Posted on 03/04/2006 7:23:31 PM PST by blam
Dozens killed in Pakistan clashes
Tens of thousands of soldiers face tribal militants in the mountains
Pakistani troops have killed dozens of pro-Taleban militants near the border with Afghanistan, officials say. Pakistani officials said 46 militants and three soldiers were killed in the fighting, though local reports said the death toll might be 70 or above.
Hundreds of people are said to have fled the clashes in North Waziristan.
Tribal militants attacked army troops, apparently retaliating for an attack on a suspected al-Qaeda camp earlier in the week, which killed up to 45 people.
The latest fighting started on Saturday morning when a group of more than 100 tribal militants attacked a military post in Mir Ali, a small town.
Security forces fought back, killing more than 20 militants.
Soon the fighting spread to North Waziristan's main town of Miran Shah, where several hundred militants tried to storm the main headquarters of the paramilitary troops.
The army sent helicopter gunships after tribesmen traded mortar and gunfire with security forces.
Residents of the area told local reporters that the place near the paramilitary headquarters was littered with bodies, but the BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Islamabad said in the absence of any direct contact from the remote town it was difficult to corroborate such reports.
According to security sources, intercepted radio communications between the militants suggested 46 of their number were killed.
Families flee
North Waziristan has lately turned into the main hub of pro-Taleban activities. After reports of the presence of a large number of foreign militants, security forces decided to launch an operation to flush them out, our correspondent says.
These are the fiercest clashes since the Pakistani army went into the lawless tribal region more than three years ago, he adds.
Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters fled into North Waziristan after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Tens of thousands of Pakistani soldiers are deployed there.
Reports from the area say hundreds of families have started to flee the escalating fighting.
Saturday's violence came as US President George W Bush made a day-long visit to Islamabad, about 300km (190 miles) to the northeast.
He declared solidarity with Pakistan in the fight against militants, and called for more work in the war on terror.
YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!
The more pressure put on this area the quicker we are likely to find Bin Ladin who is probably in this general area.
If he were alive, he'd be calling in to Larry Kings show.
L
That is nice and easy to believe....but the reality is he is being hunted by brave warriors risking all 24/7 deep in Indian country....just as are Zawahiri, Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin Haqqani, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and another half dozen HVT's we have been actively hunting.
Few of these however will see a sunrise in 07 -
Tora Bora? who was it then in that video tape released just before the 2004 elections?
It'd be relatively easy for him to do. Hell he probably subscribes.
L
that 2004 tape contained enough time based references to tell us he could not have died at tora bora.
It seems the Iraqis are onto their game and scaring them up a hill over there. There should be a lot of snow on those mountains. How about creating a whole bunch of avalanches at once? One Howitzer round per from an AC-130 can do it.
Bush should visit Pakistan every week, cause maybe Pakistan would then get serious with taking these al-qaeda/taliban guys out.
What makes you think they are not?
I don't think a functional government wants a bunch of shifty murdering scumbags roaming around the place. Both Sunni and Shiite imams made clear that people who desecrate houses of worship are working for the devil. The Iraqis are up on this now.
Instead of the worthless Academy Awards tonight, how about creating a film like The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly in the deserts between Iraq and Afghan? There's smuggling, shooting, gold, currency, explosions, women, greed, prisons, horses, dope, shitty trucks and booze. And bigger guns. Eastwood's too old, Lee Van Cleef is dead, and the Mexican guy can't be found.
I wan't an upgrade here.
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