Posted on 03/20/2004 12:24:25 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Thousands of Pakistani soldiers backed by artillery and helicopter gunships made limited progress Friday advancing into a cluster of farming villages where 400 to 600 suspected foreign militants have been surrounded near the border with Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The officials said they continued to believe that a senior figure, possibly Al Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may be trapped with the surrounded group. But it appeared Friday that blasting the militants out of fortified positions they have occupied in hundreds of fortress-like family compounds could take days, and dozens of lives.
Brigadier Mahmood Shah, director of security in Pakistan's tribal areas, said Pakistani paramilitary forces advancing from the east and west were entangled in house-to-house fighting with the militants in the area, which covers 25 square kilometers, or 10 square miles.
A Pakistani official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an additional 17 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in fighting on Thursday and Friday, bringing the government death toll to at least 32.
"They are still facing resistance," said Shah, who called the Pakistani advance "very slow."
"I think it's going to take time. At least tomorrow, maybe more."
Pakistani officials said that the militants made two attempts to break out of the cordon surrounding them Thursday night, but had been forced back after taking casualties. Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, said at a news briefing in the capital Islamabad on Friday afternoon that two groups of suspected fighters had been apprehended, one of them heavily armed.
But he said none of those apprehended appeared to be high-level Al Qaeda members, and he gave no information on the possible whereabouts of Zawahiri. On Thursday, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said there could be a high-level Al Qaeda target in the area. Pakistani military and intelligence officials have said they believe it is Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon said to be Al Qaeda's master planner.
About 7,000 Pakistani troops have been brought in to set up a double cordon around clusters of farmhouses west of the town of Wana and 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the Afghan border, where foreign fighters, along with local tribesmen, have been fighting since Tuesday. Fighting has centered around the houses of several local tribespeople at Kalloshah, and in another area by Shin Warzak a few kilometers away.
Sultan said Pakistani forces were communicating with the militants via loudspeakers and sending emissaries to tell them to surrender. "The security forces will try to overcome them with minimum use of force," Sultan said. "We would like to capture them without large-scale destruction, but we have the force available if need be."
He added that, earlier in the week, Musharraf offered an amnesty to anyone who surrendered peacefully. "All they have to do is show a white flag and no one will shoot," Sultan said.
As for any high-level Al Qaeda targets purported to be in the area, "We will get them dead or alive," he said.
There was little letup in the firing. The Pakistani Army continued to shell targets all night and into the morning Friday, Sultan said.
About 10 militants tried to break out of the cordon Friday morning near the village of Shin Warzak, in the southeastern corner of the area. As Pakistani forces opened fire, one fighter was killed and the rest fled back into the compound. The dead man appeared to be an Arab, he said.
Another group attempted a similar breakout farther west, and Pakistani troops again repelled them, killing one fighter who still lay on the battlefield. Four men, one of them a foreign fighter, were detained north of the battle area, and another four were apprehended east of the cordon, toward Wana. One of the latter group was wounded, and two of them were foreigners. They were in possession of a huge cache of arms, Sultan added.
An Afghan security official with connections in the area said that Zawahiri was safe in a place about 10 to 20 kilometers away from the actual fighting. Osama bin Laden was also in the area of south Waziristan but not in the area under attack, he said.
Qari Tahir, a leader of Islamic fighters from Uzbekistan and other Russian-speaking republics and a strong ally of the Taliban movement, was leading the fierce fighting against the Pakistanis, he said.
"Qari Tahir is a famous commander of the Uzbeks and he is fighting very hard," the official said. Some Al Qaeda members had reportedly moved up into the mountains before the fighting began, he added. . Qari Tahir was reported to have escaped from Afghanistan after the biggest battle of the war, U.S. Operation Anaconda, in the nearby mountains of Afghanistan in April 2002, and settled in south Waziristan in Pakistan along with hundreds of his fighters. He had served as deputy to the Uzbekistani commander Juma Namangani, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
The New York Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Thousands of Pakistani soldiers backed by artillery and helicopter gunships made limited progress Friday advancing into a cluster of farming villages where 400 to 600 suspected foreign militants have been surrounded near the border with Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The officials said they continued to believe that a senior figure, possibly Al Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may be trapped with the surrounded group. But it appeared Friday that blasting the militants out of fortified positions they have occupied in hundreds of fortress-like family compounds could take days, and dozens of lives.
Brigadier Mahmood Shah, director of security in Pakistan's tribal areas, said Pakistani paramilitary forces advancing from the east and west were entangled in house-to-house fighting with the militants in the area, which covers 25 square kilometers, or 10 square miles.
A Pakistani official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an additional 17 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in fighting on Thursday and Friday, bringing the government death toll to at least 32.
"They are still facing resistance," said Shah, who called the Pakistani advance "very slow."
"I think it's going to take time. At least tomorrow, maybe more."
Pakistani officials said that the militants made two attempts to break out of the cordon surrounding them Thursday night, but had been forced back after taking casualties. Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, said at a news briefing in the capital Islamabad on Friday afternoon that two groups of suspected fighters had been apprehended, one of them heavily armed.
But he said none of those apprehended appeared to be high-level Al Qaeda members, and he gave no information on the possible whereabouts of Zawahiri. On Thursday, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said there could be a high-level Al Qaeda target in the area. Pakistani military and intelligence officials have said they believe it is Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon said to be Al Qaeda's master planner.
About 7,000 Pakistani troops have been brought in to set up a double cordon around clusters of farmhouses west of the town of Wana and 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the Afghan border, where foreign fighters, along with local tribesmen, have been fighting since Tuesday. Fighting has centered around the houses of several local tribespeople at Kalloshah, and in another area by Shin Warzak a few kilometers away.
Sultan said Pakistani forces were communicating with the militants via loudspeakers and sending emissaries to tell them to surrender. "The security forces will try to overcome them with minimum use of force," Sultan said. "We would like to capture them without large-scale destruction, but we have the force available if need be."
He added that, earlier in the week, Musharraf offered an amnesty to anyone who surrendered peacefully. "All they have to do is show a white flag and no one will shoot," Sultan said.
As for any high-level Al Qaeda targets purported to be in the area, "We will get them dead or alive," he said.
There was little letup in the firing. The Pakistani Army continued to shell targets all night and into the morning Friday, Sultan said.
About 10 militants tried to break out of the cordon Friday morning near the village of Shin Warzak, in the southeastern corner of the area. As Pakistani forces opened fire, one fighter was killed and the rest fled back into the compound. The dead man appeared to be an Arab, he said.
Another group attempted a similar breakout farther west, and Pakistani troops again repelled them, killing one fighter who still lay on the battlefield. Four men, one of them a foreign fighter, were detained north of the battle area, and another four were apprehended east of the cordon, toward Wana. One of the latter group was wounded, and two of them were foreigners. They were in possession of a huge cache of arms, Sultan added.
An Afghan security official with connections in the area said that Zawahiri was safe in a place about 10 to 20 kilometers away from the actual fighting. Osama bin Laden was also in the area of south Waziristan but not in the area under attack, he said.
Qari Tahir, a leader of Islamic fighters from Uzbekistan and other Russian-speaking republics and a strong ally of the Taliban movement, was leading the fierce fighting against the Pakistanis, he said.
"Qari Tahir is a famous commander of the Uzbeks and he is fighting very hard," the official said. Some Al Qaeda members had reportedly moved up into the mountains before the fighting began, he added.
Qari Tahir was reported to have escaped from Afghanistan after the biggest battle of the war, U.S. Operation Anaconda, in the nearby mountains of Afghanistan in April 2002, and settled in south Waziristan in Pakistan along with hundreds of his fighters. He had served as deputy to the Uzbekistani commander Juma Namangani, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
The New York Times ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Thousands of Pakistani soldiers backed by artillery and helicopter gunships made limited progress Friday advancing into a cluster of farming villages where 400 to 600 suspected foreign militants have been surrounded near the border with Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The officials said they continued to believe that a senior figure, possibly Al Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may be trapped with the surrounded group. But it appeared Friday that blasting the militants out of fortified positions they have occupied in hundreds of fortress-like family compounds could take days, and dozens of lives.
Brigadier Mahmood Shah, director of security in Pakistan's tribal areas, said Pakistani paramilitary forces advancing from the east and west were entangled in house-to-house fighting with the militants in the area, which covers 25 square kilometers, or 10 square miles.
A Pakistani official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an additional 17 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in fighting on Thursday and Friday, bringing the government death toll to at least 32.
"They are still facing resistance," said Shah, who called the Pakistani advance "very slow."
"I think it's going to take time. At least tomorrow, maybe more."
Pakistani officials said that the militants made two attempts to break out of the cordon surrounding them Thursday night, but had been forced back after taking casualties. Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, said at a news briefing in the capital Islamabad on Friday afternoon that two groups of suspected fighters had been apprehended, one of them heavily armed.
But he said none of those apprehended appeared to be high-level Al Qaeda members, and he gave no information on the possible whereabouts of Zawahiri. On Thursday, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said there could be a high-level Al Qaeda target in the area. Pakistani military and intelligence officials have said they believe it is Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon said to be Al Qaeda's master planner.
About 7,000 Pakistani troops have been brought in to set up a double cordon around clusters of farmhouses west of the town of Wana and 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the Afghan border, where foreign fighters, along with local tribesmen, have been fighting since Tuesday. Fighting has centered around the houses of several local tribespeople at Kalloshah, and in another area by Shin Warzak a few kilometers away.
Sultan said Pakistani forces were communicating with the militants via loudspeakers and sending emissaries to tell them to surrender. "The security forces will try to overcome them with minimum use of force," Sultan said. "We would like to capture them without large-scale destruction, but we have the force available if need be."
He added that, earlier in the week, Musharraf offered an amnesty to anyone who surrendered peacefully. "All they have to do is show a white flag and no one will shoot," Sultan said.
As for any high-level Al Qaeda targets purported to be in the area, "We will get them dead or alive," he said.
There was little letup in the firing. The Pakistani Army continued to shell targets all night and into the morning Friday, Sultan said.
About 10 militants tried to break out of the cordon Friday morning near the village of Shin Warzak, in the southeastern corner of the area. As Pakistani forces opened fire, one fighter was killed and the rest fled back into the compound. The dead man appeared to be an Arab, he said.
Another group attempted a similar breakout farther west, and Pakistani troops again repelled them, killing one fighter who still lay on the battlefield. Four men, one of them a foreign fighter, were detained north of the battle area, and another four were apprehended east of the cordon, toward Wana. One of the latter group was wounded, and two of them were foreigners. They were in possession of a huge cache of arms, Sultan added.
An Afghan security official with connections in the area said that Zawahiri was safe in a place about 10 to 20 kilometers away from the actual fighting. Osama bin Laden was also in the area of south Waziristan but not in the area under attack, he said.
Qari Tahir, a leader of Islamic fighters from Uzbekistan and other Russian-speaking republics and a strong ally of the Taliban movement, was leading the fierce fighting against the Pakistanis, he said.
"Qari Tahir is a famous commander of the Uzbeks and he is fighting very hard," the official said. Some Al Qaeda members had reportedly moved up into the mountains before the fighting began, he added.
Qari Tahir was reported to have escaped from Afghanistan after the biggest battle of the war, U.S. Operation Anaconda, in the nearby mountains of Afghanistan in April 2002, and settled in south Waziristan in Pakistan along with hundreds of his fighters. He had served as deputy to the Uzbekistani commander Juma Namangani, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. . The New York Times ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Thousands of Pakistani soldiers backed by artillery and helicopter gunships made limited progress Friday advancing into a cluster of farming villages where 400 to 600 suspected foreign militants have been surrounded near the border with Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said. . The officials said they continued to believe that a senior figure, possibly Al Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may be trapped with the surrounded group. But it appeared Friday that blasting the militants out of fortified positions they have occupied in hundreds of fortress-like family compounds could take days, and dozens of lives.
Brigadier Mahmood Shah, director of security in Pakistan's tribal areas, said Pakistani paramilitary forces advancing from the east and west were entangled in house-to-house fighting with the militants in the area, which covers 25 square kilometers, or 10 square miles.
A Pakistani official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an additional 17 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in fighting on Thursday and Friday, bringing the government death toll to at least 32.
"They are still facing resistance," said Shah, who called the Pakistani advance "very slow."
"I think it's going to take time. At least tomorrow, maybe more."
Pakistani officials said that the militants made two attempts to break out of the cordon surrounding them Thursday night, but had been forced back after taking casualties. Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, said at a news briefing in the capital Islamabad on Friday afternoon that two groups of suspected fighters had been apprehended, one of them heavily armed.
But he said none of those apprehended appeared to be high-level Al Qaeda members and he gave no information on the possible whereabouts of Zawahiri. On Thursday, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said there could be a high-level Al Qaeda target in the area. Pakistani military and intelligence officials have said they believe it is Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon said to be Al Qaeda's master planner.
About 7,000 Pakistani troops have been brought in to set up a double cordon around clusters of farmhouses west of the town of Wana and 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the Afghan border, where foreign fighters, along with local tribesmen, have been fighting since Tuesday. Fighting has centered around the houses of several local tribespeople at Kalloshah, and in another area by Shin Warzak a few kilometers away.
Sultan said Pakistani forces were communicating with the militants via loudspeakers and sending emissaries to tell them to surrender. "The security forces will try to overcome them with minimum use of force," Sultan said. "We would like to capture them without large-scale destruction, but we have the force available if need be."
He added that, earlier in the week, Musharraf offered an amnesty to anyone who surrendered peacefully. "All they have to do is show a white flag and no one will shoot," Sultan said.
As for any high-level Al Qaeda targets purported to be in the area, "We will get them dead or alive," he said.
There was little letup in the firing. The Pakistani Army continued to shell targets all night and into the morning Friday, Sultan said.
About 10 militants tried to break out of the cordon Friday morning near the village of Shin Warzak, in the southeastern corner of the area. As Pakistani forces opened fire, one fighter was killed and the rest fled back into the compound. The dead man appeared to be an Arab, he said.
Another group attempted a similar breakout farther west, and Pakistani troops again repelled them, killing one fighter who still lay on the battlefield. Four men, one of them a foreign fighter, were detained north of the battle area, and another four were apprehended east of the cordon, toward Wana. One of the latter group was wounded, and two of them were foreigners. They were in possession of a huge cache of arms, Sultan added.
An Afghan security official with connections in the area said that Zawahiri was safe in a place about 10 to 20 kilometers away from the actual fighting. Osama bin Laden was also in the area of south Waziristan but not in the area under attack, he said.
Qari Tahir, a leader of Islamic fighters from Uzbekistan and other Russian-speaking republics and a strong ally of the Taliban movement, was leading the fierce fighting against the Pakistanis, he said.
"Qari Tahir is a famous commander of the Uzbeks and he is fighting very hard," the official said. Some Al Qaeda members had reportedly moved up into the mountains before the fighting began, he added.
Qari Tahir was reported to have escaped from Afghanistan after the biggest battle of the war, U.S. Operation Anaconda, in the nearby mountains of Afghanistan in April 2002, and settled in south Waziristan in Pakistan along with hundreds of his fighters. He had served as deputy to the Uzbekistani commander Juma Namangani, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
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