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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 PESHAWAR 000518 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/20/2018 
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP: INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION: OCTOBER 16 - 31 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne M. Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate 
Peshawar, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
Introduction: 
------------- 
 
¶1. (C) While fighting remained intense in Pakistan's Northwest 
Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas 
(FATA), there were some positive developments during the last 
two weeks of October.  Security forces continued to press 
militants in Bajaur during late October, killing 143 and 
bringing the told killed during the operation to over 1000 
according to Pakistan military, apparently forcing militants, at 
the end of the month, to seek a ceasefire which the government 
refused. 
 
¶2. (C) Lashkars and jirgas continued to form in the NWFP and 
FATA as a consensus seemed to form in several areas that 
militants must be confronted.  The Pak-Afghan jirga in Islamabad 
on October 27-28 called for a joint strategy to bring peace, 
including talks with militants in their respective areas of 
control, with a view to denying sanctuaries for terrorists. 
 
¶3. (C) On October 16, there was a hopeful sign for an end to the 
sectarian violence in Kurram.  A grand jirga of 
parliamentarians, tribal elders and the political administration 
brokered a peace deal to end 17 months of war between Shi'a and 
Sunni sects in the agency.  The deal calls for an exchange of 
bodies, opening of roads, and the return of people to their 
homes. 
 
Swat:  One-Year of Fighting; No End in Sight 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The fighting continued in Swat without significant 
progress for GOP forces while casualties were inflicted by both 
sides during late October.  Although security forces killed at 
least 128 militants, the militants continued their "hit-and-run" 
tactics throughout the valley, killing at least 20 security 
personnel.  Many of the attacks were air or artillery based with 
other low level fighting accounting for most of the activity 
reported.  This may be a reflection of the current lack of 
ground forces available from GOP forces for the Swat operation. 
 
October 16: At least four security personnel were killed and 28 
others wounded when a police station in Mingora came under 
rocket attack, followed by a suicide bombing. 
 
October 17:  Jets fired 15 to 20 missiles at militant training 
camps in Jaro Banda, 10 km from the militant headquarters at 
Peochar, in Matta tehsil, killing at least 60 militants. 
Militants also hit a security convoy, injuring two, and 
destroyed a girls' school. 
 
October 18:  Security forces reportedly took control of Imam 
Dheri, hometown of Maulana Fazlullah, without resistance. 
 
October 19:  25 militants and 22 civilians were reportedly 
killed as fighter jets bombed a Matta village controlled by 
militants, also damaging a dozen houses. 
 
October 20:  Government fired artillery shells hit a residential 
area in Kabal tehsil, killing at least seven civilians, 
including a woman and two children, and injuring 13 others. 
 
October 21:  Security forces reportedly killed five militants. 
A remote-controlled bomb killed two security personnel in 
Sarsinai.  10 others were injured in fighting. 
 
October 22:  Fierce fighting left 15 security personnel dead, 
along with five militants and two civilians.  Militants killed 
the 15 security forces in an ambush in Kabal tehsil. 
 
October 23:  Militants beheaded a police officer in Charbagh. 
 
October 24:  Militants reportedly killed two people, including a 
Frontier Corps soldier, and lashed three people for not offering 
prayers on time. 
 
October 25:  At least five persons were killed and 15 others 
 
PESHAWAR 00000518  002 OF 006 
 
 
wounded in separate incidents in Swat, including one beheading. 
A college was also torched by militants. 
 
October 26:  A tribal force and militants loyal to radical 
cleric Maulana Fazlullah fought, resulting in five militants 
killed and 12 jirga members executed. 
 
October 27:  A paramilitary soldier, 10 militants and two 
civilians were reportedly killed, while militants claimed to 
execute two more hostages. 
 
October 28:  Five civilians were killed and 21 injured in 
shelling on the Kabal area while militants blew up another 
girls' high school in Odigram, near Mingora. 
 
October 30:  Security forces killed more ten militants and 
injured two others during operations in various areas of Kabal 
Tehsil. 
 
October 31:  Security forces claimed to kill four militants and 
injure nine others in different parts of Swat.  Security forces 
also moved into Sarasenai, in Kabal tehsil, vacated by militants 
after talks with a jirga from Kanju convinced them to leave.  A 
report from Dawn, an English language daily, stated that 
militants had made 140 schools unusable in the last year, mostly 
in Mata tehsil. 
 
Bajaur:  Government Has Militants "On the Run" 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5. (C)  Security forces claim to inflict significant casualties 
on militants in Bajaur and have captured the strategic town of 
Lowi Sam a previous militant strong hold.  Some militants in the 
area agreed to lay down their arms.  A local Jirga agreed that 
anyone sheltering foreigners would be fined, their home would be 
destroyed and their property would be confiscated. 
 
October 16:  Security forces claimed to kill seven militants in 
daylong shelling by artillery and gunship helicopters in Nawagai 
tehsil.  Volunteers of tribal lashkars and officials of the 
political administration also torched several militant houses. 
 
October 17:  Security forces claimed that militants were "on the 
run" as they fled their positions in the Lowi Sam and Charmang 
areas, abandoning some of their weapons.  Security forces 
reportedly killed 15 militants.  Militants burned down the home 
of a Levy official. 
 
October 18:  Airstrikes reportedly killed 13 militants in 
Nawagai and Mamond.  Dozens of houses were also destroyed.  The 
TTP stated that their offer to negotiate was still valid, but 
they would not lay down their arms. 
 
October 19:  Security forces reportedly killed 11 militants and 
wounded eight others in air strikes. 
 
October 20:  Jet fighters and gunship helicopters targeted 
militants in Charmang and Nawagai, reportedly killing 15. 
 
October 21:  Security forces claimed to capture the Lowi Sam 
area, a militant stronghold, reportedly killing 13 militants. 
Schools and offices reopened in Khar, the agency headquarters. 
 
October 22:  Security forces carried out air strikes on militant 
positions and claimed to kill as many as 35 fighters. 
 
October 23:  Warplanes and gunship helicopters killed more than 
35 militants and injured several others in overnight and daylong 
bombing. 
 
October 24:  Security forces killed 14 militants in Nawagai 
tehsil. 
 
October 26:  Security forces reportedly killed 11 militants and 
injured six others. 
 
October 27:  Security forces attacked militants hideouts, 
 
PESHAWAR 00000518  003 OF 006 
 
 
reportedly killing five militants and injuring several others. 
 
October 28:  A large number of militants reportedly surrendered 
to the Mahmond tribe Lashkar. 
 
October 30:  A number of militant commanders in Bajaur attending 
a jirga of Barmakazai and Oryazai tribes reportedly expressed 
willingness to unconditionally lay down arms and stop attacks on 
government personnel and installations.  They also promised not 
to resist security forces entering the area.  The jirga agreed 
that anyone sheltering foreigners would be fined, their home 
would be destroyed and their property would be confiscated. 
 
October 31:  Six people were reportedly killed and five others 
injured during daylong shelling by jet fighter planes in Nowagai 
and Mamond tehsils.  TTP spokesman Maulvi Omer stated that their 
offer to negotiate with the government was still valid. 
 
NWFP 
---- 
 
¶6. (C) The following incidents have occurred in the Provincially 
Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and settled areas of the NWFP 
through October 31: 
 
Lower Dir, October 15:  A protest of prisoners, including 
militants, grew out of control and ended after a nine-hour 
standoff. 
 
Bannu, October 16:  Militants destroyed a police post with six 
missiles.  No police were killed or injured. 
 
Kohat, October 16:  Militants continued to fire rockets at Kohat 
cantonment, targeting security checkposts in Darra Adam Khel. 
One rocket landed near a populated area, Railway Colony. 
 
Batkhela, October 19:  Militants reportedly blew up a CD shop in 
Kharkay area of Dargai tehsil. 
 
Derra Ishmael Khan, October 24:  Militants kidnapped nine 
policemen from a checkpost in Darazinda. 
 
Charsadda, October 26:  Militants reportedly killed a woman they 
had kidnapped for "not bearing a good moral character."  The 
woman's five-year-old son was also kidnapped; his fate is 
unknown. 
 
Bannu, October 26: Armed men reportedly killed the younger 
brother of Bailullah Mehsud, head of TTP. 
 
Bannu, October 29:  A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden 
Land Cruiser into a barrier established in front of a military 
checkpost reportedly killing 14, including eight soldiers, and 
injuring six others. 
 
Mardan, October 31:  A suicide bomber blew himself up in front 
of the Mardan police chief, killing 11 people, including five 
policemen, and injuring 24 others. 
 
Peshawar, October 31:  Four armed men kidnapped the younger 
brother of Afghanistan's finance minister in Hayatabad. 
 
Lower Dir, October 31:  Paramilitary Dir Scouts reportedly 
escaped a terrorist attack when a 6 kg roadside bomb exploded 
after the convoy passed.  Elsewhere, police claimed to defuse a 
12 kg remote-controlled bomb. 
 
Derra Ishmael Khan, October 31:  Unknown militants blew up a CD 
shop near a police station. 
 
Hangu, October 31:  Militants killed a tribal chief and injured 
his driver while they were traveling to a tribal jirga. 
 
FATA: 
----- 
 
¶7. (C) The following is a roundup of incidents of talibanization 
 
PESHAWAR 00000518  004 OF 006 
 
 
in FATA's tribal agencies and frontier regions through October 
31: 
 
Khyber, October 16:  Mohmand Agency based militants led by Abdul 
Wali have demanded that the Mullagori clan of the Afrid tribe in 
Khyber allow them to use Khyber Agency as a launching pad for 
jihad. 
 
North Waziristan, October 16:  An Afghan refugee was reportedly 
beheaded, with a note pinned to his body alleging he was a U.S. 
spy. 
 
Mohmand, October 16:  Militants fired at a military helicopter. 
 
North Waziristan, October 17:  Militants reportedly stormed the 
agency headquarters hospital in Miranshah and kidnapped a 
program coordinator for the NGO, Save the Children.  Militants 
also executed an Afghan man, accusing him of spying, after 
cutting off his hands. 
 
North Waziristan, October 21:  Militants claimed to capture 30 
people who were allegedly spying for the U.S. forces in 
Afghanistan. 
 
Orakzai, October 23:  Militants killed eight pro-government 
tribesmen, returning from a jirga, in an ambush. 
 
Khyber, October 23:  Militants reportedly kidnapped six people 
in Landi Kotal.  Meanwhile, a clash in Bara left at least four 
dead. 
 
North Waziristan, October 24:  Militants reportedly beheaded two 
men after accusing them of spying. 
 
Khyber, October 25:  The political administration closed all 
educational institutions in the agency, citing deteriorating law 
and order. 
 
Mohmand, October 27:  A suicide bomber blew up his 
explosive-laden vehicle at a paramilitary checkpost in northwest 
Mohmand, reportedly killing ten and injuring five security 
personnel. 
 
Kurram, October 29:  As a sign of their recent truce, both 
tribal factions in Kurram's long-running sectarian clashes 
exchanged the remains of their dead. 
 
Mohmand, October 30:  Security forces reportedly killed five 
militants and captured a militant commander, Imran, known as 
Mansoor, an explosive expert with ties to insurgents in 
Afghanistan. 
 
FR Kohat, October 31:  Brother of taliban commander Mufti Ilyas 
was found dead in Darra Adam Khel.  Last month, his other 
brother was also found dead. 
 
Government / Military Responses: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) This is a summary of government and military responses to 
talibanization according to press reporting and consulate 
contacts through October 31: 
 
Peshawar, October 16: A spokesman for the NWFP government 
reportedly stated that the Taliban must lay down their arms 
before holding talks. 
 
Kurram, October 16:  A grand jirga of parliamentarians, tribal 
elders and the political administration brokered a peace deal to 
end 17 months of war between Shi'a and Sunni sects.  The deal 
calls for an exchange of bodies, opening of roads, and the 
return of people to their homes. 
 
South Waziristan, October 16:  Six people, including two 
foreigners, were reportedly killed, and five injured, in the 
first attack on the Mehsud inhabited Saam area, controlled by 
taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud. 
 
PESHAWAR 00000518  005 OF 006 
 
 
 
Kohat, October 16:  The police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) 
personnel reportedly arrested 40 Uzbek militants leaving Darra 
Adam Khel at the Gulshan checkpoint and the Kotal Pass, seizing 
two suicide bombing jackets. 
 
Orakzai, October 16:  The political administration gave a 
four-day deadline for a 30-member jirga of tribesmen to drive 
out miscreants and their local supporters from the area. 
 
Peshawar, October 17:  NWFP Governor Owais Ghani reportedly 
struck peace deals with militants in North and South Waziristan, 
brokered through local elders, resulting in factional divides 
among militants, including in Baitulluh Mehsud's organization in 
South Waziristan.  Former Mehsud lieutenant Hafiz Gul Bahadar 
formed a new organization called Muqami Tehreek-i-Taliban. 
 
Kohat, October 17:  The Frontier Constabulary (FC) claimed to 
arrest 94 militants at checkposts around the area. 
 
Peshawar, October 18:  Security forces arrested 168 foreigners 
throughout the region, including Uzbeks and Afghans, many of 
them suspected terrorists. 
 
Kohat, October 20-22:  Security forces reportedly arrested over 
50 militants, including two commanders, and recovered a huge 
quantity of arms in the Akhorwal area. 
 
Peshawar, October 22:  City police launched a survey of mosques 
and religious seminaries to identify locations of hardcore 
militants, particularly among Afghan refugees. 
 
Derra Ishmael Khan, October 24:  The police reportedly defused a 
bicycle bomb at the market. 
 
Islamabad, October 23:  Pakistan's government announced that it 
is planning to supply assault rifles to thousands of tribesmen 
willing to join Lashkars and take up arms against militants. 
 
Peshawar, October 30:  Police launched an operation against 
kidnappers and kidnapping rings.  At least 78 people have been 
kidnapped in the last 10 months. 
 
Khyber, October 31:  According to some tribesmen, the political 
administration has reportedly backed Mangal Bagh-led 
Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) to eliminate rival militants in Jamrud 
tehsil. 
 
South Waziristan, October 31:  Months of negotiations between 
the government and Baitullah Masud-led militants led to a 
prisoner exchange of 19 Frontier Corps soldiers and 21 militants. 
 
Grassroots Efforts to Halt Talibanization 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The following events are examples of activities taken 
by local communities to halt the spread of talibanization 
through October 31: 
 
Shangla, October 16:  A grand jirga vowed to purge the area of 
miscreants and formed a group of 700 volunteers. 
 
North Waziristan, October 17:  Local militants reportedly 
pledged not to fight Pakistani forces in the area because by 
doing so they "will be helping the Americans." 
 
Lower Dir, October 17:  One of the two Chinese engineers 
kidnapped on August 29 escaped from his captors. 
 
Swat, October 24:  A jirga of over 4,000 tribal elders gave 
militants a three-day deadline to leave the area or face a 
Lashkar. 
 
Mohmand, October 31:  Militants released three Frontier Corps 
soldiers, after a jirga.  Two were captured ten months ago, one 
in August. 
 
 
PESHAWAR 00000518  006 OF 006 
 
 
Khyber, October 31:  Local tribesmen in Landikotal reportedly 
foiled a bid to kidnap the owner of a filling station. 
TRACY