Posted on 06/26/2002 10:44:06 AM PDT by JimRic54
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Ten Pakistani soldiers and two suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in a gunbattle in the lawless tribal area bordering Afghanistan ( news - web sites), a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The men were killed after the Pakistani soldiers raided a house they suspected of being a hideout for al Qaeda operatives who had fled Afghanistan, he said, adding details would be released later.
Sources said a small number of U.S. forces were also in the area helping in the search for al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives but did not take part in the raid and were not hurt.
"We have suffered 10 casualties in a raid conducted in the tribal areas," a senior Pakistani government official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. He confirmed that all 10 had been killed.
The official said a Chechen national suspected of being an al Qaeda member had been arrested and two other suspected militants killed in the encounter which took place on Tuesday evening near Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan tribal region.
Am I the only one who read the article to see which side the Pakistanis were fighting on?
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