Convoy hijacking in Pakistan spreads fighting

Bill Roggio:

The fighting in northwestern Pakistan has spread from the tribal agency of South Waziristan to the north in Orakzai agency. Pakistani troops battled Taliban fighters in the city of Darra Adam Khel after the Taliban hijacked a military convoy carrying supplies and ammunition for Pakistani troops. Six soldiers were captured during the hijacking.

Thirty-four Taliban and two Pakistani soldiers have been killed after the Pakistani military cordoned the Darra Adam Khel region and launched an assault to retake the trucks and clear the area of Taliban forces. "Heavy shelling has been taking place with artillery and gunship helicopters while militants claim to have taken control of Zarghoonkhel checkpost,' Geo TV reported.

The security situation in Orakzai has slowly deteriorated as the Taliban took effective control of the tribal agency over the past two years. The Pakistani military denied rumors it would launch military operations to clear the Taliban from the area. The city of Darra Adam Khel is a notorious weapons bazaar where the Taliban and criminal elements obtain hand-crafted firearms.

The Pakistani military launched the assault after two peace jirgas, or councils, were formed in an attempt to get the Taliban to surrender the trucks and supplies. The soldiers were released.

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Earlier I posted this piece on Taliban interference with NATO convoys. These are standard Taliban tactics which have been counter productive in Afghanistan usually leading to the destruction of the ambushing forces. They apparently do not have that concern in Pakistan. We definitely need to impress on them the dangers of attacking these convoys.