Paks destroy terror training facility/madrassa

NY Times:

The Pakistani military said today that it had destroyed a religious school used for training militants in Bajur tribal area straddling the border with Afghanistan. More than 83 people are thought to have been killed in the military operation, local television news channels reported, but no official confirmation was immediately available.

The strike, involving helicopter gunships, started at around 5 a.m. today, military officials said. The target was a religious school, known as a madrassa, run by a local cleric, Maulvi Liaqut. Mr. Liaqut was also reportedly killed, according to local media.

Mr. Liaqut had been accused of harboring local and foreign militants. He had been a member of the defunct militant movement Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat Mohammadi, which had sent thousands of tribal fighters into Afghanistan to support the Taliban before being banned in 2002 by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

"We received confirmed intelligence reports that 70-80 militants were hiding in a madrassa used as a terrorist-training facility, which was destroyed by an army strike, led by helicopters," Maj. General Shaukat Sultan, a spokesperson for Pakistani military, said, according to The Associated Press.

General Sultan said that no "high value target'' was present during the raid, referring to al Qaeda or Taliban leaders. General Sultan also stressed that no children or women were present inside the madrassa and denied any involvement by U.S or NATO troops.

...

Bajur, which borders Afghan province of Kunar, has a history of troubled militancy. It was the scene of a widely unpopular American military strike in January, when al Qaeda's number two leader, Aiman al-Zawahiri, was the target. Mr. Zawahiri was not present at the time of the attack but at least 18 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. Subsequently, nationwide protests were held against the United States and President Musharraf.

Suspected Taliban rebels shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 16 American servicemen, in Kunar, Afghanistan, not far from Bajur, in June 2005.

...

The story does not say how this operation fit in with the so called truce in the tribal areas. Thousands were reported to be protesting against the government two days before the strike. A member of parliament who represented the terrorist area resigned after the strike.

While the story may not say anything about the truce, the event says a lot about its failure and the failure of the tribes to honor their side of the bargain.

Bill Roggio ask if US Task Force 145 may have been involved in the strike.