Posted on 09/09/2004 1:16:14 AM PDT by Reader of news
WANA, Pakistan, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed on Thursday in air strikes by Pakistani jet fighters in the South Waziristan tribal area which borders Afghanistan, a witness said.
About 40 members of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban militia and other Islamic militants were attacked during a meeting in the village of Laggimanzai, close to the Afghan border. Villager Ajab Nur told Reuters that many more civilians were killed in a subsequent air strike when they gathered to survey the damage.
I hope that including Osama .
I also wish it.
Update
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
Bombardment over foreigners’ gathering in South Waziristan kills 50
(Updated at 1230 PST)
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Pak Air Force bombarded in various areas of South Waziristan. PAF fighters also bombarded in the village of Khonkhela in Mahsood tribe territory of Sararogha in South Wazirsitan, correspondent of Geo reported on Thursday.
Surveillance planes had flicked through the area before the bombardment where a gathering of foreigners was being held that was also attended by the local people, eyewitnesses said. A guided missile was fired over the gathering from somewhere place resulting in large death toll, they further said.
Pak Air Force also bombarded the area killing several people. About 50 people including local and foreign nationals were killed in the attack, local sources said, though the official sources had not confirmed the killings immediately.
This was the first operation by the security forces against terrorist in the Mahsood tribal territory within two years.
Could they be afraid of the Russian promise to destroy terror bases anywhere in the world?
This is part of a much larger, ongoing operation, with essentially no relation to recent events in the Caucasus.
Thanks for posting this. You are welcome to this thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1155685/posts?page=901#901 there are maps, background etc on the hunt for HVT.
UPDATE
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/09/09/pakistan.alqaeda/index.html
'Raid on al Qaeda meet kills 40'
Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs said to be at 'training facility'
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani air force has bombed a suspected meeting of al Qaeda operatives in the country's tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, government officials said.
According to local officials, the 6 a.m. attack in the South Waziristan city of Khonkhila Thursday killed 40 people, including Pakistanis and "foreigners."
"There were confirmed reports of training activity being conducted by foreign elements including Uzbeks, Chechens and a few Arabs," the military said in a statement quoted by The Associated Press.
"These trained terrorists were indulging in sabotage and terrorist acts in the country."
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told AP said the men had been involved in terrorist acts inside Pakistan, but gave no details.
He said they were not in any way connected to suspected Chechen and Arab militants who took hundreds hostage at a school in southern Russia earlier this month. At least 330 people -- many of them children -- died in the end to that siege.
You're welcome.
Oh that Reuters et al. would ever describe a homicide car bombing in terms of the civilian casualties it intentionally inflicts.
This article will just kill the leftists who want to pretend that President Bush should have gone to war with Pakistan vs. Iraq.
Of course, if we'd gone to war with Pakistan, the malignant leftists would now be arguing we should have gone to war with our enemy of 13+ years -- Iraq.
What no one pinged me?
LOL.
Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror. They've captured quite a few Al Qaeda leaders since the start of the war.
Definitely. But there are some malignant posters and faux freepers who try to pretend that Pakistan is the enemy we should have gone after instead of Iraq.
Those faux freepers are here to stir up trouble. And, as I said, if we'd gone after Pakistan instead they would be first in line complaining that we didn't go after Iraq.
It was necessary to liberate Iraq to spread freedom around the Middle East and eliminate one of the major threats the world faced.
Exactly. Saddam was one of the biggest terrorist supporters in the world and his quest for WMD was a threat to everyone.
Even the Democrats agreed to that....while Bill Clinton was president.
UPDATE
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040909/ts_nm/security_pakistan_dc_1
Pakistan Bombs 'Terrorist Camp,' Dozens Killed
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan jet fighters and helicopter gunships pounded what the military called a terrorist training camp near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing dozens of people including civilians, local witnesses said.
Around 40 members of Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s ousted Taliban militia and allied Islamic militants were attacked near the village of Laggimanzai, 15 miles northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, said villager Ajab Nur.
He told Reuters that many civilians had also been killed in a subsequent air strike when they gathered to survey the damage in the village around 30 miles from the Afghan border.
"There was a gathering of about 40 or so militants early this morning," said Nur. "Two bombs fell on them. Then villagers went to see what had happened ... and there was a second attack and many people were killed."
Residents and local media estimated that around 50 people had died, but authorities had yet to give any casualty figures.
The army said it had knocked out a training camp used by foreign terrorists in a "precise strike," saying later that the operation lasted two hours.
Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told state television he was confident all terrorists present at the camp had been killed, but gave no figures.
"There were confirmed reports of training activity being conducted by foreign elements including Uzbeks, Chechens and a few Arabs," said a military statement.
"These trained terrorists were then indulging in sabotage and terrorist acts in the country, as was revealed through investigations into the recent terrorist acts," it added.
Islamic militants are incensed at Pakistan's decision to back the U.S.-led war on terror, and have been blamed for two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf in December and a July suicide bomb attack on Shaukat Aziz, who is now prime minister.
The region of South Waziristan, 250 miles southwest of the capital Islamabad, has been the scene of major military operations in recent months.
Officials have said hundreds of al Qaeda-linked foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, and their tribal allies, are hiding there and have used the remote region to train fighters and coordinate attacks on targets inside Pakistan.
Some al Qaeda-linked suspects arrested in a recent Pakistani swoop against the international terror network have visited tribal regions in recent months.
On Wednesday, six civilians were killed in clashes between the army and militants in a bazaar in Wana. Sultan said on Wednesday the army had arrested 28 people after the clash in the main market of the town. (additional reporting by Tahir Ikram in ISLAMABAD)
Nobody really got pinged, directly.
Cap Huff posted a link to here in the other thread.
You HAVE been checking the other thread religiously, haven't you?
;-)
What do we make of this?
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