Taliban, al-Qaeda clash in NWFP

[Saddle Bronc 124]

BBC Link

Rival militants clash in Pakistan

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.

"The tribesmen are fed up with them (foreign militants)"

Military spokesman Waheed Arshad

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.

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.

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.

Note: somewhat unsurprising as foundational ideology of both AQ and Taliban has always been hatred--it was only a matter of time before it became internecine.

[almaty 19]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

[Robor007 0]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

What about the school children killed in the process?

[almaty 19]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

What about the school children killed in the process?

###### pricks..

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

What about the school children killed in the process?

Women and children are the real losers in this fight.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

What about the school children killed in the process?

Women and children are the real losers in this fight.

No, LS--they lost long ago (in 1977, when Zia, a general who escaped justice for his involvement in the murderous "Operation Searchlight", took power)!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

that is good news..let the bastards kill each other off

What about the school children killed in the process?

Women and children are the real losers in this fight.

No, LS--they lost long ago (in 1977, when Zia, a general who escaped justice for his involvement in the murderous "Operation Searchlight", took power)!

I learn something new every day.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

And toll is still climbing, latest from BBC

[Saddle Bronc 124]

BBC, once more

Only illustrates my point that these two groups are both founded on hate--they couldn't even keep a ceasefire brokered last Friday!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It's so sad.