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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Al-Qaeda fires rockets at Pakistani positions in Waziristan |
| 2004-10-22 |
| Dozens of families fled their mountainous village near the Afghan border as Pakistani troops, backed by helicopter gunships, kept up a barrage of artillery and mortar fire aimed at Al Qaeda -linked militants led by a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner hiding there. The rebels fired rockets on Thursday at a nearby army base, but they landed in a field and caused no casualties, said an official in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. Three civilians were killed when an army-fired mortar exploded at a roadside restaurant in Spinkai Raghzai village Wednesday, an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. "We could hear artillery fire the whole night," said Alam Gul Bitani, who lives in neighboring Jandola village. He said dozens of families, many on foot, and carrying their children and bundles of possessions, were streaming into his village to avoid the siege by about 1,000 troops, which began Wednesday. The militants - led by Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner blamed for masterminding the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers - have fired back at the troops with mortars and guns. Sherpao said troops have surrounded Spinkai Raghzai, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Wana, to capture Mehsud, who was released from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in March. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |