 "I'm so tense!"
"Again, Mahmoud!"
"Yes, Ahmed! I'm tense!"
"Okay. Let me pull the curtains first." |
The situation remains tense after two days of clashes between suspected militants and bandits in Pakistan, which have left at least 15 people dead. Suspected militants and bandits have fought in Pakistan's tribal area of North Waziristan, eyewitnesses say.
| What's the difference between a militant and a bandit in Pakistan? |
| I think the militants favor black turbans. |
Journalists and many other people have evacuated the area around the town of Miranshah where the fighting took place.
One journalist and four soldiers are missing and presumed kidnapped. The bloodshed is some of the worst in recent months, even for this troubled region.
The fighting started on Tuesday near the town of Miranshah in North Waziristan. Reports say students from Islamic schools clashed with bandits extorting money at a checkpoint.
| These students are called "talibs." |
Then the students set fire to the gangsters' homes backed by local tribesmen sympathetic to the Taleban. They hung the bodies of at least three of their rivals on electricity polls.
| Shucks. Just like back home in Afghanland in the good old days... |
| So maybe shop class wasn't a good idea for these 'students'. |
Residents said the fighting was so fierce the authorities did not intervene.
"Chief! The talibs are hanging the road agents and highway men!"
"Dang. That's awful... Say! Does Mustapha's still have take-out?"
"Mmmm! Chapatis!"
"I'll buy if you fly!" |
A local reporter told the BBC that Islamic militants are roaming freely in Miranshah with their guns. He said most journalists had left the area after one of their colleagues in North Waziristan disappeared, presumably kidnapped. And there's still no word about four Pakistani soldiers who also went missing a few days ago in neighbouring South Waziristan. Observers say the fighting this week reminds them of action against criminals in Afghanistan once taken by the Taleban.
| Does it really, now? I wonder if that could be because it's the same people? |
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