Posted on 04/12/2007 8:16:44 AM PDT by blam
Tribesmen 'kill 300 foreigners'
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, South Waziristan
The militants have imposed their authority in much of the tribal areas
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf says tribesmen have killed about 300 foreign militants in fighting near the Afghan border.
This is the highest number reported after several weeks of battles between local Pashtuns and Uzbek militants.
Local sources put the figure much lower than the army, at fewer than 100 dead.
The president also admitted for the first time that the army had supported the tribal fighters, something that was publicly denied until now.
General Musharraf's figure was higher than the numbers previously reported by the army and much higher than that reported by locals.
Pressure
It seems the military want to highlight the uprising against the Uzbeks, probably because it has been under pressure from the West to move against foreign fighters in the lawless tribal areas near the border.
Nato is concerned about the infiltration of militants into Afghanistan, but it is not clear whether the campaign will stop that.
The Uzbeks were not significantly involved in the Afghan insurgency but many of the tribesmen fighting them are.
Their campaign against the Central Asians has been a distraction triggered by accusations of Uzbek criminal behaviour.
Sounds like Al-Qaeda gets their asses whooped by locals.
Looks like terrorists are having a harder time finding hiding places??
Pray for W and Our Troops
I am rooting for the Good Tribesman.
Like the numbers, keep up the good work.
Now I know why John Kerry is so upset
(....did you know he is a Vietnam vet ???)
lots of his friends are getting killed.
Good to see them killing each other - the "good" guys will be bad guys in a few weeks.
That is not the case at all (though what some in the Pak Gov't would want most to believe).
The reality is much different...With the AQ supported Uzbeks/Chechens along with the Taliban supported locals....attacking those "foreigners" (of Uzbeks, Chechens and such) of the IJG (group wanting to attack the Pak Gov't before attacking U.S. / UK in Stan).
What people need to understand....is when the MSM talk about Uzbeks in these border regions...they are not all the same "Uzbeks" (as Roggio at his website does a great job at pointing out).
Uzbek leader Tahir Yuldashev is the HVT of the IMU - His group is still a major supporter of AQ (his group / Uzbeks are not being killed in Stan currently...or targeted shall we say). It is the Uzbeks (and Chechens and Turks) which are part of the IJG which are largely being targeted....
There is an element of the IMU (Chechens and Uzbeks) that are believed to be still the inner security circle of UBL and Zawahiri.....
Regarding the fighting, who is doing it and why....Roggio has the best overview going right now....(below).
The Uzbek-Taliban fighting isn't what the Pakistani government wants you to believe...
The Pakistani government continues to push the fiction that the fighting in South Waziristan is between tribes loyal to the government and 'foreign fighters' - namely Uzbek al Qaeda. We've noted from day one that the fighting is actually an internecine war over land and power between Uzbek al Qaeda and their Taliban allies, and Taliban who support al Qaeda. Two articles, one in Adnkronos International and another in The News provides further evidence the battles in Waziristan are related to an internal power struggle, and not indicative of the success of the Waziristan Accord, as the Pakistani government would like for you to believe.
Why They Fight
Adnkronos International and The News present the reasons for the fighting between the Uzbeks (backed by the Taliban) and the Taliban (backed by Arab al-Qaeda). This is essentially an internal conflict fueled by tribal rivalries, the Uzbek's murder of al Qaeda agents, a disagreement in strategic priorities, and land. The combination of these factors gave Mullah Nazir the green light to fight.
• A Taliban power struggle: A Taliban commander known as Maulavi Omar (or Mullah Omar - but not the Mullah Omar) assumed command of the Ahmadzai Wazir after the death of Nek Mohammed in 2006. Mullah Omar supported the presence of the Uzbeks. Last year, Omar was replaced by Mullah Nazir, who currently opposes the presence of the Uzbeks. There is an intra-tribal rivalry between Omar, who belongs to one of the most powerful subclans, and Nazir, who belongs to the weakest.
• The Uzbeks began killing Arab al Qaeda: When the Uzbeks began to target al Qaeda operatives in the region, the "The Taliban and their supporters in Waziristan had begun to realise that Uzbeks were turning into a liability because of their alleged involvement in target-killings," notes AKI. "The most prominent name to come up was that of Saiful Asad."
Another Arab killed by the Uzbeks was Sheikh Asadullah, "a widely respected Saudi" who was described as "the moneybags in the entire tribal belt." Asadullah replaced "Ahmad Saeed Abdur Rehman Khadr Al Kanadi, an Egyptian-born Canadian known for being a conduit for finances to al-Qaeda affiliates," who was killed in 2004. Asadullah's "tribal companion," or liaison, was one of Nazir's lieutenants, and he claimed Asadullah was murdered by Uzbeks.
Thanks for this information. Very interesting and insightful. As long as they keep killing themselves in internal fights, we are on the winning side.
It is long past time for us to have dragged out the dead corpses of UBL, Zawahiri and several other HVTs who have sought their survivals in this region....And it is going to take actionable HUMINT for us to every put guns or JDAMs on these SOBs....
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