12 al-Qaeda men killed in Waziristan- Two Pak Army soldiers die in day-long operation; 18 foreigners arrested
<The war on terror continues relentlessly 24 hours, as the left wingers the liberals continue their own little battles of egos!
Press never talks about this--- the war on terror being waged by the allies and the success in eliminating the roots of terror. Had it not been for the focused approach of Bush administration the Muslims would not have fought other brothers with such ferocity.... peace and security is preamble for development and progress the two go hand in hand... the cost of war on terror is huge but collateral benefit to world at large cannot be understated.;>
By Behroz Khan
RAWALPINDI: At least 12 suspected terrorists were killed on Thursday and 18 arrested during a major operation launched by the Pakistan Army in the remote South Waziristan Agency, close to the Afghan border.
However, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) handout said that as many as eight foreign terrorists were killed in the operation. It added that two Pakistani soldiers also embraced Shahadat during the gunbattle, while two others were injured. It was not known any senior figure of the al-Qaeda or the Taliban was among the dead or captured ones.
Official sources told The News that the operation against foreigners, suspected of links with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, hiding in Bagharh area of Tehsil Birmal in the agency, about 15 kilometres west of Wana, headquarters of the agency and in close proximity to Afghanistan’s troubled Paktika province, was launched at 5:30 am. Hundreds of troops from the armed forces as well as personnel of Waziristan Scouts took part in the operation, eyewitnesses said.
"As many as 12 of the suspects have been killed and 18 others captured in the hours-long operation," an official told The News on condition of anonymity. Military official did not disclose identity of the killed and captured suspects, but promised to reveal the details once the operation was over. The armed forces had sealed off all entry-and-exit routes to the area since Wednesday evening.
Army spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told journalists that Pakistani troops moved into Waziristan Agency late on Wednesday after a tip-off that al-Qaeda operatives had sneaked into the area from Afghanistan. "The operation is part of Pakistan’s effort at combating terrorism," Gen Sultan said.
Local tribals, however, said the death toll could rise because several houses have been bombed as more than a dozen combat helicopters took part in the air and ground assault on the hideouts of suspected terrorists.
Locals as well as journalists stationed in the agency claimed that more than 30 persons, including some local tribesmen have been killed in the operation amid reports that as many as three soldiers of the Pakistani armed forces have also been injured in the fierce fighting. No official confirmation of the report was immediately available.
People from the Mehsud and Wazir tribes said that the operation has angered the locals as Pakistani troops were engaged in fierce fighting with own Muslims as part of the so-called war on terror. "Muslims are being dubbed as terrorists and al-Qaeda," a tribal elder, Noor Khan from Wana quoted the tribals to have been saying.
The tribals said that Pakistani civilians were also among the dead as houses of three tribals, Sakhi, Anar Gul and Saloomay were destroyed in the bombing and exchange of heavy weapons. No details of the casualties or damage could be obtained from independent sources.
Agencies add: An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw four bodies and Maj-Gen Ameer Faisal, the commander of the operation, said eight others were lying in an area about 100 meters away that was too dangerous to enter. Ten al-Qaeda suspects, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs, were led away from the area.
Army officials said one Pakistani soldier was killed and two wounded in the operation. Faisal said the majority of those killed and captured in the operation in South Waziristan appeared to be foreigners. Faisal said some 200 troops took part in the operation, the army’s largest-ever offensive against al-Qaeda, and the largest army operation to date in the tribal areas. He said hand grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, anti-tank mines, audio cassettes and other documents were seized during the operation.
Four "foreign" al-Qaeda fighters and six suspected Taliban supporters were among the 18 captured, said Major General Faizal Alavi, a special forces commander overseeing the operation. Another two wounded prisoners were not identified.
Alavi said Pakistani forces had been tracking some 40 fighters criss-crossing the porous frontier between Angoor Adda and Afghanistan’s Shkin district, the focus of relentless attacks on US troops by suspected resurgent Taliban forces.
The fighters were hiding in a cluster of mud-walled compounds, where local tribes live, only three kilometres from a makeshift military base. Clad in traditional local outfits and caps and resembling local tribes who straddle the border, the other six were suspected "Taliban guys," said Alavi, whose voice was nearly drowned out by the sound of missiles fired from Cobra gunships and exploding grenades. "We’re having trouble flushing them out because they’re putting up very strong resistance," Alavi said.
The army said no foreign troops took part in the operation. Residents in the tribal areas have reported seeing US special forces operatives in the past, but the presence of American forces has always been denied by Islamabad and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told APP late on Thursday that the operation had just been culminated and final details were being gathered. He said the fire power used was only minimum essential and no overwhelming force was employed.
"The day-long operation which started in the wee hours of the morning faced stiff resistance from the foreign elements hiding in those rugged mountains of the South Waziristan Agency," said an ISPR statement. It said that the operation culminated with no collateral damage. Ten women and children in the target area have been retrieved without any harm and major component of the foreign elements present there have been captured alive. |
