Taliban claims downing Pakistan Army helicopter

October 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Saturday's brazen terror attack on the Pakistan Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi has added to the growing concerns about the stability of the nuclear armed nation, and experts have now pointed out that President Barack Obama should focus more on targeting the Taliban and other extremists in Pakistan. Military advisors believe the Taliban would keep on expanding and multiplying unless the Obama administration sends additional troops to thwart the challenge.

August 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has requested the United States to provide it more AH-1F helicopter gunships to facilitate its war against the Taliban and other extremist groups based in the lawless tribal region along the Pakistan -Afghanistan border. Pakistan, which currently uses eight AH-1F helicopter gunships provided to it by US last year, considers the AH-1 as an effective weapon in the fight against the Taliban.

July 23rd, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Army has killed at least 27 Taliban fighters in various districts of the Malakand division in the last 24 hours. According to an ISPR statement, fighter jets pounded Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan killing six close aides of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud.

July 23rd, 2009 PESHAWAR - The Taliban has rejected reports about its Swat commander Mullah Fazlullah being seriously injured, and has vowed to continue its 'jihad'. Talking to a foreign news agency over telephone from an undisclosed location, self proclaimed Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan claimed that the whole Taliban leadership was alive and united.

July 19th, 2009 Civilian helicopter crashes at Afghan baseKABUL — A civilian helicopter crashed at NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, while a U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing in the east, officials said.

July 4th, 2009 Officials say 16 killed in clashes in NW PakistanPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Clashes between tribesmen and Taliban militants left 16 people dead in Pakistan's northwest on Saturday, officials said, in the latest violence between pro-government tribal militias and insurgents. Also Saturday, the Taliban said it shot down a helicopter that crashed Friday in the northwest, killing 26 government troops.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Twenty-six Pakistani soldiers were killed when a helicopter in which they were travelling crashed in the Orakzai tribal agency close to the Afghan border, a media report said Saturday. The MI-17 helicopter crashed Friday due to a technical problem, the Online news agency said citing army officials.

June 21st, 2009 PESHAWAR - At least 22 Taliban insurgents and other extremists have reportedly been killed, as the Pakistan Army intensified its operation against the Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban in South Waziristan. According to sources, the security forces are engaged in a gruesome battle in the region, and are also being assisted by Pakistan Air Force fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

June 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army has reportedly killed 60 more Taliban insurgents in the past 24 hours, during its whirlwind offensive in Malakand and other different regions of the Swat Valley. "39 terrorists were killed in various areas of Malakand.

June 11th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Army has claimed that it has killed at least 100 more Taliban during its offensive in the Jani Khel and Baka Khel areas of Frontier Region (FR) in Bannu. According to sources, Taliban commander Sher Alam has also been killed in the operation.

May 19th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan military leadership is worried that the longer the Swat offensive against the Taliban persists, public support will erode. The Pakistan Army's heaviest battle against the Taliban is being fought in the Malakand division, The Time has pointed.

May 8th, 2009 Gates: Taliban won't get Pakistani nuclear weaponsKABUL — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Taliban "overreached" when they advanced on a district of Pakistan just outside the capital city. Gates, visiting next-door Afghanistan, says he is encouraged that the Pakistani Army is taking on the Taliban.

April 30th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Army is afraid that its entire force would disintegrate if it orders the rank and file to fire and counter the Taliban in a more serious manner, according to a senior Obama Administration official. Bruce Riedel, who chaired the Obama administration's recent review of policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, expressed concern about whether the Pakistani Army would be willing to kill large numbers of Taliban militants.

April 23rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani Army must end its age old anti-India strategy and try to save Pakistan from becoming the caliphate of al Qaeda and the Taliban, according to a leading Islamabad based daily. The Taliban are linked to al Qaeda and they are counting on such elements in Punjab to help them take their war down to other parts of Pakistan.

April 22nd, 2009 MINGORA - Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said that Maulana Fazlullah is "not against the Pakistan Army" and the Taliban militants in Swat were forced to take up arms. Addressing a press conference, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the chief of Swat Taliban, Maulana Fazlullah, had never opposed the army "as an institution." "We do not want war ...