Operation Black Thunderstorm
Operation Black Thunderstorm | |
---|---|
Part of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province | |
Result |
Pakistani victory[2][3][4][5][6][7]
|
COMNOR
Pakistan Marines
50th Airborne Division
SSG Division
No. 25 Squadron
Punjab Rangers[9]
Pro-government tribes[10]
500+ SSG Division
100 wounded
114 captured
Operation Black Thunderstorm
Background
A temporary ceasefire was called in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009.
Operation
Attack on Lower Dir
Operation Toar Tander-I (Black Thunderstorm-I) began in Lower Dir as the Frontier Corps (FC) killed 26 Taliban, including key commanders Maulana Shahid and Qari Quraish.
The operation was launched on April 26, after the Taliban, in violation of the peace agreement, attacked security forces and government officials and closed roads for the movement of government and FC convoys. In some villages, the Taliban had looted shops and tortured villagers to gain their support, adding that a jirga had also been forced to back them.
Officials said the forces were gaining ground against the Taliban and their hideouts in
Buner Assault
The second phase of the operation started the same day as fighting in Lower Dir was dying down. The Pakistani Taliban had entered the town of Buner that was outside the Swat region and closer to the capital of Islamabad, had closed a local shrine and captured local policemen in defiance of the state and a prior peace agreement with the government. The Pakistan Army's push to retake control of Buner, which was only 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the capital city Islamabad, started. Special Forces members belonging to Pakistan Army's 50th Airborne Division and the Pakistan Army's
The operation in Daggar came on the third day of the Army's offensive to roll back the Taliban advance that had caused concern not just in Islamabad – which is just 65 miles away – but also in Washington.
The US had been repeatedly pressing the Pakistan government to take action, fearful that the militants were gaining too much ground and might even use Buner as a bridgehead for an attack on Islamabad.[23][24]
On May 2, another 10 soldiers were captured in Buner. The military confirmed that some 87 militants and four soldiers had been killed in fighting in the district between April 28 and May 4. The military also stated that its troops were confronted during the fighting with wave attacks of suicide car-bombers. At least 27 suicide bombers were killed in the fighting. By May 5, troops started to push back the Taliban militants in Buner.[25][26]
Operation Rah-e-Rast
On May 5, the third phase of the operation started as airborne troops boarded on C-130 transport aircraft, jumped off and stormed the militant-held valley of Swat. The name of this sub-operation of Black Thunderstorm has been referred to as Operation Rah-e-Rast in
By May 15, the Army claimed that Buner was finally completely cleared of Taliban forces, however artillery bombardment of Taliban positions in the hills was still ongoing. And it was reported that the Taliban were more dug in and in larger numbers in Buner than the military previously assumed. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military continued with their push up the Swat valley. As the military approached Mingora, the Taliban were digging in for a "bloody urban battle" against the Pakistani army's airborne forces in a hotly disputed city in the north-western part of the country. The Taliban began concentrating forces in Mingora - digging trenches, laying mines and taking positions on rooftops.
On May 17, heavy street fighting started in the towns of Kanju and Matta and the Army was slowly advancing towards Mingora. Also, a few days later fighting started in the area of the Takhtaband bridge for control of this crossing point.[35] On May 20, a key town in Buner was captured by the Army. The Army captured Sultanwas in fighting which, according to the military, killed one soldier and 80 militants, another nine soldiers were wounded.[36] By May 23, Kanju, Matta and the Takhtaband bridge had been secured by the military, but fighting was still going on in Takhtaband itself and the Buner and Dir districts, where nine more militants were killed. Meanwhile, the military was surrounding the main militant base in the Peochar Valley.[37]
Battle for Mingora
On May 23, the battle for the capital of Swat, Mingora, started as the small teams belonging to SSG Division accompanied with Army Rangers stormed the city. The Ranger and SSG Division's teams entered in the city from two different phases. The SSG Division's team at first entered the city from the air as they were parachuted. At the same time, the Army Rangers and additional SSG Division's teams entered the city as they were boarded on M113C and the APC Talha-B. Combat here was heavy, intense, and occurred in the streets. Taliban Fighters had dug themselves into bunkers built into hotels and government buildings. Pakistan's SSG and Army Rangers had fought the Taliban fighters hand-to-hand inside the buildings and hotels. On the first day of the tiring and long battle, fighting was mainly in the center of the city, at the central bus terminal and along the main road near the city's primary gateway.[38] By the next day's early morning, the military captured several intersections and three squares; including Green Square, which had been known as "Bloody Intersection", because the Taliban were dumping bodies of people who they executed at that location. Intense fighting was going on in the Nawa Kilay neighbourhood and the western suburb of Qambar.[39]
By May 27, the military took control of 70 percent of the city, including the city's airport, and Taliban forces across Swat were in retreat, but fighting was still continuing. At the same time, in continuing battles in Lower Dir and Shangla, three more soldiers and eight militants were killed.[40]
On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military.[41]
On May 30, the Pakistani military had taken back the city of Mingora from the Taliban, calling it a significant victory in its offensive against the Taliban. However, some sporadic fighting was still continuing on the city's outskirts. Also, sporadic fighting was continuing in the rest of Swat and in the Shangla district where on June 2, two soldiers and five militants were killed.[42][43][44]
In the battle for Mingora 286 militants were killed.[45]
Alleged capture of Sufi Muhammad and other leaders
On June 4, it was reported that
Sporadic fighting
By this point, the
On June 12, troops captured the town of Chuprial in Swat in a major battle that left 39 militants and 10 soldiers dead. This was the last major battle, and one of the most bloody, of the operation.[52]
On June 14, the operation ended with Pakistani troops consolidating their positions in the four districts and going after the remaining pockets of resistance, primarily in the Swat valley.[1]
Casualties
In all, according to the military, 50 soldiers and at least 1,475 militants were killed and 100 soldiers were wounded during operation Black Thunderstorm. 114 militants were captured, including some local commanders.[52][53][54][55][56][57]
Later revelations about the Swat deal
On May 13, 2009, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States
"[President Zardari] did something very smart. When he was with President Obama recently, he explained it. He actually told the American government that I'm going to do this deal to try and prove to those within Pakistan, and in Pakistan's state apparatus, who think that these guys can be negotiated with — I will negotiate with them only to prove that you can't negotiate with them, because they will break the deal. And as soon as they broke the deal, the army is back in, the fighting is going on, and you can see the results."[58]
The Swat peace-deal was heavily criticised by Hillary Clinton when she accused Pakistan's government of abdicating to the Taliban in agreeing to impose Islamic law in the Swat valley.[59] However, according to the Pakistani Government, it was simply using "reverse psychology," as Jon Stewart phrased it, on the Taliban.[58][60][61]
Foreign involvement and aftermath
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
Pakistan's foreign office spokesman had confirmed that there was a heavy influx of foreigners aiding the Taliban and that weapons were coming from the adjacent country of
In Khybar Pass, a police raid on a local house resulted in the arrest of 20
On May 20, 2009, in
The various media reports stated that foreign fighters were Uzbek and Tajik nationals. Pakistani
See also
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Operation Zarb-e-Azb
- Operation Rah-e-Nijat
- Operation Rah-e-Rast
- Operation Swift Retort
- War on terror
References
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