09 Sep 2004 11:32:32 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Updates with death toll, details)
By Hafiz Wazir
WANA, Pakistan, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Pakistani jet fighters and helicopter gunships pounded what the military called a terrorist training camp near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing at least 50 mostly foreign militants.
Witnesses said government troops clashed with tribesmen loyal to the militants well into the afternoon following the attack near Dila Khula, 25 km (15 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town of the South Waziristan tribal region.
“We have learned that 50 people are dead, mostly foreigners,” said a military spokesman, who asked not to be named.
“Investigations are going on, and there is a possibility that the number of casualties may increase.”
When asked to comment on local reports of heavy civilian casualties, he added, “They were all militants and if there were any locals they would have to be part of those militants.”
Villager Ajab Nur said around 40 members of Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban militia and allied Islamic militants had gathered at the time of the attack, and many of the fighters were killed in air strikes.
But according to Nur, dozens of civilians also died in a subsequent raid after they gathered to survey the damage in the area located around 50 km (30 miles) from the Afghan border.
“There was a gathering of about 40 or so militants early this morning,” said Nur. “Two bombs fell on them. Then villagers went to see what had happened … and there was a second attack and many people were killed.”
Residents estimated that up to 90 people had died, making it one of the bloodiest clashes in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt since the military launched a crackdown on al Qaeda-linked militants hiding there.
About 70,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
“TERRORIST CAMP” DESTROYED
The army said it had knocked out a training camp used by foreign terrorists in a “precise strike”, and the operation lasted two hours.
“There were confirmed reports of training activity being conducted by foreign elements including Uzbeks, Chechens and a few Arabs,” the military said in a statement.
“These trained terrorists were then indulging in sabotage and terrorist acts in the country, as was revealed through investigations into the recent terrorist acts,” it added.
Islamic militants are incensed at Pakistan’s decision to back the U.S.-led war on terror, and have been blamed for two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf in December and a July suicide bomb attack on Shaukat Aziz, who is now prime minister.
The region of South Waziristan, 400 km (250 miles) southwest of the capital Islamabad, has been the scene of major military operations in recent months.
Officials have said hundreds of al Qaeda-linked foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, and their tribal allies, are hiding there and have used the remote region to train fighters and coordinate attacks on targets inside Pakistan.
Many of the foreign fighters have been living in tribal areas since 1989, after they helped oust the Soviets from neighbouring Afghanistan in a U.S.-funded insurgency.
Others fled there when the U.S. military launched its war on the Afghan Taliban in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Al Qaeda had been allowed by the Taliban to operate inside Afghanistan.
Some al Qaeda-linked suspects arrested in a recent Pakistani swoop against the international terror network had visited tribal regions in recent months.
On Wednesday, six civilians were killed in clashes between the army and militants in a bazaar in Wana. Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said on Wednesday the army arrested 28 people after the clash in the main market of the town. (Additional reporting by Sheree Sardar in RAWALPINDI and Tahir Ikram in ISLAMABAD)
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September 9, 2004 at 1:51 pm