FATA Timeline - 2007

January 10	The army, reportedly acting on intelligence provided by the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, used mortars and artillery in the attack at Gurvek, near the border, spokesperson Major General Shaukat Sultan. However, he said it is not clear if any militants are killed in the incident, adding the target of the attack are several supply trucks used by militants.
January 11	Pakistan army attacked supply trucks used by suspected militants for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. It is the army's first reported attack in North Waziristan since a September 2006 peace agreement between the Government and pro-Taliban militants.
January 14	Pro-Taliban militants shot dead a suspected Uzbek militant and captured another in the Butkhela village of North Waziristan. The duo were reportedly traveling in a car and did not stop at a barrier set up by "local Taliban", after which they are chased and shot at, said an unnamed Pakistan intelligence official.
January 16	Pakistan Army helicopter gun-ships attacked a suspected militant hideout in South Waziristan, killing at least 20 militants. Helicopter gun-ships reportedly targeted a cluster of compounds at Salamt village in the Zamzola area, 30km to the east of Razmak in South Waziristan. Officials said that the compounds situated in a desolate area are completely destroyed, killing most of the people inside. "This used to be an Arab-dominated hideout… But as of now, we don't know whether any of them has been killed," one official said. Another official, citing intelligence reports, said some 25 militants had been killed and bodies of eight of them had been retrieved from underneath the rubble. Of the eight, five are stated to be Afghans and three locals from the Kikari Mehsud tribe inhabiting the Ludda sub-district of South Waziristan.
January 17	Top militant commander Baitullah Mehsud vowed to avenge the air strikes at Zamzola on January 16 in the next two weeks in his native South Waziristan which, in his words, would cause pain to Pakistan. However, he did not renounce his February 2005-peace agreement with the Government, but said that the military action in Zamzola had forced him to take action. "We will definitely avenge this action in 10 to 15 days," he told a foreign media organisation. He added: "And it (the action) would be such that it would pain their heart."
January 22	A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a military convoy near Mirali in North Waziristan, killing four security force (SF) personnel and a woman, and injuring 23 persons, including 20 soldiers. The incident occurred at the Khajori checkpoint, about two kilometers east of Mirali town, when a joint convoy of the army and paramilitary force is heading from the Bannu Garrison to Miranshah, administrative headquarters of North Waziristan. A Frontier Corps soldier is killed and at least two others sustained injuries when helicopter gun-ships from the US-led coalition forces bombed a Pakistani border post in the remote Shawal area in North Waziristan. The Pakistan Government reportedly lodged a strong protest and asked the coalition forces to investigate the matter and take necessary measures that such incidents are not repeated. However, a US military spokesperson earlier said the incident occurred in Afghanistan. Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick in a statement said he cannot confirm or deny loss or injury of Pakistani military.
January 23	Six mortars are fired from Afghanistan’s Khost province at a Frontier Corps check post in the Naridag area of North Waziristan, However, no casualties are reported.
January 25	Dozens of militants attacked a tribal police post in Bajaur with rockets and machine-gun fire, wounding one police personnel.
January 28	35 tribesmen held hostage by rival clans in North Waziristan are released after a negotiation breakthrough, reported a private television channel. According to the report, the Dawar tribe had taken hostage three members of the Bakakhle tribe, who had seized 32 Dawar members, following the murder of a tribesman. Local tribal chieftains and the Ulema (religious scholars) negotiated between the two clans, leading to the release of all detained members.
February 1	Suspected militants ambushed a van and killed two government officials and a police personnel in North Waziristan. Two Communication and Works Department officials and police personnel Nekmatullah are on their way to Mir Ali when four gunmen in a vehicle fired at their van, killing all three on the spot and wounding three others.
February 3	The Government has ordered the deployment of thousands of paramilitary personnel across Waziristan to neutralize "high value" terrorist targets. Sources in the Interior Ministry said the Government had ordered the deployment of 2,000 personnel each of the Frontier Corps and Levies in Waziristan to comb the region ahead of the "grand operation". "Security forces are expected to begin a grand operation in the troubled Waziristan tribal region to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban militants, including Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the area," the sources said, citing a decision made at a high-level meeting held.
February 4	Security forces and political administrations in Waziristan have reportedly been asked to block all entry and exit points and land routes leading to other agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) so that no militant could escape or sneak into settled areas. "Intelligence reports have pointed to the presence of high value militants like Baitullah Mahsud in the area," said sources.
February 6	Suspected militants killed two Afghan nationals they accused of being spies of the United States in North Waziristan. An administration official told that the two bodies, recovered near Mubarak Shahi village were kept in the Town Hall in Miranshah for identification, but were later buried at Sheikh Adam cemetery when nobody came to claim them.
February 14	President General Pervez Musharraf said that the peace deals like the one with tribal elders in North Waziristan should take place "in other areas" too.
February 15	The Crime Investigation Department of Karachi Police raided a house in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area on February 16 and arrested three suspected suicide bombers, identified as Muhammad Shahid, Muhammad Farhan and Ghani Subhan. The police also seized three hand grenades, two pistols, one AK-47 assault rifle and a suicide jacket from their possession. Police said that the three suspects belonged to a group headed by Al Qaeda leader Qari Zafar and they had been especially sent to Karachi from Wana in South Waziristan to carry out terrorist activities and suicide attacks.
February 20	An Afghan refugee is beheaded on suspicion of being a US spy in North Waziristan. The decapitated body of Nek Amal, a 35-year old man from Zozak village in the Afghan province of Khost, is found in Saidgey village, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. A note found near the body read, "Whoever spies for America will meet the same fate." The militants, suspected to be pro-Taliban elements, also cut off his hands and feet.
February 21	One person, identified as Ghulam Khan Megalkhel, is killed in the Badar area of South Waziristan. No group has claimed responsibility for the killing. Relatives said Ghulam Khan had no personal enmity.
February 22	Security agencies claimed to have averted at least four major terrorist attacks in different parts of the country and said that 19 suspects, who are being controlled by some people in tribal areas near the Afghan border, had been arrested.
March 5	In North Waziristan, suspected militants shot dead two-tribesman accused of spying for United States forces operating in Afghanistan. Body of 30-year-old Qayyum Shahmiri is found south of Miranshah. Another body is found later from a drain in Manzar Khel town, south of Miranshah. Notes left with the bodies described the killed as ‘American spies’.
March 6	Around 15 people are killed and several others injured in a reported clash between the Wazir Zalikhel sub-tribe and foreign militants near Azam Warsak in South Waziristan. Eyewitnesses told, "Among the dead are 13 militants, most of them Uzbeks and Tajiks, while two brothers of Zalikhel chieftain Malik Saeedullah are also killed." Eyewitnesses further said, "Foreign militants and their local supporters attacked the brothers of the chieftain on Tuesday, killing both of them, and this led to a gunbattle." A confirmation of the report from authorities in Wana, however, could not be received.
March 7	The death toll rose to 19 in a reported clash between the Wazir Zalikhel sub-tribe and foreign militants near Azam Warsak in South Waziristan on March 6. "The death toll has risen to 19, from 15 yesterday. The dead include 12 Uzbek militants and three local supporters, three members of local peace committee and one Afghan shopkeeper," a security official said, adding, "The militants regrouped Tuesday night and torched two residential compounds belonging to Malik Saadullah(a pro-government tribal chief). Militants also abducted six of Saadullah's men but released three of them after a few hours." US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are using Pakistan's tribal areas, particularly North Waziristan, to regroup. "I would say the Taliban and Al Qaeda have been able to use the areas around, particularly North Waziristan, to regroup and it is a problem. We are working together with Pakistan to address that problem," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.
March 8	Suspected militants fired rockets at a paramilitary base at Miranshah, slightly damaging a barrack, but there are no casualties, said security officials. The officials told that two rockets are fired at the base inside the heavily fortified Tochi Fort in Miranshah: one hit the barrack that is damaged and the other landed in an open area near a preaching centre. "We are investigating who carried out the attack," they said. A spokesman for pro-Taliban militants denied involvement in the attack. "The enemies of the peace accord are behind the attack," Abdullah Farhad, a purported spokesman for militants in North Waziristan told. The outgoing US Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker has said that the peace deal between the Pakistan Government and tribal elders in Waziristan, though "well written", has not been implemented. In an interview with Khyber television channel, Crocker said the Waziristan agreement had all the points that the allies of Pakistan including the US wanted, but the question is implementation. "We asked Pakistan to ensure that the agreement would be respected. I personally appreciate the points written in the agreement but unfortunately the militants haven't respected the agreement because there are some tribal areas where the Pakistan government doesn't have full control," he added. Suspected pro-Taliban rebels in Pakistan’s tribal belt shot dead an Afghan refugee accused of spying for United States forces operating in neighbouring Afghanistan. Abdul Rahim is shot dead in Mohammad Khel village south of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district, a security official said. A note near his body said that he is an "American spy," the official said, adding, that Rahim had been abducted by militants a few weeks ago and his body had been taken to Afghanistan by relatives. It is the third such killing in a week near Miranshah and the eighth this year in the tribal areas.
March 9	Pakistan Government agreed to launch no more land or air attacks in North Waziristan and also agreed to the withdrawal of the army from check posts into camps. The deal is signed between the North Waziristan political agent representing the NWFP Governor and "Tribal leaders of North Waziristan, local mujahideen and elders of the Utmanzai tribes". The party of the second part agreed to ensure that no attacks are carried against law-enforcement agencies or on government assets and there would be no "target killings". The tribal elders and others also agreed not to set up a parallel administration, and accept the writ of the Pakistan Government.
March 10	Security forces killed three militants who are trying to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan in Dwatoi of North Waziristan. A junior commissioned officer is also killed during the encounter, the first direct confrontation with militants following the September 5, 2006 peace accord between the government and pro-Taliban elders. The army provided no details about the identity of the slain militants.
March 12	An unnamed security official said that the headless body of a person is found in a sack on a roadside in Jandola town, bordering South Waziristan. He said that the severed head had been placed near the sack and a note near his body read "US spy" and "Rawalpindi", in an apparent reference to the garrison city housing the army headquarters.
March 13	Suspected tribal militants fired two rockets in Miranshah that landed near a Military base and Government installations. They said that the rockets, which appeared to have been fired from the southeast of Miranshah, caused no loss of life or damage to property. "One rocket landed near a civil colony, which is 200 yards from an army rest house, while another landed near an intelligence official’s house," No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani militants beheaded a person near the South Waziristan area, whom they accused of spying for United States forces in Afghanistan.
March 19	Suspected militants attacked an Army convoy with a remote control bomb near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, but there were no casualties, security officials said.
March 20	Pakistan Ambassador to United States Munir Akram told the UN Security Council that there was no proven direct co-relation of an increase in incidents inside Afghanistan with the conclusion of the North Waziristan agreement signed by the Pakistani Government with tribal leaders. He said that suicide attacks, facilitators and Taliban commanders were crossing over from Pakistan, crossing of the border was in both directions, and the Taliban must be controlled on both sides of the border. He refuted allegations of "safe havens and sanctuaries" for Taliban in Pakistan as "unsubstantiated".
March 19-22	Nearly 160 people, including 130 foreign militants, have been killed in four days of fighting between the al Qaeda-linked militants and Pakistani tribesmen, Pakistani Government officials said. Fresh fighting broke out on March 19 in Shin Warsak village, 7-km west of Wana. Earlier, a battle between foreign militants, most of them Uzbeks, and ethnic Pashtun tribesmen erupted in the remote area near the Afghan border on March 6, when militants tried to kill a pro-Government tribal leader, in which seventeen people, most of them Uzbeks, were killed. This followed Government efforts to convince the tribesmen to help keep order and stop militant raids into Afghanistan. "It's a success of the Government tribesmen strategy ... the tribesmen are fed up with them because they and their activities adversely affect their lives and business," said Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad. A Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) – Fazlur Rehman dominated tribal jirga on March 22 brokered a temporary cease-fire between foreign militants and Wazir tribes in South Waziristan. "Both sides have agreed to the jirga demand for a ceasefire," said Niaz Muhammad Qureshi, JUI-F information secretary for South Waziristan. "We are glad that the two sides conceded to the tribal elders and clerics’ plea for silencing their guns in order to solve their issues through peaceful means," he added. Senior militant leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of senior Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, and an unnamed Taliban commander from across the Afghan border reached undisclosed locations in South Waziristan to take part in the cease-fire negotiations. "They are all monitoring the situation and discussing with key local militant commanders how things can be cooled down," said tribal sources. Tribal sources said that Maulvi Nazir, commander of pro-Taliban tribal militants in Wazir areas, at one point was unwilling to negotiate a cease-fire with foreign militants and their local harbourers. "The jirga members convinced him after hours-long parleys," said sources in Dera Ismail Khan city, 200 miles south of Peshawar. Government is considering launching an offensive to flush out foreign militants in the Waziristan tribal region, particularly in Wana. A senior ministry official said the Government had prepared a plan in consultation with the army.
March 21	Tribesmen, led by Maulavi Nazir, are reported to have recovered 18,00 hand-grenades, 175 rocket-propelled grenades, 188 Kalashnikovs and thousands of rounds of ammunition from a private jail run by Uzbeks in the Kaloosha area.
March 23	The NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai said that foreign militants battling tribesmen in South Waziristan could still avail an amnesty offer if they surrendered to the authorities. Orakzai said there could be around 500 foreign militants still hiding in the area.
March 24	After a one-day lull, clashes erupted once again between local tribal militias and foreign, mostly Uzbek militants, in North Waziristan. A Jirga (tribal council), comprising tribal elders, religious leaders, local and Afghan Taliban commanders and a delegation of the Jamaat-e-ulema Islami, a pro-Taliban constituent of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition, failed to persuade the two sides to continue a cease-fire that they had agreed to on March 22.
March 26	Tribal militants praised by the Government for a bloody assault on foreign fighters in Pakistan said that they would continue to go to Afghanistan to fight foreign forces. The tribal militia told reporters that they had not turned against the foreigners for the Government’s sake. "We will continue our jihad (in Afghanistan) if that is against America, the Russians, British or India as long as we have souls in our bodies," Haji Sharif, an aide to Maulvi Nazir, told reporters in Wana. Nazir’s representatives escorted reporters to the area, where sympathies for the Taliban run high and which is generally off-limits to outside journalists. Sharif said "Our activities across the border have been affected by our crisis with the Uzbeks. We have enemies in our home," he said.
March 29	At least four persons were killed and as many wounded in clashes between two militant groups in South Waziristan. Tribesmen claimed to have captured five foreign militants in fresh clashes in Wana, Azam Warsak and Sheen Warsak areas of South Waziristan.
March 30	Pakistani tribesmen traded heavy rocket and mortar fire with foreign al Qaeda militants in South Waziristan for a second day, leaving 56 people dead. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said, "Fifty-four people were killed today (and) two yesterday. They include 45 foreigners." Two children were killed when a mortar shell fired by Uzbeks landed in their home in Shen Warsak town and the body of a tribal fighter was found in the area.
March 31	Local tribesmen attacked foreign al Qaeda militants hiding in bunkers in the ongoing clashes that killed five people in South Waziristan, bringing the total death toll since fighting began on March 19 to 177. Pro-government tribesmen attacked bunkers occupied by the militants as part of efforts to drive them from Waziristan. They reportedly seized seven bunkers dug into a mountain from where Uzbek militants and their Chechen and Arab allies could launch attacks on the main town of Wana in South Waziristan. The body of a tribal fighter was found in the Shen Warsak town area.
April 2	Ten people were killed and an unspecified number of them wounded in renewed fighting between the pro-government tribesmen and foreign militants, even as the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe gave a call to all the tribesmen to go after the foreign militants and their local supporters to purge the area from outsiders. At least seven tribesmen from both sides were reportedly killed in fresh fighting in the Zeirha Letta area of South Waziristan. The foreign militants publicly executed Juma Khan alias Haji Jimak in the Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan to punish the family of a tribal journalist, Din Muhammad, accused of leaking information about the fighting to media from the region. The Uzbek militants, backed by ‘commander’ Haji Omar and his supporters, attacked the house of Din Muhammad in Wana and killed Muhammad Amir, father of Din Muhammad, his brother Muhammad Islam and a cousin on the spot while abducting four persons along with them. Business centres were closed down in Wana due to an armed clash between the supporters of ‘commander’ Nazeer, who is leading the ongoing campaign against foreign militants in South Waziristan, and ‘commander’ Javid in Rustam Bazaar leaving one person dead from both sides. There were also reports that Haji Nazeer’s armed men captured four vehicles along with the armed men belonging to the rival group in Wana. The Jirga (tribal council) in Wana resolved that all the foreigners and their local supporters were liable to death and all those tribesmen able to pick guns should join the tribal force to eliminate these elements or evict them from the agency. There were reports that some Uzbek and Tajik families have left South Waziristan and settled in the Mirali sub-division of North Waziristan during the last few days.
April 3	A tribal army of 900 volunteers was raised to support Maulana Nazir, a pro-government militant commander waging a fight against Uzbek militants and their local supporters in South Waziristan. A Jirga (tribal council) of Ahmedzai Wazirs met again in Wana’s Rustam Bazaar to consider the request for an army from Nazir, the chief of the Taliban in South Waziristan, against Uzbeks resisting attempts to be expelled from the area. "Tribal elders of Ahmedzai Wazirs gathered in the bazaar and approved raising a lashkar [army] of 900 volunteers," said reports.
April 4	An estimated 50 people were killed in fresh clashes between pro-government tribesmen and foreign militants in South Waziristan. A tribal army led by Maulana Nazir captured the strategic area of Sheen Warsak west of Wana after a fierce battle in which 19 Uzbeks and five tribesmen were killed. Three paramilitary soldiers were also killed during the fighting. In a gunbattle in Zaghunday, north of Sheen Warsak, the tribal army killed 25 Uzbeks. South Waziristan administrator Hussainzada Khan told Reuters that 40 foreign militants had surrendered. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told reporters in Islamabad that around 200 Uzbek militants and 50 tribesmen have been killed since March 19. "This is the result of the agreements the government made with tribal people in which they pledged to expel foreigners and now they are doing it," he said.
April 5	The elders of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe have formally requested the government for air support and supply of weapons against foreign militants, said a deputy spokesman for the Maulana Nazir-led militants.
April 6	Pro-government tribesmen stormed key bunkers occupied by foreign al Qaeda militants, killing around 20 people.
April 8	In a clash with militants, a tribal elder and a deputy were killed late near Wana.
April 9	Pro-government tribesmen have reportedly cleared the Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan of Uzbek militants linked to the al Qaeda and hoisted their flags after establishing their control. An official said that around 2,000 tribal volunteers and militants allied to ‘commander’ Maulana Nazir entered Azam Warsak on April 9-morning and hoisted white flags. "With God’s help, we have forced Qari Tahir Khan and his supporters to flee," Mullah Owais Hanafi, a spokesman for the tribal army led by Maulana Nazir, said in a statement. Qari Tahir Khan is a local name for Tahir Yuldashev, leader of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. "By (Monday) mid-day, the tribal army reached the centre of Azam Warsak to hoist a white flag – signifying the return of peace – and Uzbek militants left the area long before our mujahideen’s arrival," Hanafi said.
April 12	One person was killed and three others, including a girl, were injured when unidentified militants fired nine mortar shells at an area 50 kilometres west of Miranshah in North Waziristan.
April 27	Four people were killed and three others sustained injuries when five missiles fired from Afghanistan struck the Darul Uloom Hassania seminary in the Saidgi area of North Waziristan. The seminary belongs to tribal militant commander Maulana Noor Mohammad, who had signed a peace deal with the government in September 2006. Pakistan said that a total of about 1,400 people have been killed in over 100 military operations in South and North Waziristan and asked the international community to extend over a billion dollars for development schemes to win the hearts and minds of the people. The NWFP Governor told that Pakistani forces had killed over 600 militants, including foreigners, and handed over to the United States an equal number of persons involved in acts of terrorism. He said approximately 700 security force personnel had died besides more than 100 pro-government tribal elders.
April 29	Suspected militants attacked the army check post at Naridog in North Waziristan, killing one soldier. Three militants were killed when the troops deployed the check post returned fire. Suspected militants shot dead two men in South Waziristan for "spying for the United States." The bodies were found near Khirgi check-post in the Jandola town, the gateway to South Waziristan. An unnamed official said that a note found besides the two bodies accused them of spying for the US and of making fake currency.
May 2	Suspected pro-Taliban militants beheaded an Afghan refugee, identified as Shamsuddin Afghani, at Goorwak village in North Waziristan on charges of spying for US troops in Afghanistan, a security official said. A note left near the body said "this is the fate of American spy."
May 3	Ten rockets were fired on an army camp in the Dukoye area of North Waziristan.. Security forces reportedly returned fire in the direction from where the rockets originated but there has been no information on casualties so far.
May 4	Seven soldiers were wounded when a hand grenade was lobbed on an army convoy near Mirali in North Waziristan. Officials said the convoy was going from Razmak town to its garrison in the Bannu district.
May 7	The local Taliban imposed a ban on the sale of CDs and cassettes and music in buses and passenger coaches in North Waziristan. The Shoora (executive council) of the Taliban also ordered owners of music and video shops in Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, to close their businesses immediately.
May 10	At least 14 mortar shells, which were fired from Tarkhobi Checkpost located at Khost in Afghanistan, landed on the mountains in the Ghulam Khan area, 32 kilometres north of Miranshah in North Waziristan. However, they did not cause any damage and the Pakistan security forces reportedly did not retaliate.
May 19	Suspected militants abducted nine government officials, including six women, at gunpoint on the Bannu-Miranshah highway in North Waziristan. More than 30 masked gunmen stopped the government officials' vehicle near Nawrak, 15 kilometres east of Miranshah and near Mir Ali town. The militants took away wireless communication equipment and six Kalashnikov rifles from the six guards.
May 22	SF personnel clashed with Islamist militants at Zakerkhel village in North Waziristan in the FATA, killing three foreigners and one tribesman. The gun-battle reportedly occurred when talks between tribal elders and militants hiding in a house in the village failed. According to the deal signed between the government and militants in September 2006, the army has to take the peace committee into confidence before taking action in the area. This was the first coordinated operation in the area since the deal was brokered.
May 23	Militants released nine government employees, including six women, who had been abducted on May 18 while they were going to Miranshah, administrative headquarters of North Waziristan, to conduct a survey. They were freed in the Bakakhel area of Bannu district in the NWFP, adjacent to North Waziristan. According to Zair Gul Wazir, one of the freed hostages, the militants had abducted them to protest against the policies of the NWFP Governor and the political administration in North Waziristan. 11 of the 15 members of the tribal peace committee in North Waziristan are reported to have resigned in protest against a recent military operation in Zargerkhel village. Led by former senator Mateen Shah, members of the committee, formed after the signing of the September 2006 peace agreement, handed over their resignations to Political Agent Pirzada Khan Wazir. They alleged that by conducting the operation, the military authorities had violated the accord.
May 30	The Interior Ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell has reportedly warned three federal ministers that they are on the hit list of Baitullah Mehsud, the South Waziristan-based Taliban leader, and should take extra security measures. Baitullah Mehsud, according to reports, was running the biggest suicide training camp in the country and planned to assassinate Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and Minister for Political Affairs Amir Muqam. Mehsud is believed to have been behind the suicide attack on Sherpao on April 28, the sources said.
June 3	A bomb exploded by the roadside when a military convoy of four vehicles was passing by. Officials said that the convoy was going from Miranshah to Razmak when the remote-controlled bomb exploded. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.
June 8	Islamist militants shot dead a 30-year-old man suspected of spying for the US in North Waziristan. Rahim Khan's bullet-ridden body was found near the village of Alikhel, 12 kilometres west of Miranshah. A security official said, "A note left on the body said Rahim was spying for the US forces stationed across the border and has met his fate."
June 13	Taliban militants shaved the heads of seven alleged bandits, blackened their faces and paraded them in a bazaar in North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan. Witnesses said the heavily-armed Taliban, mainly students from local Islamic schools, arrested the alleged criminals on June 12 from the Mir Ali town as part of their campaign to curb crime in the region.
June 14	Militants loyal to the anti-Uzbek commander Mullah Nazir have warned Wazir elders against sheltering Uzbeks in South Waziristan. "The Taliban are angry at the presence of Uzbeks being hosted by some elders and they demand action against such people," a tribal elder said. According to him, the Taliban told the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes they had reports that Uzbek militants were "still being sheltered in Wazir areas" and if locals harbour rather than expel them they would take action.
June 17	Two people were wounded in a landmine explosion at Miranshah Bazaar in North Waziristan. Authorities said that they had increased security at existing Frontier Corps check posts and were setting up additional check posts in North Waziristan, following information that "foreign terrorists" based in neighbouring South Waziristan were planning to enter the area. They confirmed that additional check posts were being set up at Boya Rizmak Road, Dosali Garyum, Esha Khujre and Tardoni.
June 18	The Taliban have banned TV and video CDs in public in the Wazir areas of South Waziristan, warning that strict punishment will be meted out to violators. A pamphlet issued by Mujahideen Waziristan and Aman (Peace) Committee chief Qasim Khan declared that the decision would take effect from June 20. The pamphlet did not state the reasons for the ban but a senior Taliban leader was quoted as saying the move was aimed at "keeping children away from watching jihadi CDs". Eyewitnesses said all tea shops and restaurants removed TV sets and CD players immediately after the Taliban announced the ban.
June 19	At least 22 people were killed and 10 others sustained injuries when a missile hit a cluster of compounds in the Datakhel area of North Waziristan. A Madrassa (seminary) used by the Taliban as a hideout was attacked by a US-controlled drone, killing over 20 militants and wounding 15 others, a report said. The ISPR Director-General, Major General Arshad Waheed, however, denied reports that Pakistan army or coalition forces had carried out the attack. "It was an accidental blast in the area and, according to the tribal administration, 20 people were killed," he claimed. Tribal sources quoted local militants as saying that the attack had been carried out from Afghanistan. The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said it was not involved.
June 20	The caretaker of a Madrassa (seminary) near a site in North Waziristan which was the target of a suspected missile strike on June 19 said that a total of 34 people were killed, and all of them were locals. Maulana Muhammad Amir, caretaker of the Ziul Aloom seminary in the Dattakhel area, said all those killed were local tribesmen, and the target was not a Madrassa, as reported in the press, but "a tent on a hilltop". However, the political administration of North Waziristan said that 30 "terrorists" were killed and 18 of them were foreigners, including Chechens, Uzbeks and Arab.
June 22	A local militant commander has denied the existence of training camps in North Waziristan and warned that his supporters would lose patience if the government carried out a military operation in the region. "There will be a tit-for-tat response if the government violates the peace deal by launching combat operations," warned militant commander Maulana Abdul Khaliq Haqani while talking to a group of journalists in Miranshah. Haqani, who along with a group of militants signed a peace agreement with the government in September 2006, denied the presence of foreign militants and training camps in the region. He claimed that after the agreement, foreigners had gone across the border.
June 23	10 civilians were killed and 13 others sustained injuries in North Waziristan in a mortar attack from Afghanistan. "Ten innocent people were reported killed when some mortars hit civilians in Mangroti village in the Shawal region," military spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said. A roadside blast killed three paramilitary soldiers and wounded two others in Mir Ali town, 20-kilometres east of Miranshah.
June 25	A rocket landed 200 meters away from the runway of a military base in North Waziristan. It landed on the western side of the base and did not cause any damage. The political administration arrested four people under the Frontier Crimes Regulation for the attack.
June 27	Three militants were killed when a bomb they were planting on a road used by the Pakistan army detonated prematurely at Datta Khel in North Waziristan. The blast reportedly occurred on a route used by troops to travel between Lwara Mundi and Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan.
July 2	A soldier from Mir Ali in North Waziristan was murdered and his associate abducted by armed assailants.
July 4	11 people, including six SF personnel, are reported to have died in a suicide attack on a caravan of SFs in North Waziristan. The caravan of SFs was going to Bannu in the NWFP from Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. A suicide attacker rammed his explosive-laden car with the caravan near Mir Ali. Four SF personnel and a passer-by child died on the spot while two soldiers and three passers-by succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The suicide attacker also was killed.
July 6	A Waziristan tribe killed four suspected Taliban militants while rescuing a Pakistan Army captain who was abducted at gunpoint. Lashkar, an armed group of the Dirdoni tribe, chased the militants after they abducted Captain Faisal Islam, a trainer at Razmak Cadet College in North Waziristan. Four militants were killed in the ensuing encounter while Captain Islam and two Lashkar men sustained injuries. Mehboob Khan, a clerk at the Food Control Department in Bannu, was abducted by suspected militants on July 5 and his beheaded body was found on July 6 near Edak village, 20 kilometres east of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan.
July 12	A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of the Political Agent’s office in the Miranshah area of North Waziristan, killing four people and injuring three others. Political agent Pirzada Khan, who was in the office at the time, is reported to have escaped unhurt. Three of the dead were identified as Attaullah, Fareedullah and Saddique Amin, also a government employee. The Taliban, however, denied involvement in the suicide attack.
July 13	Suspected militants killed three pro-government tribal leaders at Miranshah in North Waziristan.
July 14	At least 23 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 27 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into their convoy. An unnamed senior administration official said the attack occurred 20-kilometres southeast of Miranshah when a FC convoy was heading towards Miranshah from the Razmak area. Another FC personnel was killed by masked gunmen near Essa check-post on the Miranshah-Bannu road. Three soldiers were wounded when a military convoy heading for Miranshah was hit by an explosive device planted on the roadside at Bannu. Militants fired two rockets at troops in the Lower Dir district, police official Muhammad Asghar said. Abdullah Farhad, a spokesman for the Taliban in North Waziristan, said the militants would consider the 2006 peace deal with the government over if the security forces were not withdrawn from the area by July 15.
July 15	Tribal militants in North Waziristan unilaterally scrapped their 10-month-old peace accord with the government on the expiry of a four-day deadline and threatened to launch attacks against the security forces in the area. Soon after the expiry of the militants’ deadline on July 15, leaflets announcing the scrapping of the peace accord were distributed in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.
July 17	Four persons, including three soldiers, were killed in a suicide attack at the Kajhri security check-post in North Waziristan. Three soldiers, a civilian and the bomber died in the attack, and two people were injured, said military regime spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad. Militants fired five rockets on a military base in Miranshah. A landmine exploded outside the residence of a former Federal Sports Minister, Ajmal Khan, in Miranshah. The blast destroyed the front gate of the residence. Security forces fired mortar shells on suspected militant positions on hilltops surrounding Miranshah.
July 18	A military convoy coming from Lwara Mandi was attacked in the Ghazlami area, 40 kilometers west of Miranshah in North Waziristan. "Seventeen soldiers were martyred and 12 others injured in the clash," military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said. Denying that the militants had ambushed the convoy he said that 12 to 15 militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Gen Arshad also said that five militants were killed when Frontier Corps personnel challenged them near Mir Ali.
July 20	Four persons, including a paramilitary soldier and two civilians, were killed and five others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into the Boya security check post near Miranshah in North Waziristan.
July 21	SFs killed 13 militants in Ghulam Khan, 15 kilometers north of Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan. The incident occurred when unidentified militants attacked a Frontier Corps check-post. The troops also reportedly arrested seven militants and seized a vehicle. Members of an all-tribes jirga (council) trying to revive the September 2006-peace deal between tribal militants and the government escaped a rocket attack by the militants at a girls’ hostel where they have been staying since July 20. Militants attempted to cut off Miranshah from the rest of the country by trying to detonate the Chashma Bridge. Suspected Taliban militants detonated three tribal police check posts in North Waziristan.
July 22	Gunship helicopters killed seven militants who were shooting at an army convoy from hilltops in Qutab Khel, five kilometres east of Miranshah. Six SF personnel were wounded in the clash. Unidentified militants attacked another army convoy at Khar Qamar, 20 kilometres west of Miranshah, with a remote-controlled bomb at about 4pm, injuring four SF personnel. Taliban militants in North Waziristan demanded that the government abolish security check-posts before further talks for the revival of the September 2006-peace deal with the government.
July 22-23	Heavy fighting killed at least 35 militants and two soldiers in North Waziristan, the military said. Major General Waheed Arshad, chief of the Inter-Services Public Relations, informed that at least 30 militants died in a series of clashes since late July 22, and five more were killed in a battle that continued on July 23-evening. Two soldiers were killed and 12 others injured in the violence over the past 24 hours, he added. At least seven soldiers were injured in two roadside explosions in the region on July 22-night and July 23. A checkpoint in the Dangeen area and another in the Razmak area came under rocket attacks in which two paramilitary soldiers were injured. An army convoy going from Miranshah to Razmak was attacked near Dosali area and six soldiers sustained injuries. Further, a Khasadar (a local security force) checkpoint was blown up near a government school in Miranshah. However, no casualty was reported.
July 23	The pro-Taliban groups warned Pakistani soldiers to quit fighting or face the "gift of death" through new suicide attacks. In pamphlets, distributed in Miranshah town on July 23, entitled "Till Islam Lives in Islamabad" a group calling itself the Mujahideen-i-Islam threatened that suicide bombs would again bring soldiers the "gift of death". They warned that suicide attackers "love death more than you love your 5,000-rupee salary, nude pictures of Indian actresses and liquor." It added "We know that you have become America’s slave and are serving infidel Musharraf and have become a traitor to your religion for food, clothes and shelter." The Federal Government rejected the local Taliban demand for the removal of security check posts across North Waziristan.
July 25	Four SF personnel were killed in an attack by militants on the Kambar check post at Dattakhel. Militants targeted a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy with remote-controlled bomb at Razmik Road in Dosli, some 40 kilometres from Miranshah, injuring five soldiers and damaging a vehicle. Two FC soldiers were also wounded in an attack on the Dangeen check-post. Militants targeted the Gosh check-post near Miranshah, which resulted in the suspension of electricity in a number of areas due to damaged electricity wires.
July 26	A soldier was killed in a rocket attack on an army post in the Sarwaki area of South Waziristan. 10 persons were wounded in a roadside bomb blast that targeted a military convoy in North Waziristan. Paramilitary forces reportedly exchanged fire with militants at Mir Ali. However, no casualties were reported.
July 27	One soldier was injured when militants attacked a security checkpoint in the Ghazlamai area with at least 20 rockets even as security forces set up new posts around Miranshah town.
July 29	Militants targeted the paramilitary headquarters in Miranshah with two rocket attacks. Sources said that one rocket hit the nearby airstrip and another a tube-well near the base wounding four paramilitary soldiers. A post of the paramilitary Bajaur Scouts in Badan Kot came under rocket attack. Residents said that five rockets hit residential compounds and the security forces subsequently retaliated. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. Unidentified people abducted an Intelligence Bureau official and his relative from Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Five masked men abducted Sub-Inspector Bahadur Nawaz and his relative Muhammad Javed, a government schoolteacher, when they were going from Mir Ali Scouts Cantonment to a local bazaar. Both hostages reportedly hail from the Bannu district in the NWFP.
July 30	Three paramilitary soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device exploded close to the Mashes camp near Miranshah. Three paramilitary soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries when a convoy hit a roadside bomb near Thall picket. The convoy was going from Dosali to Bannu in the North West Frontier Province. A helicopter gunship fired on a suspicious car that was following an army convoy near the Afghan border, killing four suspected militants. "The army spotted the car and ordered them to stop and they ignored the warning. They were fired on by a helicopter escorting the convoy… Four people inside the car were killed, they are suspected militants," said an unnamed security official. Security force personnel arrested seven suspected militants with "remote-controlled explosive devices" after a roadside bomb hit a military convoy heading towards Bannu from Razmak. Four soldiers were injured in the blast.
July 30	Militants attacked the headquarters of paramilitary forces in the Miranshah town, but no casualty was reported. While one rocket hit the hostel of a government school in the town, two others landed near the army camp. In the Mirali subdivision, two telecommunication installations and a roadside shed were blown up. Rockets were also fired at the Ghazlamai post in the area. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.
July 31	Security forces, assisted by helicopter gun-ships, killed 15 militants in an encounter near the Banda checkpoint in North Waziristan. Major General Waheed Arshad, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, said 18 "miscreants" were killed when about 40 of them tried to attack a military checkpoint near Miranshah. Though the military spokesperson denied any casualties among the troops, villagers said some soldiers were killed or injured in the fighting. The political administration have reportedly suspended payment of incentives and salaries of the residents of Darpakhel, Borakhel and Miranshah villages under the collective and territorial responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. An official said that the incentives were suspended after security forces had come under attacks in the areas.
August 1	A paramilitary soldier sustained injuries in fresh overnight clashes at the Banda checkpoint in North Waziristan, where 18 militants were killed on July 31, officials said. Militants fired five rockets at a military post on the border, while another rocket aimed at an army camp in Miranshah missed its intended target and exploded near a hospital. However, there were no casualties.
August 3	At least four people were killed during a shootout between tribesmen and SF personnel in the Asadkhel area of North Waziristan. The exchange of fire followed a bomb explosion moments before the arrival in Asadkhel of a convoy of army and FC which was on way from Bannu in the NWFP to Razmak. The remote controlled bomb explosion, however, caused no casualty. Three missiles were also fired at an FC checkpoint and the Miranshah Fort. People in Miranshah observed a ‘black day’ against the ongoing military operation in the FATA, threats of direct intervention by US forces and establishment of checkpoints by army and the Frontier Corps.
August 4	Four SF personnel, two each from the army and Frontier Corps, were killed and six others injured when militants attacked the Salanghi check post in Dosali area, 35-kilometres south of Miranshah. In the retaliatory fire SFs killed 10 militants. Militants fired eight rockets at a check post near Miranshah, but there were no casualties reported.
August 5	Two soldiers were injured when militants attacked the Banda security post near Miranshah in North Waziristan.
August 6	Militants distributed pamphlets in the bazaars of Miranshah expressing hatred for the security forces. Titled ‘Taliban’s message to a missile,’ the pamphlet, written in Urdu, blamed the army and paramilitary troops for "spilling the blood of Muslims." It added: "Go and explode on the head of a soldier or a spy. See, make no mistake, go straight and target the enemies of Islam, the dogs of army and paramilitary."
August 7-8	At least 12 militants were killed and several others injured during helicopter raids by the security forces at Degan village in North Waziristan. Military spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said that the operation commenced at 5:00am when artillery and Cobra helicopters targeted two compounds of the militants. "The militants used to regroup and prepare attacks on security forces and take refuge at these compounds," he disclosed. Some low-level al Qaeda members were identified as having been among the 12 militants killed. Chechens and Arabs were among the militants killed, an unnamed security official said.
August 8	A soldier fetching water from a stream near the Banda security checkpoint in North Waziristan was killed and another wounded in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device. Subsequently, the Pakistan Army troops retaliated through gunship helicopters which strafed places on the banks of river Tochi and also the nearby hills. However, no casualties were reported. Militants fired several rockets at the paramilitary base in Miranshah. One of the rockets hit the air strip near the base, but caused no damage or casualties. Three rockets were fired at the Saidgai checkpoint in the region.
August 9	At least 15 people were reported to have died after army’s helicopter gun-ships attacked the Degan village in North Waziristan following a roadside bomb blast which left four soldiers injured. The four soldiers were wounded when a bomb exploded near the Boya checkpoint on the Miranshah-Datakhel road. Unidentified assailants shot dead two pro-government tribesmen at Mir Ali in North Waziristan. About 16 personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps went missing on Jandola-Sara Rogha road in South Waziristan. They are believed to have been abducted by militants. Reports indicated that Uzbek militants, who were evicted from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, and its surrounding towns as a result of a tribal force led by ‘Commander’ Nazeer and his associates, had shifted to the Mehsud-dominated area and might be behind the abduction.
August 10	Militants opened fire at a check post, around half a kilometre east of Miranshah in North Waziristan, injuring a Frontier Corps official. Gunship helicopters targeted a suspected militant hideout at Boya, west of Miranshah in North Waziristan, but there were no reports of casualties.
August 11	Troops killed three suspected militants during an encounter in the Mir Ali town of North Waziristan. One SF personnel was injured in the incident. Two civilians were killed and five others, including an army soldier, injured when militants attacked an army convoy with a remote-controlled bomb at Patassy Ada in North Waziristan. The dead body of a civilian, identified as Qader Jan, was recovered from the Amin check-post, southwest of Miranshah. Militants fired two missiles targeting a security forces’ check-post in the Miranshah area of North Waziristan. One missile landed near the check-post and the other hit the roof of bunkers, injuring a soldier. The SFs retaliated, but no damage or loss of life was reported. SFs arrested four suspected people at the Eisha check-post and recovered eight hand grenades and four Kalashnikov rifles from them.
August 12	Militants beheaded two Afghan nationals on alleged spying charges in North Waziristan. The first beheaded body was found near Miranshah while the second was recovered from Datakhel bazaar. The deceased were identified as Habibur Rehman and Amir Khan, both residents of Afghanistan’s Paktika province.
August 13	At least three militants were killed during an encounter with the SF personnel which ensued after the militants attacked the Dargai check post in South Waziristan. A military convoy going to Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan, from Bannu in the North West Frontier Province was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb, in the Karam Kot area, wounding three SF personnel. Militants attacked a military camp in the Shawal area, two kilometres west of Miranshah, injuring two soldiers. Militants attacked the SFs check-post at Ghulam Khan, 15 kilometres north of Miranshah. However, no casualties were reported. The Taliban in South Waziristan announced that they would release the abducted 16 Frontier Corps personnel if their 10 accomplices were also released.
August 14	Pro-Taliban militants beheaded one of 16 paramilitary soldiers abducted on August 9 in South Waziristan, and threatened to kill more unless 10 of their associates are freed. Residents found the body and severed head near a football ground in Jandola, 50 kilometres east of South Waziristan’s main town of Wana, said Latifur Rehman, a senior government official. A civilian was killed and three soldiers sustained injuries during an encounter between troops and suspected militants in North Waziristan. Suspected militants fired two missiles at the Mana military camp in the Shawal Valley of North Waziristan. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.
August 16	Ten militants and two soldiers were killed in an attack on a military convoy in South Waziristan. "Militants ambushed a military convoy near Chaghmalay, and air support was sought against them. Ten militants were killed and 12 injured while the security forces suffered two casualties," said military spokesperson Major General Waheed. Two soldiers were killed and four others injured in a roadside explosion near Kaka Ziarat in North Waziristan, while the security forces arrested six persons for carrying out the attack. Residents of Jandola, the entry point of South Waziristan, said the Wana-Tank highway was blocked after Mehsud militants stopped traffic to and from Wana. Wazir elders reportedly said they feared a full-scale war between the Mehsuds and Wazirs if the highway remained blocked and attacks on security forces in Wazir areas by Mehsud militants continued. The Bhittani tribe has warned Mehsud tribesmen at a jirga (council) that it will raise an armed force against it if the eight paramilitary soldiers abducted on August 9 were not freed immediately. The eight soldiers belong to the Bhittani tribe.
August 17	Officials and residents said the death toll in the clashes in South Waziristan reached to 32, including 19 militants and 12 soldiers. At least 12 security force personnel were injured. In North Waziristan, two Uzbek nationals and two men of the Janikhel tribe were killed when security forces fired at a car which did not stop for checking at the Jaler checkpoint. One person was arrested. A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden jeep into a military vehicle near Jandola, killing himself and wounding five soldiers.
August 18	Two soldiers were killed and an equal number of them injured in a suicide attack at the Dharkhubi checkpost near the Mir Ali town in North Waziristan. The suicide attack came hours after troops attacked three suspected militant hideouts in South Waziristan, triggering a shootout that left at least 10 soldiers injured. Two more soldiers were killed when militants attacked Isha and Qamar checkposts in North Waziristan. The beheaded body of a religious scholar, Maulana Zarma Khan, abducted a day earlier, was found near Jandola in South Waziristan. One soldier was injured when militants clashed with security forces near the Christian cemetery in Miranshah in North Waziristan. Militants fired up to 20 rockets at the Banda checkpost outside Miranshah, but there were no reports of casualties.
August 19	At least 15 militants were killed during military operations that targeted militant hideouts near the Mir Ali town in North Waziristan. Military spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said the military attacked hideouts of the militants after security checkpoints near Mir Ali came under attack. "We have credible information that the two compounds have been destroyed and 15 miscreants, including 10 Uzbeks, have been killed in the strike," Arshad said. There were unconfirmed reports that an Iraqi national Abu Akasha, a suspected al Qaeda operative, may have been the target of the military operation. Two women, two children and a man were killed in a village near Mir Ali town in military operations involving Cobra gunship helicopters. Tribal sources in Mir Ali said the five civilians were killed in Hormuz and Issori when the gunship helicopters bombed and strafed the two villages. The Mosaki, Hasokhel and Khushali villages were also attacked by the five helicopters and several houses were damaged. The bodies of two Frontier Corps soldiers were brought to the Mir Ali Fort after being killed in a militant attack on the heavily-defended Qamar Post between Eidak and Noraq villages. A female member of a soldier’s family residing in an Army camp at Mir Ali in North Waziristan was wounded when it was attacked by suspected militants with three missiles. The Khajuri checkpoint, an entry point to North Waziristan located near the FC Fort in Mir Ali, was also fired at. However, no loss to life or property was reported. Local Taliban militants have agreed to unconditionally release 15 paramilitary personnel who were abducted from Spinkai Raghzai in South Waziristan 10 days ago, a tribal negotiator claimed.
August 20	A soldier, identified as Faisal, was wounded in an improvised explosives device blast that targeted an army convoy near Tank in South Waziristan. Two villagers were also injured when soldiers resorted to indiscriminate fire following the attack. In Miranshah, the military’s Amin Picket, built on a hill overlooking the town, was attacked with small arms by suspected militants. There were no reports of casualties on either side. Taliban militants in South Waziristan have reportedly not commenced the phased release of 15 abducted FC soldiers in exchange for their 10 colleagues detained by the government.
August 21	Two army convoys were reportedly attacked with improvised explosive devices in North Waziristan. However, there was no loss of life or injuries. Unidentified militants targeted a camp of the Frontier Corps on the Jandola-Tank Road at Manzai in South Waziristan, with rockets and automatic weapons. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.
August 22	One soldier was killed and five others sustained injuries when militants fired rockets at the Tiarza check-post in South Waziristan. One Taliban militant, identified as Sher Ayub of Mir Ali town, was killed and nine FC personnel were injured when hundreds of Taliban militants armed with heavy weapons attacked a FC fort in the Nawai Dand area bordering North Waziristan. Police sources said that the militants used heavy weapons in the three-hour attack. Security has been tightened at check-posts in the Hangu district of NWFP and on the Hangu-North Waziristan border as Taliban militants are suspected of using the Kurram Agency route to launch attacks in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, security experts said. The sources said the Kurrum Agency route was very strategic for the North Waziristan militants and they had stepped up attacks on security forces blocking their way.
August 24	A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the military convoy at Qamar Picket near the Mir Ali town in North Waziristan, killing five soldiers and injuring 10 others. The same convoy, which had come from Bannu in the North West Frontier Province and was on its way to Razmak, was attacked once more when it proceeded further. Another suicide bomber riding a vehicle struck the convoy near Asadkhel village on the road to Razmak, killing two soldiers and injuring two others. Military officials stated that two militants were killed by the troops in retaliatory firing. Three soldiers were injured in an attack on a military convoy transporting troops from Qutabkhel to Miranshah. Suspected militants abducted a senior Pakistani army officer and three others from Ladha tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Colonel Shahid Kiyani of Bajaur Scouts, two soldiers and an administration official were abducted at gunpoint. An FC soldier, identified as Zaman, was abducted by suspected militants in Miranshah. The government has rejected the phased release of 15 FC personnel abducted by the militants, and told the Mehsud peace jirga (council) that it wanted the abductors to release the hostages simultaneously.
August 25	SFs killed five militants and arrested another in the Datakhel area of North Waziristan in a clash which followed an attack on the Ismailkhel security post leaving one soldier dead and two others wounded. An army helicopter opened fire on a vehicle on a road near Miranshah killing three suspected militants. An official said the vehicle was targeted because it failed to stop at a checkpoint at Mir Ali, about 20-kilometers from Miranshah. Rockets were fired at the Banda post near Miranshah. But no casualty was reported.
August 28