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INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 4932
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE IMMEDIATE 2017
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI IMMEDIATE 2025
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RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 5227

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 PESHAWAR 000169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  8/13/2019 
TAGS: PTER MOPS ASEC PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP:  WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, JULY 31 
AUGUST 6 
 
REF: A) ISLAMABAD 1844; B) PESHAWAR 161; C) PESHAWAR 144 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Lynne Tracy, Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate 
Peshawar, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
Introduction 
- - - - - - - 
 
¶1. (C) Conflict continued in the Malakand division - 
particularly in Swat, where the number of apparent revenge 
killings of militants doubled in relation to the previous 
reporting period.  The Pakistani government obtained 
considerable favorable publicity for the activities of two small 
lashkars raised in Sultanwas (the former militant headquarters 
in Buner) and the Qalagay and Totano Bandai union councils of 
Swat (on the border with Lower Dir).  These lashkars' activities 
have been relatively minimal, but they provide a local face for 
the anti-militant effort - important given the reluctance of 
local leaders to return to Swat (ref B).  In Shangla, violence 
in the Puran tehsil rose significantly, as security forces 
clashed with militants (who had killed a local anti-militant 
leader during the previous reporting period). 
 
¶2. (C) In North and especially South Waziristan, operations by 
the Pakistani military continued to be minimal, lending credence 
to rumors that the government was pursuing negotiations with 
Baitullah Mehsud.  Initial reports indicated that Baitullah had 
been targeted in an explosion that killed his wife on August 5; 
later reports appeared to confirm his death in that explosion 
(ref A).  In close-by Lakki Marwat, an operation to clear out 
militants from the village of Sultan Hasankhel stretched into 
its third week. 
 
¶3. (C) On August 2, police in Saidu Sharif charged 
Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) leader Sufi 
Mohammed, arrested in the previous reporting period, with 
treason.  These charges, which carry the death sentence upon 
conviction, signaled the provincial government's disinclination 
to again use Sufi Mohammad as an intermediary in negotiations 
with top Malakand militant leaders such as Fazlullah, as it had 
reportedly been pressured to do by the intelligence services 
(ref C). 
 
¶4. (SBU) An August 1 raid on a Mardan-area mosque hosting an 
illegal radio transmitter underlined the extent to which illegal 
FM radio stations were now operating in Mardan.  Local press 
described the alleged activities of two Mardan-area mullahs 
broadcasting on illegal FM stations. One, Maulavi Ikramullah, 
regularly preached against shops that stayed open on Friday, 
warning of reprisals by the militants for whom he claimed to 
speak.  The other, Maulavi Malakpuri, allegedly led a gang of 
60-70 militants who enforced Malakpuri's calls for 
taliban-compliant moral behavior by local merchants. 
 
NWFP - Malakand Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Malakand 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), where the 
Pakistani government has been conducting combat operations since 
the last week of April.  Malakand Division includes the 
districts of Malakand, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, 
Shangla, and Buner. 
 
July 31 - Swat:  The bodies of three suspected militants were 
found in various locations near Saidu Sharif. 
 
July 31 - Upper Dir:  Security forces claimed to have arrested a 
militant commander and six subordinates in Usherai Dara. 
 
July 31 - Lower Dir:  Three women were reported as injured in an 
artillery strike on suspected militant positions in Maidan area. 
 
 
August 1 - Swat:  Security forces conducted search operations in 
the Charbagh area, in which they claimed to kill two militants 
and arrest four.  In the Shalpalam area, two suspected militants 
turned themselves in to the military. 
 
August 1 - Lower Dir:   Security forces claimed to have killed 
 
PESHAWAR 00000169  002.2 OF 006 
 
 
seven militants in ongoing operations in Maidan tehsil. 
 
August 1 - Buner:  One presumed militant was injured and five 
others were injured in Batara during an internecine quarrel over 
the release of a hostage. 
 
August 2 - Swat:  Security forces claimed to kill two militants 
and arrest seven in search operations in Derai and Danda.  In 
other search operations near Gulibagh, the military arrested ten 
suspected militants.  In Shah Dheri, security forces arrested 
eight suspected militants and found a cache of explosives.  The 
body of a suspected militant was found in Saidu Sharif, and 
another apparent revenge killing victim's body was found in 
Koray area of Matta tehsil. 
 
August 2 - Shangla:  A local militant surrendered to security 
forces. 
 
August 3 - Swat:  The military conducted search operations in 
the Salampur area, arresting four suspected militants; they 
arrested nine other suspected militants in searches at various 
locations elsewhere in the district.  In a search operation in 
Charbagh, troops discovered a large arms cache in the house and 
madrassa of a local cleric. 
 
August 3 - Upper Dir:  The military claimed to kill at least 
five militants in jet airstrikes in Doog Darra. 
 
August 3 - Lower Dir:  The military reported conducting aerial 
bombardment in Maidan tehsil, but no casualties were reported. 
 
August 3 - Buner:  Police destroyed five homes of suspected 
leaders in Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammedi (TNSM). 
 
August 3 - Shangla:  Three suspected militants surrendered 
themselves to the authorities. 
 
August 3 - Malakand:  The military claimed to capture one 
suspected militant in the Dargai Killay area. 
 
August 4 - Swat:  One policeman was killed and one Frontier 
Constabulary member injured during a search operation near 
Barikot in Lower Swat; police claimed to kill six militants in 
the clash.  The military arrested eight suspected militants in a 
search operation in the Charbagh area, four others in search 
operations in Kalam and Bahrain, and two near Saidu Sharif.  The 
bodies of five suspected militants were recovered in various 
locations in Mingora in apparent revenge killings. 
 
August 4 - Shangla:  Security forces destroyed a seminary 
belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban supporter Maulana Waliullah 
Kabulgrami and 12 houses belonging to other suspected militant 
supporters in Puran tehsil.  Security forces also killed a 
suspected militant and displayed his body in the main square of 
the town of Puran.  Suspected militants destroyed the house of 
the deputy nazim of Puran tehsil in Kabulgram. 
 
August 5 - Upper Dir:  The lashkar claimed to have killed eleven 
militants in the Doog Darra area; two lashkar members and a 
policeman were wounded in the fight. 
 
August 5 - Lower Dir:  Maulana Shahid, a commander of 
Maidan-area militants, announced to the press that he was 
leaving the area to fight in Afghanistan. 
 
August 5 - Buner:  District police claimed to have killed three 
militants in a joint operation with the Frontier Constabulary in 
Chamla tehsil. 
 
August 6 - Swat:  A lashkar recently formed in the Qalagay and 
Totano Bandai region of Kabal tehsil (bordering Lower Dir) 
killed three people it claimed to be militants; in return, the 
military presented the lashkar with 50,000 rupees (USD 625), 
five rifles, and 3,000 bullets.  Security forces claimed to kill 
four militants in Samsel Bandai near Kabal and two more 
militants in a search operation in Amankot. 
 
PESHAWAR 00000169  003 OF 006 
 
 
 
August 6 - Shangla:  The military arrested six suspected 
militants from Jan Patai (near Alpurai). 
 
NWFP - Hazara Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Hazara 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to 
press and consulate contacts.  Hazara Division includes the 
districts of Abbottabad, Battagram, Haripur, Kohistan and 
Mansehra. 
 
August 2 - Mansehra:  A bomb placed outside of a CD store in 
Balakot damaged 15 shops; two people were injured in the blast. 
 
August 4 - Mansehra:  Responding to the bomb blast two days 
earlier, a meeting of clerics and other prominent residents of 
Balakot decided to form community watch groups to report 
potential militant activities; however, the committee also 
mandated that all CD shops cease to operate. 
 
August 5 - Kohistan:  Militants reportedly ambushed a military 
convoy on the Karakoram Highway, killing one soldier and 
injuring three. 
 
NWFP - Mardan Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Mardan 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to 
press and consulate contacts.  Mardan Division includes the 
districts of Mardan and Swabi. 
 
August 1 - Mardan:  Police raided a mosque in the Bagh area of 
the city, arresting one person and confiscating equipment for an 
illegal FM station operating out of the mosque.  Press reported 
that police had sought permission to also arrest the imam of the 
mosque. 
 
August 3 - Mardan: Police arrested a suspected militant 
commander and his son, supposedly pretending to be IDPs, at 
Baizai Kharkhi checkpoint. 
 
NWFP - Peshawar Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶8. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Peshawar 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to 
press and consulate contacts.  Peshawar Division includes the 
districts of Peshawar, Nowshera, and Charsadda. 
 
August 2 - Peshawar:  Unidentified armed men opened fire on 
police personnel at a checkpost on the Peshawar Ring Road at 
Islampura; two died.  Separately, police arrested 59 suspected 
militants in a search operation in the city of Peshawar. 
Security forces found the booby-trapped, beheaded body of a 
previously kidnapped prayer leader in the Badabher area (near 
Darra Adam Khel); police disarmed the bomb without casualties. 
 
August 3 - Peshawar:  A roadside bomb detonated after a police 
van passed; police reported no casualties. Separately, police 
continued their search operation in the city of Peshawar, 
arresting 39 people. 
 
NWFP - Kohat Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶9. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Kohat 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to 
press and consulate contacts.  Kohat Division includes the 
districts of Kohat, Karak, and Hangu. 
 
July 31 - Kohat:  The district government refused to give 
security clearance to the OGDCL (Pakistan's national oil and gas 
company) to drill in the Sheikhan area (bordering FR Kohat), 
 
PESHAWAR 00000169  004 OF 006 
 
 
because it could not secure the area against militant attack. 
 
August 1 - Hangu:  Four policemen were killed by a roadside bomb 
near Shinawari checkpoint.  Separately, presumed militants 
kidnapped four Kurram levies. 
 
August 2 - Hangu:  Police arrested eleven suspected militants in 
search operations in Balayamina area. 
 
August 5 - Kohat: Press reported that police arrested a small 
number of suspected militants in a search operation in the 
southern Sumari area of the district 
 
August 5 - Hangu:  Security forces in Thall tehsil arrested 
twelve suspected militants from North and South Waziristan and 
Khost province of Afghanistan, and they confiscated a cache of 
arms and ammunition. 
 
August 6 - Hangu:  Unidentified gunmen attacked the home of 
former provincial minister Ghaniur Rehman and his son, current 
MPA Attiqur Rehman 
 
NWFP - Bannu Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶10. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Bannu 
Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) according to 
press and consulate contacts.  Bannu Division includes the 
districts of Bannu and Lakki Marwat. 
 
July 31 - Lakki Marwat:  Police claimed to have recovered a 
weapons cache in Sultan Hasankhel. 
 
August 1 - Bannu:  Suspected militants destroyed a girls' school 
in Piran Daudshah. 
 
August 2 - Lakki Marwat:  Security forces destroyed the Siddiqia 
madrassa in Machenkhel, which they claimed was being used as a 
shelter by militants.  Separately, suspected militants fired on 
a police checkpost near Sultan Hasankhel village. 
 
August 3 - Lakki Marwat:  Security forces destroyed the Jamia 
Miftahul Uloom madrassa in the Bachkan Ahmedzai area, which they 
claimed was being used as a sanctuary by militants. 
 
August 4 - Bannu:  One Frontier Constabulary soldier was killed 
and five wounded when a roadside bomb was detonated against 
their vehicle. 
 
August 4 - Lakki Marwat:  A committee of displaced people from 
Sultan Hasankhel pledged to keep militants out of their village 
upon their return to it. 
 
NWFP - Dera Ismail Khan Division 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶11. (SBU) The following incidents have occurred in the Dera 
Ismail Khan Division of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) 
according to press and consulate contacts.  Dera Ismail Khan 
Division includes the districts of D.I. Khan and Tank. 
 
July 31 - Tank:  Police claimed to arrest a leader of 
Jaish-i-Mohammad in Kuch village. 
 
July 31 - Dera Ismail Khan:  The handcuffed and blindfold body 
of a Mehsud tribesman was found outside of DI Khan city. 
Separately, security forces demolished the home of another 
Mehsud tribesman suspected of links to militants. 
 
August 3 - Dera Ismail Khan:  In Kulachi tehsil, security forces 
arrested 13 people they accused of having links with South 
Waziristan militants and demolished the house of another. 
 
August 4 - Dera Ismail Khan:  Police confiscated a cache of arms 
and explosives, including suicide vests, near Sherania tribal 
area. 
 
PESHAWAR 00000169  005 OF 006 
 
 
 
August 6 - Dera Ismail Khan:  Unknown gunmen killed two 
shopkeepers rumored to be members of Sipah-i-Sahaba. 
 
Northern FATA 
- - - - - - - 
 
¶12. (C) The following is a roundup of incidents of 
talibanization and government and community response in the 
Bajaur, Mohmand, and Khyber Agencies of the Federally 
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). 
 
July 31 - Mohmand:  Unknown gunmen kidnapped a tribal elder and 
his son from their home in the Baizai tehsil.  In the Safi 
tehsil, the local lashkar demolished the home of a militant who 
refused to turn himself in to the authorities. 
 
August 1 - Bajaur:  Three FC were wounded in a roadside bomb 
explosion in the Chinar area of Charmang valley; security forces 
claimed to kill two militants and wound three others in response. 
 
August 1 - Mohmand:  Six suspected militants from the Mirza Khel 
and Shati Khel sub-tribes surrendered to authorities. 
 
August 1 - Khyber:  Security forces captured three kidnappers 
and rescued six foreign hostages in a house in the Sipah area of 
Bara tehsil.  The hostages included five Nigerians and one 
Sierra Leonean; another Nigerian hostage had apparently died. 
Security forces claimed that the arrested kidnappers had links 
with Lashkar-i-Islam (LI); an LI spokesman denied this but said 
that the men had been made prisoners because of their 
involvement in procurement of narcotics. 
 
August 3 - Bajaur:  The Frontier Corps claimed to kill three 
militants in artillery strikes in Salarzai tehsil.  A jirga of 
Salarzai elders promised authorities they would expel militants 
from their area. 
 
August 3 - Mohmand:  The lashkar in Khwaizai Bazai tehsil 
arrested twelve persons in two locations; they claimed that all 
were relatives of militants.  Suspected militants in Safi tehsil 
kidnapped five people, all of whom were reportedly relatives of 
khassadars.  Separately, the Qandahari tribe surrendered six 
suspected militants to the political authorities in Safi tehsil. 
 
August 3 - Khyber:  Six people were killed and five others 
injured in clashes between LI and rival group Ansarul Islam in 
the Tirah valley.  Separately, militants launched a rocket at an 
army/khassadar post at Lala Kandao in Jamrud tehsil; there were 
no casualties. 
 
4 August - Mohmand:  Presumed militants freed three of the five 
khassadar relatives kidnapped the previous day.  Unknown parties 
kidnapped a khassadar. 
 
August 4 - Khyber:  An improvised explosive devise was detonated 
and another disarmed near security forces positions at Lala 
Kandao in Jamrud tehsil. 
 
August 6 - Bajaur:  The Frontier Corps claimed to kill seven 
militants and injure two others in artillery strikes in the 
Charmang Valley and other areas of Nawagai tehsil; they also 
arrested three suspected militant commanders in Manogai village 
of Nawagai tehsil.  Separately, the Frontier Corps and the 
Salarzai lashkar claimed to kill two militants in operations in 
their area.  Suspected militants killed a member of the levies 
near Khar. 
 
August 6 - Khyber:  Security forces killed one LI member and 
arrested five others at the suspected LI headquarters in Akakhel 
Mera area of Bara tehsil.  One member of the Frontier 
Constabulary was also killed in the exchange of fire that 
preceded the arrests. 
 
Southern FATA 
- - - - - - - 
 
PESHAWAR 00000169  006 OF 006 
 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) The following is a roundup of incidents of 
talibanization and government and community response in the 
Orakzai, Kurram, and North and South Waziristan Agencies of the 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions 
south of the Khyber Agency: 
 
August 1 - Orakzai:  The military claimed to kill two militants 
in helicopter airstrikes on a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 
camp in Chapri Feroze Khel area. 
 
August 1 - FR Kohat:  The military claimed to destroy a house 
and two cars owned by Darra Adam Khel militant leader Tariq 
Afridi in a fighter jet airstrike. 
 
August 3 - Orakzai:  Security forces fired artillery at 
suspected militant hideouts; no casualties were reported. 
 
August 3 - FR Kohat:  Security forces fired artillery at targets 
ion Darra Adam Khel; no casualties were reported. 
 
August 4 - North Waziristan:  Militants fired rockets and 
mortars at the military base and at a check post in Miram Shah, 
killing four soldiers and injuring six.  In response, the 
military fired artillery at suspected militant positions, 
killing nine people and injuring four more; most were women and 
children.  In Datta Khel, Frontier Corps fired artillery in 
response to a militant attack on the FC fort near the village, 
injuring seven women and children. 
 
August 5 - Orakzai:  The military claimed to kill four militants 
in airstrikes against suspected TTP hideouts in Lower Orakzai. 
 
August 6 - North Waziristan:  A helicopter airstrike on 
Qutabkhel village (near Miram Shah) killed one man and injured 
seven other people, all of whom were women and children. 
 
August 6 - FR Tank:  Militants fired rockets at Jandola fort, 
injuring one member of the Frontier Corps. 
TRACY