

The bombing rocked the Pakistani city of Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province.

The incident took place when police approached a man acting suspiciously. The man ran away, police chased him and a gunfight ensued. The man ran out of bullets and blew himself up.

Two women and seven children were among the injured. Remains of the alleged attacker were found, police said. Five houses were destroyed.

The incident follows a car bombing on Saturday in Peshawar that killed two people, including the spokesman for an extremist group called Ansar ul Islam. Two suspects are in custody.

Malik said Sunday the government's anti-Taliban operations will continue during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month considered to be a time of peace.

Militants in North Waziristan, part of the tribal region, have said they will observe a unilateral ceasefire throughout the month.

"There will not be a ceasefire during Ramadan. We are not interested in a ceasefire," Malik said. "They haven't kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban."

Malik also said the Taliban killed the father-in-law of its leader Baitullah Mehsud and several other relatives, accusing them of leaking information about his whereabouts.

Pakistan and U.S. officials contend Mehsud was killed in an August 5 drone attack in Waziristan at his father-in-law's house.

The Taliban claims Mehsud is alive but ill.

[Xeric]

http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.as...release&id=839

Update Operation (Rah e Rast) 25th August 2009

1. Search operations continue in Swat and Malakand.

2. Swat
1. 11 local persons (who were forced to get terrorist training) voluntarily surrendered to security forces at Bar Shaur near Chuprial.
2. Security forces conducted search operation at Asharbanr near Khawazakhela and killed 1 terrorist and apprehended 1.
3. c. Security forces conducted search operation at Taghan, Bishbanr near Gat and killed 2 terrorists.
4. Local lashkar demolished 3 houses of terrorists at Manja near Tutan Banda.
5. Security forces conducted search operation at Kala Kalle and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition.
6. Security forces conducted search operation at village Saltan, Barjabar near Kanju and apprehended 6 suspects.

3. Dir. More than 80 percent IDPs have vacated the 250 Host IDP Schools in Lower Dir and returned to their homes.

4. Relief Activities.
1. 23 truck of Atta have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.
2. 267,268 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.

[Neo]

Pakistan: Military launches new offensive in tribal belt

Peshawar, 26 August (AKI/DAWN) - Jets and helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan on Wednesday in a fresh assault on the Taliban in the lawless tribal belt.

The bombardment in the northwestern region comes after the Taliban confirmed the death of Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and as analysts urged Pakistan to exploit apparent rifts in the militant leadership.

The strikes occured about 40 kilometres east of South Waziristan's main town Wana, security and military officials said.

A handful of troops and militants were killed in the bombing and clashes.

"This is basically a road clearance operation. Gunships and heavy artillery are taking part. Jet fighters also bombed their positions,’ a military official said.

A security official said paramilitary forces were clearing about 20 kilometres of road from South Waziristan to the neighbouring Dera Ismail Khan district to make it secure for paramilitary and military movement.

"We are facing some minor resistance, militants are firing rockets and using other weapons," the security official said.

Pakistan in late April launched an offensive against the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley and claims to have eliminated militants there.

[Xeric]

http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.as...release&id=843

Update Operation (Rah e Rast) 28 August 2009

1.　　 Search and clearance operations are continuing in Swat and Malakand.

2.　　 Swat

a. A suspect was handed over by locals of village Khazana to security forces at Zara Khela.

b. Security forces carried out search operation between Ningulai and Kanju and killed 2 terrorists.

c. Security forces apprehended 3 suspects during search operation at Kukrai and Dangram.

d. Security forces carried out search operation at Alamganj near Waliabad and recovered 22 Bombs of 60 mm Mortar and apprehended 1 terrorist from Gulibagh.

e. Security forces carried out search operation at Madial and demolished 2 bunkers found near Madial ridge.

3. DIR. Security forces carried search operation near Maidan and destroyed a terrorists hideout and 2 houses.

4. Relief Activities. 273,123 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.

[Xeric]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,544300,00.html

Pakistani Army Destroys Suicide Bomber Training Camp

Saturday, August 29, 2009

ISLAMABAD — Helicopter gunships destroyed a training camp for suicide bombers in northwestern Pakistan's troubled Swat Valley overnight, killing six suspected Taliban fighters, the army said Saturday.

The camp's trainees — including teenagers — were responsible for at least three attacks in recent weeks, an army spokesman said.

The raid on the training facility, located on a small island in the Swat River opposite the town of Charbagh, came Friday night after local residents tipped off security forces of its location, according to Lt. Col. Akhtar Abbas, the army spokesman in Swat.

Intelligence reports linked the camp to attacks that killed a total of 10 soldiers and civilians this month, he said. Two of the attacks took place last weekend near Mingora, the valley's main town, and another was earlier this month in a more remote area.

"We have been working to find their source, and today we destroyed that source," Abbas told The Associated Press.

Abbas said another six militants were killed in two separate operations elsewhere in Swat. In one operation, five Taliban fighters were killed, including a close aid to a high-ranking Taliban commander, Shah Doraan.

The officer said military operations were weakening the Taliban, and that many had chosen to turn themselves in rather than fight.

"With every day passing, the noose is being tightened around them, and that's why more and more of them are opting to surrender," Abbas said.

Separately, the army said it had arrested another 11 suspected militants in separate search operations in the region.

Security forces have been winding down a nearly three-month offensive to dislodge the Taliban from the Swat Valley and surrounding areas, but sporadic clashes continue. The army has also been accused of carrying out extra-judicial killings of suspected Taliban and then dumping their bodies on streets in towns around Swat. Security forces have strongly denied the allegations.

The United Nations said this past week that about 1.5 million people who had fled fighting in the wider region were returning home, and the World Health Organization said it was concerned about providing health support for them.

Authorities also have been battling militants in Pakistan's lawless and remote tribal belt along its northwestern border with Afghanistan.

Two intelligence and a government official said one militant was killed and another captured during an attack on a security checkpoint that wounded a soldier in the North Waziristan tribal region.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to media, said an unspecified number of militants in a car attacked the checkpoint on a main road linking the area to South Waziristan, the heartland of Taliban.

Police were investigating the possible Al Qaeda links of 12 suspected foreign militants arrested Friday on the edge of the tribal area, after they allegedly sneaked into the country from Iran, Punjab provincial police official Mohamad Rizwan said.

"One thing is certain, that they are terrorists," Rizwan said.

The men from Sudan, Russia, Turkey and Iran were arrested in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan, said Hassan Iqbal, a district official. Police also seized a laptop computer and $10,000 from the men, he said.

The detainees "had links with Taliban" and wanted to go to Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, Iqbal said, without giving further details.

South Waziristan is a stronghold of former Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed by a CIA missile strike earlier this month.

Pakistan has deployed more than 100,000 troops in the tribal regions since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Authorities have arrested about 1,000 Taliban and Al Qaeda suspects over the past few years, including senior aides to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Al-Zawahri, in a video posted Thursday on Islamic militant Web sites, said a Pakistani offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley was doomed to fail. He urged Pakistanis to "back the jihad (holy war) and mujahedeen" with fighters, money and support.

[Xeric]

http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.as...release&id=844

Update Operation (Rah e Rast) 29th August 2009

1. Search and clearance operations are continuing in Swat and Malakand.
2. Swat
a. Security forces conducted search operation at a village Gul and Gul Shah near Sam Shin and destroyed 3 terrorists houses, 2 bunkers and apprehended 4 terrorists.
b. Security forces demolished the hideout of a known terrorist Rasheed at Chinala.
c. Security forces carried out search operation at village Dandial near Thakot and killed terrorist Khurshid.
d. Security forces carried out search operation at Banpur Sar near Tiligram and apprehended 7 suspects from Barpursar.
e. Security forces carried out search operation at Thana area and killed 5 terrorists during exchange fire.
3. DIR. Security forces carried out search operation at village Sripao, Nambatai near Lal Qila and recovered 15 kg explosive including IED accessories from a mosque.
4. Relief Activities. 275,283 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.

[Xeric]

http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.as...release&id=845

Update Operation (Rah e Rast) 30 August 2009

1. Search and clearance operations are continuing in Swat and Malakand.

2. Swat

a. Security forces conducted search operation at Ahingro Derai and apprehended 20 suspects.

b. Security forces conducted search operation at Saidabad, Panr near Mingora and apprehended 9 suspects.

c. Security forces conducted search operation at Bampur Sar, Sar Colony, Minglour, Banjot and Sabar Shah and apprehended 6 suspects.

d. Security forces conducted search operation at village Garai near Fatehpur and apprehended 2 terrorists.

e. Security forces conducted search operation at Loe Namal and recovered cache of arms and IED making accessories.

f. Security forces conducted search operation at Shin Kad area near Tiligram and apprehended 4 suspects.

g. Security forces conducted search operation at Kanju,Kabbal and apprehended 3 suspects.

h. A terrorist voluntarily surrendered to security forces at Chakdarra Fort.

3. DIR. Security forces carried out search operation at Lamatai and Suripao and recovered cache of arms and ammunition.

4. Relief Activities. 277,056 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.

[Xeric]

http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_13239347

Pakistan army kills 45 Taliban; border reopens
By The Associated Press
Posted: 08/31/2009 09:55:48 AM PDT


ISLAMABAD - Pakistani soldiers killed at least 45 Taliban militants in scattered gunbattles across the northwestern Swat Valley after a suicide bombing on a police station killed 17 cadets, the army said Monday.

Hundreds of miles (kilometers) away, a southwestern border crossing with Afghanistan reopened after an administrative dispute culminated in an attack on a line of waiting NATO fuel tankers. One driver was killed and 16 trucks destroyed when the fuel caught fire.

Taliban militants were suspected in both the police station bombing and the attack on the trucks, which came hours apart.

The insurgents have vowed to avenge the army's recent offensive to retake the Swat Valley and the death of their top leader in a U.S. missile strike near the Afghan border in early August.

Sunday's suicide bombing in Swat was the deadliest attack since the military regained control of the northwestern region in July.

Soldiers looking for militants after the attack encountered resistance in several areas, and battles that raged into early Monday left 30 dead, army spokesman Col. Akhtar Abbas said.

Separate army statements Monday said 15 more militants were killed in security sweeps of five other areas over the previous 24 hours and two soldiers had died.

It was not possible to independently confirm the death toll provided by the army.

The military has said it is restoring security in Swat after its three-month offensive ended the Taliban's rule over many areas there. But suicide attacks and skirmishes continue.

The death toll in Sunday's suicide attack rose to 17 on Monday as one of the wounded died, local hospital official Ikram Khan said. The bomber sneaked into a police courtyard in the valley's main town of Mingora and detonated his explosives next to a group of volunteers training for a community policing force.

The other bomb, near the border crossing, ripped through a line of NATO fuel trucks backed up by a two-day closure resulting from a dispute over fruit inspections. At least one driver was killed and 16 trucks destroyed on the Pakistani side of the Chaman crossing, police official Gul Mohammad said.

The border crossing reopened Monday, he said.

Chaman is one of two main crossing points for supplies for American and NATO troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. The foreign troops get about 75 percent of their supplies through Pakistan.

Pakistani customs officials said their increased and lengthy inspections of Afghan trucks carrying pomegranates and grapes prompted Afghan officials to close the border.

Officials had warned the closure was a security risk because it left nearly 1,000 trucks, many of them carrying supplies to international troops, exposed. The Taliban's Afghan heartland of Kandahar is just across the border.

Customs and security officials from both sides agreed to end their dispute Monday, Mohammad said.