Kidnapped cadets rescued in Pakistan

Washington Post:

Dozens of students and staff members from a Pakistani army preparatory school in North Waziristan were rescued Tuesday by the Pakistani army from Taliban insurgents who had kidnapped them hours earlier, local officials said.

The kidnapping marked one of the most brazen acts yet by insurgents here. The Taliban has increasingly used ransom payments as a way of funding its operations.

The insurgents were taking their captives to South Waziristan, where the Taliban has strongholds, when soldiers challenged them on a road and a clash erupted, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, told Reuters.

"Under cover of the firing, the militants escaped and we have recovered them all," Abbas said.

The number of hostages taken captive Monday has been difficult to pin down, with some saying hundreds were abducted after a roadside ambush by militants. Abbas said Tuesday that 80 had been freed.

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It appears that the earlier reports of over 400 being kidnapped was exaggerated. It also appears that the Taliban was not particularly smart in its attempted kidnapping. Another point worth noting is that they were eventually tripped up by an army check point. This is one of the necessary requirements of a counterinsurgency operation. People complain a lot about the Israeli check points too, but they are effective in reducing the terrorist ability to operate.