A tribal army cleared the town of Azam Warsak in South Waziristan of Uzbek militants and claimed victory in their three-week fight against the militants linked to Al Qaeda, on Monday. “With God’s help, we have forced Qari Tahir Khan and his supporters to flee,” Mullah Owais Hanafi, a spokesman for the tribal army led by Maulvi Nazir, said in a statement. Qari Tahir Khan is a local name for Tahir Yuldashev, leader of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. “By (Monday) mid-day, the tribal army reached the centre of Azam Warsak to hoist a white flag – signifying the return of peace – and Uzbek militants left the area long before our mujahideen’s arrival,” Hanafi said.The tribal army, or lashkar, backed by most Ahmedzai Wazir tribes, launched attacks against the Uzbek militants on March 19 and pushed them out of Wana, Kaloosha, Sheen Warsak and Jaghunda. Sources close to Maulvi Nazir said the Uzbeks were “probably headed for North Waziristan”. The whereabouts of pro-Uzbek Wazir militant commanders Haji Omar, Noor Islam, Javed Karmazkhel and Maulvi Abbas were not known. Some tribal elders said they had gone “underground”.
The government says around 250 Uzbeks and 50 tribal militants have been killed in the clashes. Mullah Owais described Yuldashev as an “agent of the CIA and Afghan intelligence” who was responsible for “barbaric injustices” against his hosts, including the murders of some 200 pro-government tribal elders since 2005. He denied that the federal government was helping the tribesmen. “We have no business with the government, nor are we its supporters,” he said.
Agencies add: The lashkar found the bodies of eight foreigners killed in the battle to take Azam Warsak overnight, AFP reported. A local administration official said the tribal fighters were now carrying out house-to-house searches for militants and securing other areas. A police van on its way from Tank to Dera Ismail Khan was caught in a remote-controlled bomb explosion close to Ranwala, but no one was hurt, SANA reported.