Taliban swatted

Some good infowar from the Paks:

It was several weeks into a military campaign to flush out militants from a valley north of Pakistan’s capital, and the words of a Taliban commander, Maulana Fazlullah, crackled over a handheld radio.

“How are you? Is everything alright?” said Mr. Fazlullah, the main commander in the Swat Valley, according to a transcript of a radio intercept recorded by the Pakistani military.

There was no response.

“Don’t lose morale,” he said. “Go into the trees and take the sniper rifles with you. Take aim and fire. You should be able to kill at least one or two.”

The exchange was part of a series of conversations among Taliban militants in Swat that the Pakistani military recorded since the beginning of its offensive there last month. The discussions were transcribed, translated into Urdu, Pakistan’s official language, and compiled in a log book by intelligence officials here, and senior Pakistani military officials allowed The New York Times to read it.

The snippets, audible when the military happened to find the constantly changing frequency on which the militants were speaking, offer brief glimpses into the lives of the militants during the past weeks of war that vanish as fast as they appear.

The military argues the conversations are proof that the militants have suffered a serious setback in Swat, a scenic valley just north of here that had become a Taliban stronghold. But the military campaign is not over, and the top leadership, including Mr. Fazlullah, is still at large.

The Taliban is striking back in other areas. The Taliban kidnapped students, teachers and a principal riding in four cars from Razmak Cadet College on Monday in Waziristan, a Taliban stronghold in western Pakistan. The government has said Waziristan would be the next front in its campaign against the Taliban.

The Swat campaign, which began on May 8, is seen as a test case for Pakistan’s resolve to tackle its spreading insurgency, which came within 70 miles from its capital, Islamabad, earlier this year. Two earlier offensives failed, criticized as half-hearted efforts that inflicted too many civilian casualties.

But this time is different, military officials argue, as the army has committed more than double the number of troops, and has broad public support, opening a potential opportunity for the government to re-establish its authority in the area.

Whatever the outcome, the militant chatter in recent weeks sounded gloomy. There were some inspirational words, some jihad battle rallying cries, but also many lost, hungry and isolated voices. One resident of the village of Khazara said Taliban leaders gathered locals in the Minara Mosque shortly before he and his family fled, demanding contributions of a gun, a son, or 50,000 rupees in cash, but few obliged.

On May 27, a militant who called himself Abu Daud, asked urgently: “Where are the five boys we trained? Where are they? Bring them here because we need them.”

The response was not encouraging: “One has been killed and two are alive. I don’t know about the others.”..

The area of fighting has been off limits to journalists and it is not clear how much of a fight militants put up. Guerrillas often melt away when faced with superior firepower, only to resurface later. About eight brigades — approximately 16,000 troops — were committed to the offensive, more than double past campaigns.

A Swat resident who fled, Adnan Rashid, said in the later stages of the fighting, militants would shoot very short bursts from their guns, in order not to waste bullets.

The military says over 1,000 militants have been killed, but that is only an estimate. Most were pulled off the battlefield and buried by comrades before being counted, and some were probably civilians. There has been no casualty count of civilians.

The civilians seemed to irritate the militants.

A man who called himself Jawad fumed on May 27 that villagers were raising white flags on their houses. “Why are these gutless people holding white flags?” he said.

Another man responded: “Everyone has their own will. How can we stop them?”..

A post here on NATO infowar in Afstan.

More on the NWFP and FATA (click on "Interactive" map):

Pakistan makes progress in battle to defeat Taliban in Swat Valley
Pakistan heralded a decisive victory over the Taliban in the Swat valley within days as the army announced it had taken control of the main town of Mingora.

Pakistan Makes Gains in Key Swat Valley Town [video]

Residents of the Swat Valley's main town of Mingora on Sunday assessed the damage, a day after the Pakistani military claimed to have retaken the city from...

Pakistan to attack the fountainhead of extremism: Rugged Waziristan

Al-Qaeda Seen as Shaken in Pakistan
U.S. Officials Cite Drones, Offensive

Quite a change from the middle of April (see 2) here); seems the Pak offensive begun at the end of April has been for real (see end of this post, Paks fighting back).