Re: Taliban moving closer to capital - Within 100km of Islamabad
Buner is about to fall, but the brave local pashtuns there are resisting. No thanks to army or FC who are stuck inside barracks. You know next taliban attack will be a suicide bombing to take out the local leadership in buner. After that, the people will be afraid and taliban will take over. And Buner is not in FATA, but NWFP
DAWN.COM | Front Page | 16-militants-among-21-killed-in-Buner-clash
16 militants among 21 killed in Buner clash
By Our Correspondent
Wednesday, 08 Apr, 2009 | 05:03 AM PST
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BUNER, April 7: Twenty-one people, including 16 Taliban fighters, were killed in an overnight clash when local volunteers and police personnel tried to enter the Gokand Valley to flush out militants who had sneaked into the area on Saturday from the neighbouring Swat district.
Three policemen and two Lashkar men were among the dead.
When the combined force tried to enter the area via Rajagaly Kandow from the Pir Baba side and dislodge the militants, Taliban took position and refused to go back.
Members of a local jirga, including leaders of the Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM), and officials of the district administration, formed a committee and tried to persuade Taliban to leave the area, offering them safe passage. But the militant commander said that he had been ordered to stay, hold a ‘peace march’ and visit Shalbandi to condole the deaths of six militants.
Some of the deceased were identified as Waseem Khan, Pir Mohammad Khan, ASI Afreen, constables Mohammad Akbar and Jehanzada.
Sources said that the militants had sent 16 bodies and taken 13 of their wounded colleagues to Swat via Kalil Kandow on Tuesday morning.