A top Uzbek rebel leader wanted by authorities in his home country might be hiding in the tense tribal region that forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani general said Saturday. Army Maj Gen Niaz Khattak, responsible for military operations in the North and South Waziristan tribal regions, also clarified that the army had no information about the whereabouts of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, who are also thought to be taking refuge in the region.
"Yes, Tahir Yuldash might be hiding here, and we have some information about it," Gen Khattak told reporters in Wana in western Pakistan. | "Not that we'll do anything about it, mind you..." |
Yuldash, political leader of the rebel Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was wounded in March when army raided a suspected Al-Qaeda hide-out on the outskirts of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. But he managed to escape along with hundreds of other militants and since then the army has been looking for him. Khattak said the army has intensified its hunt for "foreign militants," hundreds of whom are believed to be hiding in South Waziristan. |