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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (45615)	2/28/2004 6:00:02 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Troops kill 13 in Waziristan * Army claims crossfire started after attackers’ firing * Witnesses say troops opened fire after vehicles failed to stop at checkpost * 16 people arrested * Soldier injured in rocket attack on army base By Iqbal Khattak & Rasool Wazir WANA/PESHAWAR: Thirteen passengers — six Afghan refugees and five Pakistani Wazir tribesmen - were killed and at least four injured on Saturday after troops opened fire on a minibus and a taxi after the two vehicles failed to stop at a checkpost in South Waziristan Agency. Separately, a soldier was injured early on Saturday night when rockets hit an army base in the agency. The attack on the army base and the firing on the two vehicles occurred at Zeri Noor, a village just outside Wana where army and paramilitaries were stationed, tribal leaders and senior officials of the political administration told Daily Times. There were conflicting accounts about the incident in which 13 people died, with the army saying that there had been an exchange of fire between the army and the militants in the two vehicles, while witnesses reported that the army had hit the vehicles with rockets after they did not stop at a checkpost. A military spokesman confirmed civilian casualties but added that the persons killed “may possibly be terrorists”. “In the early hours of (Saturday) morning, outside Wana two or three vehicles came towards the Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost and fired on it,” said Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman in a statement. “The FC retaliated and in the crossfire there have been a few civilian casualties who may possibly be terrorists. The chances of some civilians having been killed cannot be ruled out,” the statement said. “Reportedly, 11 persons have died and six are injured,” Mr Sultan said. The death toll rose to 13 in the afternoon when two injured persons died in a Wana hospital. The army spokesman did not say if the army had suffered any casualties. A tribal elder talking to Daily Times on the phone from Wana called the army’s firing on passengers “provocative”. Malik Haji Behram Khan of the Khojelkhel sub-tribe said “the army opened fire on civilians without provocation”. Witnesses in the area said the incident took place around 8:00am on Saturday when troops hit the vehicles carrying 10 to 20 passengers with rockets. They said both the vehicles were completely destroyed. The army spokesman said around 16 people had also been arrested and were in the political administration’s custody. “The political administration is carrying out an investigation,” he said. It was reported that before the two vehicles were hit, the army checkpost came under attack when assailants in a white four-wheel-drive fired on security forces. A soldier was injured rockets hit an army base outside Wana early on Saturday. Hawaldar Khizar Hayat was injured in a rocket attack on the base at 3:00am, the second such attack since January 9. “The hawaldar received injuries to his right hand,” hospital sources said and added that he was in stable condition. Muhammad Azam Khan, chief administrator of South Waziristan Agency, has banned weapons in Wana bazaar to keep under control what the tribesman called “a seriously tense” situation. Mr Khan told journalists in Wana that a jirga (council of tribal elders) was called today (Sunday) to discuss the situation. The administrator has also ordered an inquiry into the firing on passengers. “If it is proved that all or any of the killed men were innocent, their families will be compensated,” Mr Khan said. He said three people who had received serious injuries in the incident were sent to Dera Ismail Khan for treatment. Bodies of the Afghan refugees were sent to Angoor Adda, a Pakistani town on the border with Afghanistan, for identification, while bodies of local tribesmen were handed over to their families. Two bodies have not been identified yet. Mr Khan said the identity of the people who had attacked the army base had been established but gave no details. “We will move against the individuals and the tribe for this attack,” he added. Meanwhile, unidentified persons fired five rockets in the Cantonment area of Bannu city on Friday night. The rockets did not cause any damage. One of the rockets landed near the residential quarters of 116-Brigade, two exploded in the air while two others fell into the Kurram river flowing close to the Inter-Services Intelligence office, witnesses told Daily Times. The rockets were believed to have been fired from the hills around 10 kilometres from the Cantonment. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.