 Pakistani forces have destroyed a network of al-Qaeda factories churning out powerful bombs and propaganda compact discs and videos, key US ally President Musharraf said Thursday. Musharraf said militants had been forced to run for the hills after a series of military operations in Pakistan's lawless northwestern areas bordering Afghanistan. "Everything was in place, even where they were manufacturing explosives - IEDs (improvised explosives devices) were being manufactured," General Musharraf told reporters at the launch of a new presidential website. "Their command structure was there, major communications structure, their psychological warfare, their computers, their CDs being produced to create psychological effects, their logistics bases," Musharraf said. "All that has been taken over. Now they are on the run in the mountains and we dominate the valleys."
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The militants were unable to head for big cities like Lahore and Karachi because their transport infrastructure had also been destroyed, Musharraf added. But he gave no details on when the operations were carried out and what quantities of materials were seized. Musharraf said security forces had captured about 700 al-Qaeda suspects since late 2001 when Pakistan started its crackdown. Most are thought to have been handed over to the United States. "Their back has been broken, they are on the run," Musharraf said. |