Damadola (Pakistan): Pakistan's Army
revealed on Tuesday a vast Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideout dug into
mountains near the Afghan border and captured in an offensive
that killed 75 local and foreign militants.
Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the
bastion, carved into sheer rock within clear view of the
snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan and said by one
general to comprise 156 caves developed over five to seven
years.
Pakistan seized the complex in its latest offensive
against militants in its semi-autonomous tribal belt,
following US pressure on the country to eliminate Taliban and
Al-Qaeda-linked groups who attack Western troops in
Afghanistan.
Major General Tariq Khan told journalists on the visit
that the warren of caves in the Damadola area had served as a
militant headquarters until it was overrun by troops in an
offensive launched in January.
"There were Egyptians, Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans
killed in the operation," he said.
"The first Pakistan army uniformed soldiers have
arrived in Damadola after a recent operation and the Pakistan
flag has been raised for the first time since (independence
in) 1947."
Journalists saw bedding such as pillows and mattresses
that suggested the inhabitants had camped out for significant
periods.
"Al-Qaeda was there. They had occupied the ridges.
There were 156 caves designed as a defensive complex," Khan
said.
Damadola, in the Bajaur tribal region, was the scene
of a 2006 US drone strike that unsuccessfully targeted
Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Damadola covers about five square kilometres (two
square miles) and lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the
Afghan border.
Colonel Noman Saeed told AFP the latest offensive had
killed 75 militants. Another 76 had been arrested and 364 were
forced to surrender, he said. Such death tolls are impossible
to confirm independently.
Under US pressure, Pakistan in the last year has
significantly increased operations against militants in its
northwest and tribal belt, which Washington has branded an
Al-Qaeda "headquarters" and the most dangerous region on
Earth.
Khan stressed Damadola's strategic importance as a
link to Afghanistan, Pakistan's northern district of Chitral,
the main highway to China and to the northwestern valley of
Swat, which has been troubled by a Taliban insurgency.
Until 2008 the area was tantamount to an independent
state run by an Afghan warrior, Qazi Ziaur Rehman, who was its
administrative controller, collecting taxes from local people.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 02, 2010, 22:07