Timeline of the war in North-West Pakistan (2007)

The 2007 timeline of the War in Waziristan:

July 3–11: Lal Masjid siege

On 3 July 2007, the militant supporters of Lal Masjid and Pakistani security forces clashed in Islamabad after the students from the mosque attacked a nearby government ministry building. The Pakistani security forces immediately put up a siege around the mosque complex which lasted until 11 July and resulted in 109 deaths. This represented the main catalyst for the conflict and eventual breakdown of the truce that existed between Pakistan and the Taliban in the northwest. Already during the siege there were several attacks in Waziristan in retaliation for the siege.

July 14–15: Attacks and end of truce

At least 75 Pakistanis, including soldiers and police recruits, had died in three attacks on 14 July and 15 July 2007.

In a statement issued in Miranshah, the main town, the militants accused the government of breaking the agreement. "We are ending the agreement today," the Taleban Shura or Council said in pamphlets distributed in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan.^[1]

On 14 July 2007 a suicide bomber attacked a Pakistani Army convoy killed 26 soldiers and wounding 54. On 15 July 2007 two suicide bombers attacked another Pakistani Army convoy killing 16 soldiers and 5 civilians and wounding another 47 people. And in a separate incident a fourth suicide bomber attacked a police headquarters killing 28 police officers and recruits and wounding 35 people.^[2][3]

July 15–19: Waves of attack

From 15 July to 19, waves of attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed over 200 people. On 17 July, a suicide bomber hit a rally featuring the country's suspended chief justice in Pakistan's capital Islamabad killing 15 people and wounding 44. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was traveling to the rally and was about three miles away when the attacker struck near the stage set up for him.

20 July: Car bomb attack in Karachi averted

On 20 July panic gripped shoppers on Friday evening at a Clifton shopping mall in Karachi when a bomb was defused immediately after it had been found in a car parked in a nearby parking area. An anonymous caller informed the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee that a bomb was planted in the car parked near the Park Towers. The shopping mall was the venue of a Harry Potter book launch and was packed with shoppers. Investigators said that the car carrying the bomb had been stolen from the Ferozabad police limits on 10 July and it had 4 kilograms of explosives. The bomb disposal squad (BDS) defused the bomb as the BDS officials severed the wiring connecting the boxes with the car’s battery.^[4]

21 July - September 2: Army moves into Waziristan

The Army moved large concentration of troops into Waziristan and had engaged in fierce clashes with militants in which at least 100 militants had been killed including wanted terrorist and former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Abdullah Mehsud.^[5] The militants also struck back in attacking Army convoys, security check points and sending suicide bombers which has killed over 50 soldiers and police and over 100 civilians. In one month of fighting during the period from 24 July to 24 August 250 militants and 60 soldiers were killed. On 2 September, just a few militants managed to ambush a 17-vehicle army convoy and captured an estimated 240 soldiers in it, without a shot being fired; an event that shocked the nation.^[6] Seven officers were among the captured. Following this, there has been widespread anger at the Pakistan Army within Pakistan.

September - Present: Army garrisons Waziristan attacked

The army garrisoned the areas and set up check points but the militants have hit hard overrunning many check points and kidnapping many soldiers in ambushes.

On 12 September 2007, the first outpost was attacked and overrun by the Taliban resulting in the capture of 12 Pakistani soldiers.

The next day on 13 September 2007, a suicide bomber in Ghazi Tarbela attacked a Pakistani army base, destroying the main mess hall and killing 20 members of the Karar commando group; Pakistan's most elite army unit. Another 29 soldiers were wounded.

A series of attacks ensued and by 20 September 2007 a total of five Pakistani Army military outposts had been overrun and more than 25 soldiers captured.

List of attacks

References