Tribesmen attack Qaeda bunkers
Our Staff Reporters
PESHAWAR - Fighting between local tribesmen and alleged Uzbek militants halted for a while when a jirga tried to collect and bury the bodies in Wana, on Saturday but was stopped outside the town after which the clashes started again.
In a bid to collect the bodies lying in Sheen Warsak area near Azam Warsak, a jirga left Wana early Saturday morning. Eyewitnesses say bodies of two security officials and militants are lying in Sheen Warsak area.
The rivals stopped the fighting to help jirga collect bodies, but the local Taliban stopped the members in Dazha Ghondi village.
Eyewitnesses and tribesmen said the decurity forces reportedly targeted the bunkers of Uzbek fighters, using artillery from South Waziristan Scouts Camp and Army Colony Wana.
Both NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai and Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao have already made it clear that “it is an uprising of local tribesmen against foreigners and there is no need for the government to intervene.”
Eyewitnesses said that a tribesman Sultan died in Sheen Warsak Area, when a mortar shell landed in his house. Two girls were killed when a mortar shell hit the house of Qaimat Khan in village Ghawakhwa to west of Wana.
Those killed so included two FC soldiers, who died while fighting against Uzbeks in Sheen Warsak area. Sources say three FC soldiers are also missing in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the District Administration of Tank has demanded of alleged Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who belongs to South Waziristan to denounce his association with militants, involved in attacking government installations and other criminal acts.
The authorities also announced ban on the use of non-custom paid vehicles in the district.
Meanwhile, administration announced six hours relaxation in curfew from 8 am to 3 pm from Sunday. No violence was reported from the area during curfew in Tank.
Two kidnappers were killed and two members of Lashkar Islam sustained injuries when they clashed in Nala Khwar area of Khyber agency.
AFP adds: Tribesmen attacked foreign Al-Qaeda militants hiding in bunkers in the tribal region, officials and residents said Saturday.
Pro-government tribesmen launched an assault overnight on bunkers occupied by the militants as part of efforts to drive them from the South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, they said.
They seized seven bunkers dug into a mountain from where the Uzbek militants and their Chechen and Arab allies could launch attacks on the main town of Wana, they said.
“The foreign militants fled. They suffered casualties but details were not available,” a security official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
He said a pro-government tribal commander was wounded in the fighting which continued until Saturday morning.
Foreign militants also shelled Pakistani army soldiers in the area, killing two, another security official said.
Troops from an army base in the area responded with artillery fire targeting foreign militants on the outskirts of Wana, he said.
Pakistani officials have said an “onslaught” by local tribesmen against foreign Al-Qaeda militants could curb cross-border attacks by the rebels in Afghanistan.
Uzbeks, Chechens and some Arab militants have traded rocket and mortar fire for two days with pro-government tribal forces led by a former Taliban commander after a tense ceasefire broke down Thursday, officials said.
The government “is not intervening,” a top security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We hope this onslaught against foreign militants will help reduce cross-border activity. The foreigners were involved in this cross-border activity,” the official said.
“This is a decisive battle for us.”
Officials said the tribesmen’s efforts to drive out the rebels vindicated Islamabad’s policy of signing peace deals in the tribal belt instead of sending in government troops as it has in the past, with little success.
Officials said Algerian and Moroccan militants were believed to be among those fighting the tribal militia. The government has said it will help to repatriate any militants who surrender to the tribesmen.
But there are already fears of “blowback” with officials saying that a suicide attack which killed a soldier in eastern Pakistan on Thursday was linked to the foreign militants.
The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/apr-2007/1/index4.php
