Taliban leaders hiding in mountains of Makeen

Telegraph:

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The main stronghold of Hakimullah Mehsud is Makeen and the advancing troops have yet to reach into that zone.

"We are expecting a tough battle after getting close to Makeen and we are fully prepared for that," said a senior army officer.

Military officials believe the real battle would begin once the troops get close to Makeen and areas including Kanigram. The areas are being softened up with bombardment by jet fighters.

One military official told CNN troops had seized control of the village of Kotkai, the home town of Hakimullah Mehsud and his fellow Taliban commander Qari Hussein.

Hakimullah Mehsud is rumoured to have gone into hiding along with his closest commanders, including his master trainer of suicide bombers, in the mountains of Makeen.

Locals reported other groups of militants had slipped out of South Waziristan into the adjoining areas of the tribal borderland with Afghanistan or south western Balochistan province.

South Waziristan is not only crucial for Pakistani Taliban but it is also a safe haven for Afghan insurgents and al-Qaeda, making it a global hub for extremism.

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Whether 30,000 troops will be enough in this terrain is still being argued in the article. If they have good intelligence on the location of the Taliban leaders, it is probably enough. They can concentrate some of their forces in that area and make movement of the Taliban impossible.

If the forces are converging on Makeen, they will eventually confront some resistance which would be an indicator that they are getting close.