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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Nek Killed by CIA Predator Flown From Afghanistan |
| 2004-06-20 |
| From South Asia Analysis Group .... Nek Muhammed and other tribal leaders were insisting that the only foreigners living in South Waziristan are the remnants of the Afghans, Chechens, Uighurs, Uzbecks and other Central Asians who had fought against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s and who had settled down in the area, married local women and raised their own families. They challenged Musharraf to produce a single Arab of Al Qaeda caught or killed by the Army in that area. Though Musharraf and his spokesmen have been claiming that during the three operations, they had killed or captured nearly a hundred dregs of Al Qaeda, till now they have not been able to produce even one of them in proof of their claims. Faced with the recalcitrant tribal leaders on the one side and the US pressure on the other, the Army and the Air Force sent in reinforcements to the area since the beginning of this month and were planning to resume the military operations. After coming to know of the Army’s plans, the tribals tried to preempt the Army’s offensive on the night of June 8 by attacking a number of Army posts. After heavy fighting till June 14, the Army announced a ceasefire claiming that the dregs of Al Qaeda had been killed or captured and that the objectives of the operation had been achieved. But the tribals refused to observe the cease-fire and kept attacking military posts and convoys inflicting large casualties on the Security Forces. They were also reported to have captued an undisclosed number of military personnel, including some officers of the Special Services Group (SSG), a commando unit to which Musharraf himself originally belonged. Nek Muhammad, who was fond of talking, had been giving interviews on his satellite telephone from his hide-out to the BBC radio and other foreign media channels. Taking advantage of this, his hide-out was pin-pointed and a missile strike made killing him and five others. While Musharraf and his spokesmen have been claiming that it was a hundred per cent Pakistani operation with no US involvement, eye-witnesses say that the missile which killed Nek was actually fired from a plane which flew into the Wana area from Afghanistan and went back to Afghanistan after firing the missile. Since March, there have been instances of US troops and surveillance aircraft intruding into this area from Afghanistan. After every such intrusion, Pakistan had been lodging a pro forma protest and the US offering a pro forma apology for an unintended intrusion. Well-informed sources in the para-military forces and Police deployed in the area say that Nek was actually killed by a missile fired from a Predator plane of the CIA. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #2 Look's like somebody in the chain of command finally realized how to win the war in Afghanistan. You fight it in Pakistan. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-06-21 12:08:22 AM |
| #1 We can only hope it's true, mostly because of the BBC connection. Perfect. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2004-06-20 11:32:59 PM |