Makeen, PAKISTAN – Pakistan’s army continues to wage a simmering war of attrition here in the tribal badlands of Waziristan that are the bastion for Taliban extremists and foreign fighters.
The army’s frontier forces have endured steady losses since they began the offensive here in October, according to commanders interviewed by a Washington Examiner reporter granted a rare visit to the region.
American officials have been critical of Pakistan’s efforts to root out Taliban insurgents in Southern Waziristan, and to hunt down top al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, suspected of using the region as a hideaway.
Pakistani officials were at pains during this week’s visits to show a war being actively prosecuted. Mortar fire boomed across the mountaintops as the 82 Punjab regiment of the Frontier Forces skirmished with scattered terrorist factions that Pakistani military officials said continue to launch hit-and-run attacks.
Along the western mountain ridge, smoke billowed from the crevasses as other Pakistani troops were clearing homes and setting fire to hidden ammunition discovered by soldiers. More than 600 troops were engaged in patrols along a mountainside.
The village of Makeen, near the border with North Waziristan, was the family home of Baitullah Mehsud, the leading Taliban commander in Pakistan, who was killed in a CIA missile strike in August. Mehsud, 35, and one of his two wives died when a Hellfire missile fired by a U.S. drone struck his father-in-law’s house near here.
Makeen has been empty of civilians since the fighting began in October. It is also common for the tribes to naturally migrate in the cold winter months, Pakistani soldiers said as they discussed the effects the war on terrorism have had in their own personal lives and on their country.
“Our complete army is fighting this war,” said a commander, whose name is being withheld at the request of the Pakistani government to protect his family from terrorist retaliation. “In all of FATA [Federally Administrated Tribal Area] we are fighting terrorism. We have lost many good officers and men, but this is what we must do for the survival of our country.”
More than 3,000 Uzbek and foreign fighters were confronted by the Pakistani military in the October offensive, known as Operation Rahi Nijat, which is considered to be one of the military’s most successful operations against the Taliban extremists. The total number of Taliban fighters in the full Southern Waziristan offensive is believed to be 10,000.
The Taliban groups unified by Mehsud have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Pakistan, officials said. His followers continue to use suicide bombings throughout Pakistan. Mehsud’s followers were believed to be behind the killing of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
According to U.S. and Pakistani counterterrorism officials, Mehsud also trained hundreds of child suicide bombers.
On Thursday, authorities said a homemade bomb believed to have been placed by Taliban sympathizers killed four people and injured many more at a checkpoint in Peshawar, one of the gateways into the tribal areas.
The death of Bhutto remains a rallying cry for Pakistani troops here.
“There are innocent Pashtu people caught up in this mess,” said a young major, whose name is also being withheld because of continuing retaliation. “We don’t plan on leaving after the people return and we’ll continue to fight the terrorists who try to make this their safe haven.”
