Word: waziristan
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...most that journalists have been able to see of the fighting, which is perhaps Pakistan's sternest test against the Pakistani Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies in South Waziristan. Accompanied by the army, a group of local and foreign journalists were taken by helicopter to the fringes of the fighting on Thursday, where they got a rare glimpse of areas that are notorious for being sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Pakistan's most dangerous terrorists in recent years...
Foreign fighters aligned with al-Qaeda make up a large component of the fighters that the army is taking on in South Waziristan. The military's chief spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, said that some 1,500 Central Asian fighters, mainly Uzbeks, were among the 5,000 to 8,000 fighters that the offensive was targeting...
...offensives that faltered, the army said it is demonstrating hardened resolve that will not let up. The last operation was halted, said Abbas, because of "two vulnerabilities": the failure to secure the army's fort at Laddha and to evacuate the civilian population in the area. In the South Waziristan areas under army control on Thursday, no civilians were in sight in the rugged, sparsely populated valley. More than 155,000 civilians left as the army moved in over the past fortnight, adding to the numbers of people that have fled in years past...
Since the late 19th century, when Mullah Powindah - the first religiously inspired fighter from the Mehsud tribe - harried British troops, South Waziristan has troubled modern armies. Pakistan's ongoing wave of vicious suicide attacks has brutally demonstrated the need to eliminate the militants who are based here. But the fighting is only going to get tougher. And when the army does manage to clear the area, as it expects to do within three months, holding on to the territory may prove even harder...
...which was cleared by the army last week - was not possible due to the continuing threat of rocket fire from militants nearby. There is no clear idea of either of the Taliban commanders' whereabouts, though there have been unconfirmed reports of Mehsud hiding atop Preghal in Badr Valley, South Waziristan's highest peak. Some observers speculate that he may have shifted into North Waziristan, beyond the scope of the offensive, a claim that the army dismisses...