U.S. regrets death of Pakistani soldiers
By Anwar Iqbal
From the International Desk
Published 6/26/2002 4:47 PM
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WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- The United States said Wednesday it deeply regrets the death of 10 Pakistani soldiers in a clash with al Qaida fighters in Pakistan's tribal belt.
"Our sympathies go out to their families," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington, adding the United States also has extended its "deep appreciation" to the government of Pakistan "for taking action against al Qaida forces."
"Since Sept. 11, Pakistan has time and again shown itself to be a stalwart partner in the coalition against terrorism. That several of its soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice once again proves its commitment to our common struggle against terror," he said.
Officials in Islamabad said earlier Wednesday that 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a clash with al Qaida forces in the South Waziristan tribal agency which borders Afghanistan.
It was the first serious encounter between the Pakistani troops and al Qaida inside Pakistan since October last year, when the U.S.-led forces launched their current offensive against the terror network.
The men were killed when soldiers raided a house used as an al Qaida hideout, said an official statement issued in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
But reports reaching Islamabad from the area said that the soldiers were killed in a surprise al Qaida attack on a paramilitary post near the tribal headquarters Wana. An army officer, who was commanding the troops, is among the dead, the reports added.
"The attackers were al Qaida fugitives from Afghanistan," a senior military official told reporters in Islamabad.
Hundreds of al Qaida and Taliban fugitives are believed to have taken refuge in Pakistan -- mainly in the semi-autonomous tribal belt bordering Afghanistan -- since the defeat of the Taliban government in November last year.
Pakistani defense sources said a small number of U.S. forces were also in the area helping in the search for al Qaida and Taliban fugitives but did not take part in the raid and were not hurt.
Pakistani officials did not identify the attackers but correspondents of Pakistani newspapers in Wana said both the men killed in the clash were Chechens. They said that Pakistani troops also have captured an al Qaida operative who, they said, is a Chechen as well.
Quoting local officials, the correspondents said more than a dozen al Qaida operatives participated in the encounter and most of them fled toward the neighboring Afghan province of Khost after killing the soldiers.
Pakistan is conducting a mop-up operation against the Taliban and al Qaida fugitives in the tribal belt with the help of the FBI and other U.S. security personnel.
Using their listening devices, U.S. officials usually provide tips to the Pakistani troops who conduct the raids as Pakistan believes that a direct U.S. participation will further aggravate the situation in an already tense tribal belt.
FBI officials, however, have accompanied Pakistani troops and policemen in raids in major cities like Karachi and Lahore.
Reports in the Pakistani media claim that at least 500 FBI agents are working with the Pakistani security agencies but there has been no official confirmation of such reports.
Annoyed by the campaign, the Taliban and al Qaida operatives and their local sympathizers have recently increased their attacks on U.S. and Pakistani targets inside Pakistan.
In March, they bombed a church in Islamabad, killing five people including a U.S. diplomat and her daughter.
On May 8, they bombed a bus carrying French defense experts. Eleven Frenchmen and three Pakistanis were killed.
On June 14, a bomb exploding outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi killed 12 Pakistanis.
Pakistani and U.S. officials have responded by intensifying their campaign against the militants. They are believed to have arrested more than 800 suspects since May. At least 150 of them are Arab nationals, Pakistani officials say.
Copyright © 2002 United Press International
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