http://svherald.com/articles/2004/01/07/news/news1.txt "Checkpoints return to tighten security; Order for using checkpoints given Sunday in response to threat level"
BY BILL HESS
Herald/Review
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "COCHISE COUNTY -- U.S. Border Patrol highway checkpoints are back in the area with a new emphasis of slowing traffic to look for terrorists and see if drivers and passengers in vehicles are legally in the United States.
The checkpoints are part of a nationwide program for the southern and northern border areas that was ordered by the Department of Homeland Security because of the increase in the threat level to orange, U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector spokesman Andy Adame said Tuesday.
As part of the program, U.S. Border Patrol agents will be working with Mexican law enforcement officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he said."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1053749/posts "Pakistani army launches major operation against suspected terrorists in border region"
Associated Press | January 7, 2003 | PAUL
Posted on 01/07/2004 11:52:13 PM PST by HAL9000
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's army launched a major offensive against suspected terrorists in a mountainous region near the border with Afghanistan believed used by al-Qaida fugitives, senior officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
It was not clear whether any major arrests were made during the operation, said Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. He said more information would be provided throughout the day.
Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman, told AP that the operation near Wana, the headquarters of the deeply conservative South Waziristan tribal region, was continuing.
"We don't yet have details about casualties or arrests," he said.
An intelligence official told AP that authorities had received word three days ago that a group of armed men, believed to be foreigners, were in an area called Azam Warsak, near Wana. Tribal elders were contacted and asked the men to surrender, but they refused, prompting the military action.
Troops stormed the compound where the men are believed to be holed up at 3 a.m. Thursday, the official said on condition of anonymity. He said there had been an exchange of fire and that several army helicopters were involved. Soldiers used loudspeakers to urge villagers to leave the area.
South Waziristan is one of the main suspected hideouts for Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida fugitives. Officials in the region have said American planes dropped leaflets in the area Wednesday asking residents to cooperate with authorities and turn in any foreign terrorist suspects.
The area is just across the border from the Afghan province of Paktika, one of the main areas of Taliban resistance to U.S. military presence. The ousted militia has staged several ambushes and frequently launches rockets at U.S. military bases in the area, with fighters retreating across the border into Pakistan after the attacks."