US troops embedded with Pak forces: WikiLeaks

The issue has gained heightened sensitivity in the wake of the US raid against Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

The revelations go against the Pakistani militarys claim that it will not allow foreign troops to operate within the country for operations to flush out the Taliban and other militant elements.

We have created Intelligence Fusion cells with embedded US Special Forces with both SSG and Frontier Corps Bala Hisar,Peshawar with the Rover equipment ready to deploy, then US Ambassador Anne Patterson was quoted by Dawn newspaper as saying in a cable to the State Department in May 2009.

Through these embeds,we are assisting the Pakistanis collect and coordinate existing intelligence assets, she said.

At the time,Patterson noted that the US had not been given Pakistani military permission to accompany the Pakistani forces on deployments as yet. By September,plans for joint intelligence activities had been expanded to include army headquarters.

Pakistan has begun to accept intelligence,surveillance,and reconnaissance support from the US military for counter-insurgency operations, Patterson wrote.

In addition8230; intelligence fusion centers had been established at the headquarters of Frontier Corps and the 11th Corps and we expect at additional sites,including GHQ and the 12th Corps in Balochistan,she said.

In April 2009,the cell at Bala Hisar assisted the Pakistan military operation then taking place in Lower Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

US Special Operations Command Force are assisting the FC at the Intelligence Fusion Cell at FC Headquarters with imagery,target packages,and operational planning, a cable from that month said.

A number of leaked cables reveal that the US was eager to embed American troops with Pakistanis soldiers.

On a brighter note,there is the possibility that operations in the northern FATA may provide additional opportunities to embed US Special Operations Forces with FC units to provide ISR intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance support and general operational guidance, Patterson wrote in a November 2009 cable.

That cable also mentioned that US troops were deployed at Wana in South Waziristan and Miranshah in North Waziristan with the Pakistan Armys 11th Corps and that the Frontier Corps had requested a further deployment in Bajaur.

Previously,the Pakistani military leadership adamantly opposed letting us embed our special operations personnel with their military forces8230; The recent approval by GHQ appears to represent a sea change in Pakistani thinking, the cable said.

These deployments are highly politically sensitive8230; Should they receive any coverage in the Pakistani or US media,the Pakistani military will likely stop making requests for such assistance, it said.

Osama killing: Obama thanks CIA officials

Barack Obama on Friday visited CIA headquarters in Virginia to congratulate the agency for its role in Osama bin Ladens killing. Ive returned to say thank you,on behalf of Americans and people around the world,because you carried on. You stayed focussed. You honoured the memory of your fallen colleagues, Obama said.