We should support the soldiers and police doing all the hard work, while Pakistanis siting far away in drawing rooms are doing all the bakwas and telling us how army should not be used to fight fasadi murderers and elections are the great answer.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iOiNT_O7MYpG6MzupugzRbGJsi-QD8U4QUF00
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Militants Slain in Pakistan Battle**
4 hours ago
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Islamic militants attempted to attack a Pakistani military base close to the Afghan border, sparking fighting that killed between 40 and 50 of the insurgents, the army said Sunday.
The clashes were some of the bloodiest in weeks in the lawless region — a militant stronghold where several top al-Qaida and Taliban leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are thought be hiding.
Up to 300 militants staged the attack in Lhada on Wednesday and early Thursday, but were repelled by artillery and small-arms fire, the army said in a statement.
“Intelligence resources revealed the killing of (between) 40 and 50 militants,” it said.
On Saturday, security forces arrested 59 insurgents after they attacked police with rockets, the statement said.
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It was not possible to contact the rebels for comment on either incident. (It’s hard to contact dead people)**
The border region emerged as a front line in the war on terror after Pakistan allied itself with the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Washington has given Pakistan billions of dollars in aid to help government forces battle militants.
The lawless, tribally administered area is believed to be a staging ground for Taliban fighters planning attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. **The United Nations said in a report last year that more than 80 percent of suicide bombers in Afghanistan are recruited and trained in the region.
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Pakistan says most of the suicide bombers who have carried out scores of attacks within the country in recent months also come from its border region, including the suspected mastermind of the bomb and gun attack that killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Dec. 27.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/13/welcome.htm
** Two Uzbek militants killed in Wana tribal clash** WANA, Jan 13 (AFP): Two Uzbek militants were killed Sunday when their group attacked the house of a pro-government tribal elder in South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said. The pre-dawn clash erupted when dozens of “miscreants” launched an attack on the house of Khan Khannan in South Waziristan district, local administration official Ayaz Mandokhel told AFP. **Khannan’s men guarding the house retaliated and killed two Uzbek militants, he said, adding “their bodies were still lying in the area.” Other militants fled after the clash, he said. Khannan is a pro-government elder in Shakai where gunmen earlier this week shot dead six members of a tribal peace committee. **(Posted @ 13:25 PST)
http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/13/top8.htm
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Fierce clashes in Tank after militants attack garrison**
By Alamgir Bhittani
TANK, Jan 12:** One policeman died while 44 suspected militants were arrested during search operations and clashes here on Saturday.**
Police officials said that militants attacked a garrison, the Police Lines and a picket with rockets and heavy gunfire at 2am. The building of a vocational college where troops had been stationed also came under attack.
The security forces retaliated with gunfire and the clash went on for two hours.
Latifullah, a policeman who suffered an injury and was shifted to Peshawar for treatment, died at the hospital.
The ISPR said in a statement that security forces cordoned off the Umar Adda locality on the outskirts of the city and searched several houses there. It said that 44 militants, including nine “most wanted” elements, had been arrested.
However a police official said 25 suspects had been taken into custody and were shifted to the police station.
The forces also blocked Wana-Tank road and stopped supply of rations to South Waziristan.
Clashes were also reported from Shawal region of South Waziristan.
The forces also fired artillery shells from Manzai Fort, targeting positions in Spinkai Raghzai, a predominantly Mehsud area.
The forces intensified shelling and bombed hideouts of militant commander Qari Hussain in Makin area.
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Sources said that an abandoned tannery occupied by Qari Hussain’s men in Makin was also targeted. They said the head of the Tehreek Taliban-i-Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, held a meeting with his associates at an undisclosed location in the troubled region on Saturday and discussed the situation.**