Pak Taliban publish annual report, claim to have killed 686 people

AFP, Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban has released its first annual report, claiming it killed hundreds of people in 2015, with analysts suggesting its “inflated” figures illustrate the militants’ struggle to demonstrate their capability as security improves.
The report, written in Urdu, has a detailed list of attacks carried out on security forces, police and politicians in several Pakistani cities and the northwestern tribal areas between January 3 and December 26.
Released on December 29, it says that in 2015, the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) carried out 73 target killings, 12 ambush attacks, 10 raids, 19 IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts, five suicide attacks, 17 missile attacks and shot down two helicopters, and claims it killed some 686 people in 2015.
In the report, it claims that it killed 247 people in an attack on Peshawar’s Badaber air force base in September. The official death toll was 29. “This report mostly carries big claims, but there is no evidence to support these claims which are often inflated,” said Pakistani analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai.
“They have realised that this kind of report is necessary to show people that they are still active and potent,” Yousafzai said.  
Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban have launched an unprecedented winter surge that points to a desire for an upper hand in peace talks, analysts say, while some suggest rogue Pakistani elements may be bolstering the effort to derail overtures by Islamabad to India. Taliban fighting normally quiets down in winter months with the insurgents resting ahead of an annual spring offensive, but this year has seen a series of fierce attacks—many focused on Kabul in recent weeks, including three in the capital since Friday.
Some say the ongoing fighting is a bid by Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour to consolidate his position ahead of four-way talks between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China slated for next week, a precursor to a revived peace dialogue between Kabul and the insurgents.

Pak Taliban publish annual report, claim to have killed 686 people

AFP, Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban has released its first annual report, claiming it killed hundreds of people in 2015, with analysts suggesting its inflated figures illustrate the militants struggle to demonstrate their capability as security improves. The report, written in Urdu, has a detailed list of attacks carried out on security forces, police and politicians in several Pakistani cities and the northwestern tribal areas between January 3 and December 26. Released on December 29, it says that in 2015, the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) carried out 73 target killings, 12 ambush attacks, 10 raids, 19 IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts, five suicide attacks, 17 missile attacks and shot down two helicopters, and claims it killed some 686 people in 2015. In the report, it claims that it killed 247 people in an attack on Peshawars Badaber air force base in September. The official death toll was 29. This report mostly carries big claims, but there is no evidence to support these claims which are often inflated, said Pakistani analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai. They have realised that this kind of report is necessary to show people that they are still active and potent, Yousafzai said. Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban have launched an unprecedented winter surge that points to a desire for an upper hand in peace talks, analysts say, while some suggest rogue Pakistani elements may be bolstering the effort to derail overtures by Islamabad to India. Taliban fighting normally quiets down in winter months with the insurgents resting ahead of an annual spring offensive, but this year has seen a series of fierce attacksmany focused on Kabul in recent weeks, including three in the capital since Friday. Some say the ongoing fighting is a bid by Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour to consolidate his position ahead of four-way talks between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China slated for next week, a precursor to a revived peace dialogue between Kabul and the insurgents.