Word: waziristan
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...Pakistani Taliban was thought to have been weakened when the group's former commander, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone attack on Aug. 5. Pakistani military officials have told TIME that "conditions in South Waziristan" are now ripe for a ground offensive to eliminate what remains of the Mehsud network and their allies there. But they warn that it will be "very bloody," possibly leading to further revenge attacks in Pakistan. There are an estimated 10,000 well-trained fighters still in South Waziristan, and their new leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, has warned of fresh violence. He appeared...
...bombing, the latest in a series of troubling attacks on foreign aid workers in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months, came as the Pakistani army is poised to mount a fresh ground offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area against the country's most fearsome al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants. It also followed a vow by the Pakistani Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, on Sunday to mount revenge attacks for the killing of the group's former leader in a U.S. air strike two months ago. Addressing Pakistan's parliament after the bombing, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that although security...
...Pakistan does not appear to be ready to take on the full array of militants in the region, though. The army has reaffirmed non-aggression pacts with Mullah Nazir, a commander based in South Waziristan along the Afghan border, and Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan. The Haqqani network is also expected to remain passive during the imminent army operation. While it may ease Pakistan's task in South Waziristan, the deals will afford little comfort to U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan. All three militant commanders continue to mount cross-border attacks on U.S. and NATO troops there...
...strikes may have killed two prominent al-Qaeda commanders over the past fortnight. If confirmed, the deaths would be further blows to the terrorist group. Last month, Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban and a key al-Qaeda ally, was killed in a remote part of South Waziristan. Mehsud's death has sown discord among his followers, with the new leader struggling to maintain control of the increasingly fractious alliance. The tribal areas "can no longer be described as a safe haven," says a senior Western diplomat with approval...
...follow-through has been a problem. Washington has yet to persuade Pakistan's military leadership of the need to take on what remains of the Mehsud network. While it continues to pound the area with air strikes, the Pakistan military is reluctant to mount a ground offensive in South Waziristan, citing the hazardous terrain. And in North Waziristan, Pakistan appears unwilling to confront the Haqqani network and other militants who mount cross-border attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Instead, it has focused on militants who challenge its own authority in Pakistan. (See pictures of the turmoil...