Pakistan takes Taliban commander's base

AFP:

Pakistan said Saturday it had captured Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud's hometown as the US demonstrated its support for the war on the Islamists with an air strike that killed 14 people.

Security sources said the army overran Mehsud's town of Kotkai overnight after three days of aerial bombardments which had underlined the huge challenge facing the military in taking on the Taliban in their tribal heartland.

And in another part of the northwest tribal belt, a missile fired by an unmanned US drone spy plane killed at least 14 people including three foreign militants, local officials said.

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There has been no word on the whereabouts of Mehsud since the operation began.

"Security forces took control of Kotkai overnight and a clearance operation is in progress," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity, describing the capture as "a major breakthrough".

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This will disrupt Taliban operations and make command and control more difficult. Hakimullah Mehsud is likely hiding to the north of his village with other commanders. As the army clears and holds their base area, other forces will move north to deny the Taliban control of Waziristan.

The Washington Post suggest the resistance is stronger than this AFP report implies. The Pakistan army had not take Kotkai at the time of the Post story. Strong resistance is not really in the interest of the Taliban when faced with a superior force. Insurgency doctrine would imply retreat and then hit the army as they try to settle in.