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Tribesmen attack Qaeda bunkers
WANA: Local tribesmen attacked foreign Al Qaeda militants hiding in bunkers in ongoing clashes that killed five people in South Waziristan on Saturday, bringing the total death toll since fighting began on March 19 to 177, officials and residents said.Pro-government tribesmen launched an assault overnight on bunkers occupied by the militants as part of efforts to drive them from the tribal agency bordering Afghanistan, they said. They seized seven bunkers dug into a mountain from where 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. Two children were killed late Friday when a mortar shell fired by Uzbeks landed in their home in Shen Warsak town and the body of a tribal fighter was found in the area on Saturday, residents said. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said more than 50 people had been killed on Friday during clashes between Islamist militants and local Pashtun tribesmen. Witnesses said the estimate was on the high side, but even by their reckoning the fighting has taken a heavy toll. A resident of Shin Warsak, the village where fighting is concentrated, said he saw the bodies of 21 dead foreigners. Sporadic heavy fire continued throughout the night, but it has become more intense now in Shin Warsak, Noor Ali, another resident, told Reuters. The clashes began after the Uzbek militants tried to assassinate a pro-government tribal leader earlier this month, and flared again on Wednesday after attempts to broker a truce broke down. Officials have said the onslaught by local tribesmen against foreign Al Qaeda militants could curb cross-border attacks by the rebels in Afghanistan. The Pakistani government is not intervening in the clashes, a top security official told AFP. 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. The Al Qaeda militants numbering around 500 were effectively under siege as all roads to the areas where they are dug in are controlled by tribal commander Mullah Nazir, who is said to have around 1,500 men, residents said. agencies Posted by: Frank G 2007-04-01 |
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