Pivotal Battle Against Al Qaeda

Tribesmen guard an army convoy in Raghagan town of the troubled Bajaur agency of Pakistan on September 26. A massive battle with Islamist militants in an remote Pakistani tribal region is proving to be pivotal to the country's fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. (AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi)

Fight In Tribal Region Key To Battle With al Qaeda
-- Washington Times

TANG KHATA, Pakistan | A massive battle with Islamic militants in an obscure Pakistani tribal region is proving to be pivotal to the country's fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban, officials say.

The six-week army operation in the remote region of Bajaur on the Afghan border is suspected to have sparked furious extremists into bombing the Marriott hotel in Islamabad a little more than a week ago, they say.

While Waziristan has captured most of the headlines about Pakistan's tribal belt in recent years, the military says Bajaur is where it faces the stiffest resistance since joining the U.S. -led war on terror in 2001.

Troops backed by helicopter gunships and fighter jets have struggled to push forward in the face of bunkers, tunnel networks and organized defenses constructed by extremists.

Several blown-up Pakistani tanks littered the roads during a recent trip for journalists arranged by the military. U.S.-built Cobra gunships could be seen pounding insurgent positions with cannon.

"This is at the center," said Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan, head of the paramilitary Frontier Corps force, which is leading the fighting.

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My Comment: This is not the battle that will determine Al Qaeda's future .... the philosophical and moral suport that Al Qaeda receives in Pakistan and around the world cannot be defeated by tanks and soldiers. The best that can come out of this battle is the capture or killing of some top operatives.