It still goes on; the Pakistani military has finally launched a campaign at the epicenter of Wahhabi terrorism. South Waziristan, a federally-administered tribal agency in Pakistan on the border of Afghanistan, is where the trail for Osama bin Laden ended.(speaking of Al Qaeda trails..) It is also the center of the Taliban militants committed to the overthrow of the Pakistani government.
In tonight's update, we look at the town of Kaniguram that is next on the Pakistani military's list.
The BBC has a great piece up on the current fight for Kaniguram. It is the second largest town in South Waziristan, and therefore the largest town in the military's scopes. Surrounded by mountains, the Pakistani army has surrounded the town and is planning to move in with a three-pronged assault. The town usually would have as many as 85,000-90,000 residents but it is not known how many remain in Kaniguram. Perhaps most importantly, it is considered to be the last place left for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The who?
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is exactly what it sounds like. They ended up in Afghanistan for reasons other than bad directions. Then after the 2001 U.S. invasion they ended up in Wana, South Waziristan. After relations between they and the leader of the Wazir tribe went sour(real sour), they ended up in Kaniguram which is controlled by the Mehsud tribe. The Mehsud tribe is the tribe that the Pakistani army is focused on, and the Pakistani army really wants to eradicate the IMU. The military establishment largely holds the IMU responsible for the Mehsud tribe/Pakistani-Taliban's shift of focus from Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government to Pakistan's U.s.-backed government.
The IMU has a reputation for being comprised of fierce fighters and for being very close to Al Qaeda. Cornered and with literally nowhere else to go, they will be fighting the Pakistani military to the death. It is largely because of them, who are thought to number around 1,500, that this fight has the potential to be bloody even for South Waziristan's standards. Their leader, Tahir Yuldashev, is believed to have been killed in a CIA drone strike. Yet even without a leader the IMU know they simply have nowhere to go outside of surrounded-Kaniguram except to the grave.