Taliban’s Bajaur base falls, army eyes Tirah, Orakzai

Hell yeah ! don't you just love hearing about the Taliban being pushed around where ever they go !


Dawn.com
DAMADOLA: Security forces have taken control of Bajaur’s Damadola, known as the nerve-centre of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and are now bracing themselves for an offensive in Orakzai Agency and Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.

“We are facing problems in Orakzai and Tirah and will launch operations there in the near future,” Frontier Corps Inspector General Maj-Gen Tariq Khan told a media team from Islamabad here on Tuesday. The ISPR’s director general, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, was also present.

The capture of Damadola, near the Afghan border, has boosted the morale of troops and the military leadership is now contemplating an all-out offensive in other agencies where militants are strengthening their positions.

With the success in Damadola, once a no-go area and thought to be insurmountable, the entire Bajaur agency stands cleared of militants.

The most significant feature of the episode was the capture of a key Taliban complex in Damadola, the stronghold of TTP leader Maulvi Faqir Mohammad. The complex had a number of caves used by militants as hideouts and ammunition dumps.

A large quantity of explosives, weapons and currency notes were found in the caves. The complex faces ice-capped mountains straddling Pakistan’s border with eastern Afghanistan.