Security pound hideouts of al-Qaeda linked militants in Pakistanfs tribal belt to capture the mastermind of Chinese engineersf captivity.
Caging Instigator: Pakistan Security Hits Militants Hideouts
Pakistan Times NWFP Bureau Report / PT Monitoring Desk
WANA (South Waziristan): As the crusade against al-Qaeda militants got stepped-up in the tribal belt of Pakistan to put in cage Abdullah Mehsud, the ringleader of Chinese engineersf captivity, dozens of families left their mountainous abode near the Afghan border on Thursday.
Backed by helicopter gunships, the security forces kept up a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, which was aimed at foreign antagonists, who were reported to be taking shelter in the terrain with their local collaborators, known as the turncoats all-around the vicinities.
Three civilians were killed when a mortar exploded at a roadside restaurant in Spinkai Raghzai village Wednesday, a foreign news agency report says. "We could hear artillery fire the whole night," said Alam Gul Bitani, who lives in neighboring Jandola village.
He said dozens of families, carrying their children and bundles of possessions, were streaming into his village to avoid the siege by troops, which began Wednesday.
Of the Militants
The militants, led by Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner blamed for masterminding the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers have fired back at the troops with mortars and guns.
The rebels also fired rockets Thursday at a nearby checkpoint, but they landed in a field and caused no casualties, said an official in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
Authorities say the militants suspected of having al-Qaeda links are in South Waziristan. But there has been no hard evidence about the whereabouts of the two top al-Qaeda heads.
Mehsud and Men
On Thursday, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told reporters in Islamabad that their security forces had surrounded a South Waziristan village where Mehsud and men were thought to be hiding. "We are optimistic that Abdullah Mehsud would be captured soon," he said.
Sherpao reiterated Pakistan's pledge that bin Laden or Taliban chief Mullah Mohamnmed Omar were not present in Pakistan. "Osama and Mullah Omar are not here, but they could be somewhere in Afghanistan, where they have more options to hide," he said.
Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, has arrested more than 600 al-Qaeda suspects.
Arrests
Officials on Wednesday said they had captured a suspected al-Qaeda communications expert of Middle Eastern origin. They identified him as Abdul Rahman.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed the arrest of a terror suspect, but would not give details. Rehman, who was known as "Electronic" within al-Qaeda, was also wanted by U.S. intelligence, Sheikh said.
On Thursday, another official, said an al-Qaeda suspect, a Yemeni in his 20s identified as Saleh Nauman was arrested in Lahore city on Tuesday as he was leaving for the airport.
Nauman had allegedly been trained as a terrorist in Afghanistan. Info Minister said he could not confirm the arrest.
Yet, Sherpao confirmed both arrests, but gave no details. "At this stage, I can only say they are al-Qaeda suspects, and our security agencies are questioning them," he said.
Another report says that security tracked him as he traveled from Wana, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, through Islamabad and on to Lahore. Minister said he was planning to return to Yemen through the Arabian Sea.
Pakistani authorities said; he was carrying some important documents with him.
Spinkai Raghzai
Sherpao said troops have surrounded Spinkai Raghzai, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Wana, to capture Abdullah Mehsud.
Officials say Mehsud has forged ties with al-Qaeda, although his whereabouts have not been known since Oct. 14, when commandos raided a house where five of his men were holding the two Chinese engineers.
One of the Chinese was freed, but the other was killed in the assault. All five kidnappers were killed. Security chiefs then vowed to hunt down Mehsud, who disappeared after the attack.
Series of Offensives
Pakistan has launched a series of offensives this year targeting al-Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, and says it has broken up several terrorist hideouts and training camps.œ