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Rival Militants Clash In Pakistan (Al-Qaeda vs Taliban)
BBC ^ | 3-20-2007

Posted on 03/20/2007 10:11:40 AM PDT by blam

Rival militants clash in Pakistan

The Waziristan area is a militant stronghold

Up to 30 people have been killed in fighting between al-Qaeda militants and local pro-Taleban tribesmen in north-west Pakistan, the military says. Heavy shelling has raged since Monday near Wana in the South Waziristan tribal area close to Afghanistan.

The BBC has confirmed only seven deaths, including two school children caught in the cross-fire.

The tribal areas are home to hundreds of foreign militants who fled the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Fractious militants

They are supported by local tribesmen, who also have close ties to the Afghan Taleban.

The militants all want Western troops out of Afghanistan, but there are divisions and power struggles among them.

Reports say two senior Taleban commanders, Baitullah Mahsud and Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, have gone to the area to try to pacify the two groups and managed to broker a ceasefire in the past few hours.

Children 'dead'

Tensions between the mostly Uzbek fighters and local militants rose after an Arab militant was killed on Sunday.

Taleban spread their wings
High stakes on border

The area has been fraught since similar clashes in which 19 people were killed earlier this month.

Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said 15 to 20 of the dead were foreign militants and most are believed to be Uzbeks.

"The numbers of casualties is rising and we have reports of 25 to 30 dead," he told Reuters news agency.

Maj-Gen Arshad said about 30 people had been wounded in the fighting around Azam Warsak and Kalusha area west of Wana, the region's main town.

However the high number of casualties reported by military and security officials have not been confirmed by the local administration and other sources.

They told the BBC that only seven people had died - five of them Uzbeks and two students.

Another 26 people had been wounded so far in the clashes, local officials told the BBC.

Poor telecommunications in the area has meant that details of the latest clashes are sketchy. But they are reported to stem from differences between local tribesmen and foreign militants over the law and order situation in South Waziristan.

Spring offensive

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the clashes have turned a large area west of Wana into a battlefield, with both sides dug in in several villages.

Thousands of Pakistani troops are in the area Each side has blamed the other for the outbreak of fighting.

Nato and the Afghan government have criticised Pakistan for recently signing peace deals with militants in South and North Waziristan.

They argue that the agreements have created a safe haven for the Taleban in advance of an expected spring offensive by the militants in Afghanistan.

But the government said the agreements were necessary to reduce the number of Pakistani soldiers who were being killed in the border areas.

More than 700 Pakistani troops have lost their lives in the fight for control over the tribal areas in recent years.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; militants; muhammadsminions; rivals; taliban
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Good News. When they expose themselves, bomb them both.
1 posted on 03/20/2007 10:11:44 AM PDT by blam
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To: blam

Fence it off and let them go at it. We'll clean out the winners.


2 posted on 03/20/2007 10:13:43 AM PDT by Leatherneck_MT (Duncan Hunter in 2008)
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To: All

Civil war, anybody?


3 posted on 03/20/2007 10:13:43 AM PDT by wastedyears ("These colours don't run, from cold bloody war." - Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson)
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To: Dog

Get a load of this!


4 posted on 03/20/2007 10:15:50 AM PDT by Cap Huff
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To: wastedyears
Civil war, anybody?

Cue the liberal parrot...Civil war, civil war...cut and run, awk....cut and run.

5 posted on 03/20/2007 10:15:57 AM PDT by rhombus
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To: rhombus

FINALLY, some good news!


6 posted on 03/20/2007 10:16:59 AM PDT by bicyclerepair (Living in Beautiful Ft. Lauderdale)
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To: blam
Don't negotiate you two...your only option is the annihilation of the other!!
7 posted on 03/20/2007 10:18:06 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
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To: blam

I suppose the UN will be working overtime to broker a ceasefire. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will also call for a national day of prayer for peace between the two factions.


8 posted on 03/20/2007 10:18:15 AM PDT by MikeA (The 4th Estate has become a 5th column.)
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To: rhombus

That was a little funny, but I didn't mean it the way you took it.

And don't ever call me a Liberal again.


9 posted on 03/20/2007 10:19:22 AM PDT by wastedyears ("These colours don't run, from cold bloody war." - Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson)
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To: blam

"They told the BBC that only seven people had died - five of them Uzbeks and two students."

Botany students no doubt . . . searching for rare mountain orchids.

On a serious note, thanks for the post! This is very interesting news, particularly coming from the BBC.


10 posted on 03/20/2007 10:20:06 AM PDT by Cap Huff
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To: wastedyears
1) Don't assume you know how I "took it".
2) Don't assume you were being called a liberal.

Hey, it was just a joke building on the irony you pointed out.

11 posted on 03/20/2007 10:23:43 AM PDT by rhombus
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To: blam
Hmmm. I wonder if any of our assets had anything to do with stirring this up?
12 posted on 03/20/2007 10:23:50 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: rhombus

Obviously your power to recognize sarcasm is non-existent.


13 posted on 03/20/2007 10:38:26 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: rhombus
Oops!!! My bad, nevermind. 8>)
14 posted on 03/20/2007 10:40:12 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Coop; AdmSmith; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Straight Vermonter; Calpernia; Deetes; jmc1969; Boot Hill; ...

Ping . . .


15 posted on 03/20/2007 10:42:41 AM PDT by Cap Huff
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To: Leatherneck_MT

Send both sides plenty of guns and bullets.


16 posted on 03/20/2007 10:44:58 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
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To: blam

Where do I send the amo... ;-)


17 posted on 03/20/2007 10:46:23 AM PDT by Freeport
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To: Robert DeLong

Hopefully Mr. MOAB will drop in


18 posted on 03/20/2007 10:47:36 AM PDT by Hammer123
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To: Cap Huff

Mushie has been supporting the Taliban of late in exchange for the Taliban cutting support for al-Qaeda.

If we want to win in Warizistan short of nuking it what we need to do is what we are doing in Iraq. Divide and conquor.

Seperate the native fighters (the Taliban) from al-Qaeda. That is exactly what we are trying to do in Iraq.


19 posted on 03/20/2007 10:56:09 AM PDT by jmc1969
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To: blam

"Up to 30 people have been killed in fighting between al-Qaeda militants and local pro-Taleban tribesmen"

Awesome!!! We just eliminated 30 terrorists and didn't have to lift a finger


20 posted on 03/20/2007 10:57:30 AM PDT by BobinIL
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