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Pakistan kills pro-Al Qaeda tribal warrior
Pakistani security forces killed a top tribal warrior wanted for sheltering al Qaeda militants in an overnight swoop on his hideout in a remote region bordering Afghanistan, officials said Friday.
Nek Mohammad, who protected foreign fighters with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in the semi-autonomous South Waziristan tribal area, died with four supporters in the raid on a mud-walled compound near the region's main town of Wana, 250 miles southwest of Islamabad.
"Nek Mohammad's movement was being followed by the security forces," Sultan said.
"His presence, along with his associates, was being confirmed in a hideout west of Wana and upon receipt of that information the security forces, in a very swift and precise operation, knocked him out."
Pakistan has battled militants and tribesmen sheltering them for months in a campaign to rid the country of Islamic radicals but that has failed to net any top Taliban or al Qaeda leaders.
Up to 600 foreign militants, including Uzbeks, Arabs and Chechens who joined the U.S.-funded insurgency against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, are believed to be living in tribal areas, although dozens have been killed in recent clashes.
Thousands of mourners gathered for Mohammad's funeral in the village of Kalosha, near Wana.
"No one was ready to believe that a valiant man like Nek Mohammad was dead until they saw his body with their own eyes," one Wana resident said.
The body of the black-bearded 27-year-old, his head no longer swathed in his trademark turban, lay on a low cot wrapped in a white sheet, his face showing scars and bruises.
Mohammad Noor, a local tribesman who saw Mohammad die in hospital, said the former fighter for the Taliban had lost a leg in the overnight clashes and one arm was badly wounded.
"He was a brave man," said Noor. "His last words were 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greatest)."
Mohammad joined the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan when the United States launched its war to topple the hard-line militia in late 2001, but aides said he had not fought there since.
FEAR OF BACKLASH
The death of Mohammad raises fresh fears of a violent backlash by militants in Pakistani cities. Recent deadly attacks on religious and military targets in Karachi have been linked to operations against militants in tribal areas.
"What happened in Karachi, one can't deny its linkage with what is happening at Wana," said Sultan. "Yes, there may be some backlash, that can't be ruled out. But the security forces are fully prepared to handle that."
In the latest crackdown in the tribal belt last week, at least 56 militant suspects and 17 soldiers were killed.
The Pakistani military said the government would continue to pursue a political solution to tribal issues after the failure of an April deal whereby foreign fighters who registered with the government would be granted amnesty. Mohammad was one of five tribesmen who surrendered to the government in that deal, but he brought in no foreigners. Sultan said Mohammad had also launched an attack on security forces in early June in which some troops were killed, leaving the government no choice but to hunt him down. U.S. forces in Afghanistan have urged Pakistan to do more to root out what they call "terrorists" in tribal areas. The 20,000-strong U.S.-led force wants to create a "hammer and anvil" effect along the rugged border between the two countries to trap al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, possibly including Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. |
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