One of two Chinese hostages and their five kidnappers were killed in a rescue operation by army commandos in Pakistan's remote tribal area, while the second hostage was safe, army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said(AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi)
Posted on 10/14/2004 8:21:15 AM PDT by TexKat
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Chinese engineer held hostage by al Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan was killed on Thursday but his colleague rescued in a commando assault that killed their five kidnappers, officials said.
Chinese engineers Wang Ende and Wang Peng were heading to work on a dam project in the remote South Waziristan tribal region when they were kidnapped on Saturday by Uzbek and Pakistani militants led by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
Wang Peng, who had worked as a surveyor on the project, was critically hurt by gunfire from the kidnappers and later died, said Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan.
Wang Ende was unharmed.
Both men worked for state-run Chinese firm Sino Hydro Corp.
The assault was carried out by commandos disguised as a tribal delegation, one of whom was seriously wounded, Pakistani security sources said. It was launched after a shot was heard from the compound where the hostages were held, Sultan said.
"The security forces heard firing from within the compound, which created a fear that the abductors had used violence against the Chinese engineers," he said. "Then immediately the security forces stormed the compound and killed all the five abductors."
Two Pakistanis held with the engineers were freed unharmed, Sultan said.
"The Chinese government strongly condemns this terrorist act of kidnapping Chinese citizens," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in a statement that extended "deep sympathy" to the family of the dead man.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told reporters Pakistan shared China's grief and the kidnappers had tried to drive a wedge between Pakistan and its "closest friend."
China's official Xinhua news agency said Kasuri told ambassador Zhang Chunxiang he felt sorry for the failure of the operation, but Zhang told reporters Pakistan had tried its best. "I want to tell you this will have no effect on our relations."
A traditional ally of Pakistan, supplying it with arms and hundreds of millions of dollars in development finance, Beijing had urged Islamabad to do its utmost to rescue the engineers and to increase security for their co-workers.
It was the second time this year Chinese workers have come to harm at the hands of militants opposed to Pakistan's role in the U.S.-led war on terror. In May, three technicians working on a port project were killed and nine wounded in a bomb attack in the southern Pakistani city of Gawadar.
THREAT TO BLOW UP HOSTAGES
The kidnappers were three Uzbeks and two militants from South Waziristan's Mehsud tribe, a Pakistani security source said.
They had been holed up with explosives strapped to their bodies in a mud house surrounded by security forces and their tribal allies in the Chagmalai area of South Waziristan, about 330 km (200 miles) southwest of Islamabad.
Officials said the kidnappers had threatened to blow up themselves and their hostages if a rescue attempt was made.
Seven assault rifles, nine hand grenades, some detonators and a cordless long-range telephone were recovered from the compound, intelligence sources said.
Pakistani officials said the kidnapping was led by an al Qaeda-linked tribesman named Abdullah Mehsud, a former inmate of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, who gave instructions to the kidnappers by phone from a secret location.
He threatened on Monday to order the killing of one of the Chinese unless the kidnappers and their captives were allowed to join him.
The military assault came after efforts by members of Abdullah's Mehsud tribe, including some of his relatives, failed to persuade him to order the release of the hostages.
Officials said Abdullah had also demanded an end to military operations in the semi-autonomous tribal region, where hundreds have been killed this year in battles between troops and al Qaeda-linked militants, and the freeing of two Uzbek militants.
Abdullah was freed from Guantanamo in March after the Pentagon said he was no longer a threat to the United States.
The tribal region has long been notorious for kidnapping for ransom, but the latest abductions had appeared to represent a shift in tactics.
Hundreds of foreign militants, including Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs, are thought to be holed up in the tribal region, protected by Pakistani tribesmen. U.S. officials believe Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders may also be hiding somewhere along the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. (With reporting by Tahir Ikram and Faisal Aziz in ISLAMABAD, Irfan Mughal in DERA ISMAIL KHAN and Hafiz Wazir in WANA)
One of two Chinese hostages and their five kidnappers were killed in a rescue operation by army commandos in Pakistan's remote tribal area, while the second hostage was safe, army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said(AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi)
...And five kidnappers killed.
Abdullah Mehsud (AKA "the goat fancier") was in the news recently in a story about how he was released from Gitmo and then kidnapped the two Chinese. Hopefully the book has been closed on that POS.
Pong
"led by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee"
3 Cheers for the ACLU! If they had it their way they would let all the GITO Terrorists free so they could bring in the suitcases. Oh I'd love to find out how this detainee was allowed to go free.
This method should be done for a lot less than beheadings.
"Hopefully the book has been closed on that POS."
"Mehsud, ....gave instructions to the kidnappers by phone from a secret location"
Hopefully they can track him thru the phone they recovered.
Amen to that! Nothing scares the allah out of them than the good ole American "take me out to the ball game" lets go for a hot dog and a beer!
They could have headlined with the fact that due to our terrible mistake in releasing that guy from Guantanamo, this kidnapping happened in the first place.
Only way we should release those "detainees" is to the sharks in Guantanamo Bay.
We should teach our judges a lesson, by letting the PRC on behalf of the victims' family sue our government for letting one of the kidnappers, a known Jihadist, free from Gitmo to do further harm. Purpose of doing this (even tho it is at the US expense), is to throw light on the ACLU and activists judges and the harm they have done.
"I'd love to find out how this detainee was allowed to go free."
In defense, he wasn't allowed to go "free". He was released to the Pakistani authorities. They allowed him to go "free". But he should never have been part of a deal to be released from Gitmo.
You won't get any argument from me.
What was the deal and who cut it ? What "body" of people or NYU lawyer?
The deal was he was a highly regarded "ring leader" thats the deal. He must of had some pull to order killings?
I don't know the details of the deal. He was released with several others. But most of the foreign detainees are turned over to the authorities in their native countries and it's up to that country to make the final decision about the release of the guy(s).
This guy should never have been part of deal with Pakistan.
"al Qaeda-linked tribesman"
This should tell all! He was a leader,with pull and Pakistan knew it!
Besides how will you get a Muslim nation like Pakistan to fight Muslims? Its like a kindom divided against itself...It wont work.
"He was a leader,with pull and Pakistan knew it! "
I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Whether he had "pull" or not, doesn't answer why the U.S. decided to release him. It was our decision to hand him over.
"how will you get a Muslim nation like Pakistan to fight Muslims?"
They already ARE fighting with us.
(muslims kill other muslims all the time.)
Negativity,
We're all gonna die, the glass is half empty, I hate myself but I hate you more...
the mantra of the left.
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