Pakistani officials claim that “at least 100 Taliban” were killed and dozens of others were injured in a series of attacks against suspected hideouts across the Orakzai Agency. One Pakistani soldier was also said to have been wounded in one of the attacks.
The attacks were the deadliest since Pakistan’s government declared “victory” in Orakzai early last month. The violence has continued apace and today’s casualties bring the overall toll of the conflict in the agency to roughly 1,250 “suspects” killed and a quarter of a million civilians displaced from their homes.
Despite the massive number of killings, virtually no Taliban leaders have been killed or captured in Orakzai, and today’s attacks suggest that the large number of killings have accomplished very little in Orakzai, as indeed they have accomplished very little across Pakistan’s tribal agencies.
On again, off again attacks in Orakzai seem to be picking up intensity over the past week, as a Sunday attack by helicopter gunships prompted retaliation yesterday.
