Four Foreign Taliban Killed in Wana Hospital

[TruthSeeker]

Forces kill four foreigners in Wana hospital gunfight

MIRANSHAH/RAWALPINDI: Commandos raided a private hospital before dawn in Wana on Thursday, killing four foreign Taliban and a woman, said officials, as security forces killed four Taliban in Swat.

Troops laid siege to the private clinic in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, at 2am, sparking gunbattles until around 7am, said local administration and intelligence officials.

A security official said the raid followed a tip off that wounded Taliban were brought to the hospital from Sherwangi.

“Commandos and security forces raided the hospital. Taliban fired at the troops and in the gunfight, which lasted more than four hours, four Taliban and a woman were killed, while 22 others were arrested,” said the official.

“One soldier was also injured. The three dead terrorists appear to be Arabs and one of Sudanese origin,” said the official.

The identity of the woman was not initially clear, said the official.

An intelligence official said 27 suspects were also arrested in the raid.

In Swat, the ISPR said troops conducted a search-and-clearance operation in Bangai Banda near Barikot, killing four Taliban.

Troops also arrested 26 suspects, while four others surrendered to security forces.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
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I ask the honorable Pakistani members here: Why are Somalis and Arabs called "foreign Taliban"? Why the use of the term "Taliban" for people who are probably al Qaeda? See article below. Are these foreign TTP supporters working for Blackwater?

 

[TruthSeeker]

Six militants killed in Wana hospital raid

Friday January 01, 2010 (1159 PST)

WANA: In an overnight raid on a private hospital in Wana, the Army commandos killed six militants, including four foreigners, and arrested 38 others.

Official and tribal sources said the elite soldiers came from the nearby Zyari Noor military base in 40 trucks and stormed the two-storey building of the Hafiz Medical Centre (HMC). The hospital is owned by former MNA and a religious scholar Maulana Noor Muhammad, who belongs to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F).

Officials said the hospital was raided after reports that injured militants from Hakimullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had been shifted there. They said the militants were injured in fierce clashes with security forces in Shawangi Naray area in Ladha subdivision of South Waziristan.

“It was around 3:00 am on Thursday when the hospital was besieged,” said an official of the political administration. Pleading anonymity, he said there were confirmed reports about the hospitalisation of several foreign and Mehsud tribal militants at the health facility.

He said hardcore militants at the hospital showed tough resistance and opened fire at security forces soon after the raid. The troops, he added, returned the fire and the exchange of fire lasted till 7:00 am.

Later, the troops took control of the private medical centre and overpowered the militants. According to the official, four foreign and two local militants were killed in the fighting in which the two sides used rockets and hand grenades. He claimed two of the slain foreigners belonged to Saudi Arabia while one was from Yemen and another from Sudan.

He admitted that two other people who died in the exchange of fire were civilians, including a woman and child. Two rooms of the hospital were badly damaged in the fighting. Meanwhile, three militants were killed and five others injured in shelling by gunship helicopters in various parts of Orakzai Agency on Thursday. Also, two bodies were found dumped in Daburi area of the agency.

Pakistan News Service - PakTribune