Mehsud has a brush with death in US drone attacks

In continuing operations in adjacent Swat,security forces gunned down seven militants in fresh fighting while six army personnel,including two officers,fell in a Taliban ambush in the same region,raising questions about official claims that the region had largely been cleared of rebels.

Militants ambushed troops returning from a search operation at Charbagh,considered a stronghold of the Taliban,last night. A major,a captain and four soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire while three others were injured,the army said.

Though the Pakistan Army put the death toll at upto 30 militants in the drone attack,close aide of Mehsud,Wali ur Rehman said 65-70 militants had been killed when drones rained seven missiles on a funeral procession which was attended by 150 top Taliban and foreign fighters on Tuesday.

US drones on Tuesday fired three missiles at a Taliban training centre near village Makeen,60 kms from Waziristan’s chief town of Wanna,killing seven militants. Another barrage of seven missiles rained down on the same area at a funeral procession for some of those killed in the first attack.

Earlier,local officials were quoted by TV channels as saying that Baitullah Mehsud was at the funeral,with media reports saying he had a very close call. Local officials and intelligence reports suggested militants had lost contact with

Mehsud for a while after the attack.

But,media reports on Wednesday while confirming that Mehsud had visited the village where the funeral took place,said the the militant leader left before the lethal second attack.

Hundreds of top ranking Taliban leaders attended the funeral and their presence,the sources said,indicated that the first drone attack had taken out a high-value target.

Local officials later said one of the Mehsud’s top commanders Sangeen Khan was killed in yesterday’s first drone attack.

“Bodies are still lying in the area where the second drone carried out the attack. Taliban cadres are not allowing anybody to come close while their vehicles are ferrying the dead,” local residents were quoted as saying by TV channels.

Today’s ambush on a Pakistan Army convoy was the single largest loss of life for the security forces,more than six weeks into the operations during which they claim to have killed more than 1,600 militants. Over 120 soldiers have also

died in the fighting.

The army had claimed that it had taken control of Charbagh in the first week of this month. It has also said that troops are in the “final phase” of search and clearance operations in Swat but last night’s attack raised questions about the security situation in the area.

A statement issued by the military said security forces had consolidated their positions at Kabal,Akhun Kalle,Dadhrah,Khazna and Gardi in Swat.

It said a militant was killed and three stolen vehicles recovered along with arms and ammunitions when troops conducted a clearance operation at Sakhra.

In Dir district,six militants were killed and seven were apprehended during an exchange of fire with troops conducting a search operation in Kota area.

Security forces also apprehended local militant commander Alamgir and his father at Gwalerai in Swat valley,and police had started taking control of Khwazakhela,another former Taliban stronghold in the valley,the statement said.

The military is also preparing for a major push into South Waziristan,the stronghold of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud. Dozens of Taliban fighters have reportedly been killed in shelling and air strikes in the tribal region over the past few days.

These figures cannot be independently confirmed as media is barred from reporting from the conflict zone. The army has taken only a limited number of journalists on conducted tours of Malakand division.