The Ahmedzai Wazir tribes on Thursday offered their support for any government-led operation to flush out foreign militants from South Waziristan, following two recent air strikes by US unmanned aerial vehicles, officials and tribal elders said. The offer was extended during a jirga, which was convened by Muhammad Ayaz Mandokhel, the assistant political agent (APA) of Wana, to discuss the situation in the area in the wake of the two air strikes that have killed around 30 suspected militants since February 28. “If the government launches any operation against foreign militants the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes will support it, but we alone cannot do the job,” Ahmedzai Wazir elders told the APA during the jirga. “I will convey your opinion to the government and its response to you,” the APA was quoted as telling the jirga. The jirga participants also criticised the government for “first letting foreign militants into Waziristan and then holding the local population responsible for their presence”. A Wana-based tribal elder told Daily Times that the APA had been told that the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes could not start any action against foreign militants on their own.