A fierce gunbattle between Pakistani security forces and Al-Qaeda-linked fighters near the Afghan border left at least 24 people dead, security officials said. Around 20 foreign militants were among those killed, Pakistan officials told AFP, after the fighting erupted Wednesday in the rugged tribal border region thought to be a possible hiding place for Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. "More than 20 foreign militants have died so far," the tribal territory’s security chief Brigadier Mahmood Shah told AFP. One paramilitary soldier and three civilians including a woman from the local Mahsud tribe also died in the firefight which began early Wednesday and continued late into the night, he said.
The firefight started in Shakai village, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Wana, the main town in the tribal South Waziristan district after militants holed up in the area fired rockets at military personnel."We have recovered six bodies while seven others were buried in Shakai," Shah told AFP. He said another seven or eight fighters’ bodies were lying at the site of the clash. One injured foreign militant was arrested. Residents said militants launched a fresh attack on a military post in Wana before dawn Thursday but details of any new casualties were not available. The gunfire was heard for about two hours overnight, they said, adding that both sides traded heavy weapons fire.
The clashes on Wednesday began when troops surrounded several houses in Torwam area near Shakai where militants were holed up. The militants opened fire on the troops with mortars, heavy machine guns and also fired rockets, Shah said adding the troops also used heavy weapons. The gunbattle came amid political negotiations between authorities and rebel tribesmen supporting several hundred foreign fighters linked to Al-Qaeda. It also followed several fruitless hunts by armed tribal militias, who have repeatedly told authorities they could not locate foreign fighters in the area.
| They couldn't hear the foreign fighters either with all those drums banging away. |
Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan in a statement late Wednesday said negotiations were underway and the government hoped to resolve the issue amicably, avoiding use of force. "However, miscreants in an utter violation of the agreement and breach of trust, Muslim values, tribal customs and local traditions resorted to unprovoked firing on the posts of security forces.
| Unprovoked firing is a violation of Muslim values? |
"This should be an eye-opener for those who oblivious of the ground realities, continue to maintain that there are no miscreants in the area." Shaukat was referring to the April 24 deal brokered by local tribal elders under which the authorities agreed that foreign militants could stay in the tribal region if they denounce militancy. |