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Posted on 10/08/2003 10:32:10 AM PDT by knighthawk
PESHAWAR: Pakistani security agencies on Wednesday arrested members of two tribes accused of sheltering suspected al-Qaeda rebels in the country's northern tribal region near Afghanistan, a government official said.
Authorities also destroyed homes and impounded vehicles belonging to the Kari Khel and Desi Khel tribes, said Anwar Ali Shah, deputy administration chief at Wana, the headquarters of the fiercely autonomous Waziristan region.
"We will take such action against them throughout the country if needed," Shah said.
The crackdown came less than a week after Pakistani soldiers raided three homes in South Waziristan, sparking a shootout that killed eight suspected al-Qaida members.
Two soldiers died and 18 al-Qaeda suspects were captured during the October 2 raid near Angore Adda, 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, where a pro-Taliban government is in power.
Authorities have not disclosed the identities or the loyalties of the 18 captured men, who are still being questioned.
It was the largest-ever offensive by the Pakistani army against Osama bin Laden's terror network.
The three tribesmen who owned the homes where al-Qaeda suspects were hiding were asked to surrender by October 7, Shah said.
"We began arresting the members of two tribes today " he said. "Now they will face a collective punishment."
This is huge news!
Big BUMP!
Would this arrest have taken place in the tribal region that is so wild that no human dare go?
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