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Abductor of Chinese still at large: Pakistan
A former Guantanamo Bay inmate wanted for abducting two Chinese engineers in
Pakistan remains at large and is holed up in a mountainous tribal region with
other al Qaeda militants, the military said on Saturday. He said none were in South Waziristan, where the military now had complete control after a fierce year-long campaign in which 306 militants had been killed and 700 captured. A total of 250 army troops had died in the fighting since last March, he said. "There were three main bases in South Waziristan, which have been busted," added military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan. "The militants have been killed, captured, or have scattered. Now they are in small groups." Earlier this year, President Pervez Musharraf said he was "reasonably sure" Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who kidnapped two Chinese engineers last year after being released by the United States, was dead. But General Khattak contradicted this. "He is still alive and at large," he said, adding that Mehsud was left with very few supporters after the kidnapping, which led to the death of one of the Chinese -- an embarrassment for Pakistan in its relationship with China, a key ally. Khattak said South Waziristan was now peaceful and the military had complete control of the strategic heights. In Shakai, where some of the fiercest fighting took place, military bunkers were dotted around the rugged, scrubby hillsides, while bearded tribesmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles could be seen in the distance. Despite the military's expressions of confidence about security, it was taking no chances during a visit by journalists. The reporters rode in a convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles mounted with machine guns. As the convoy went past simple mud-walled and thatched dwellings, soldiers in full combat uniform, some armed with rocket propelled grenades, kept a wary watch. U.S. officials say they believe al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But Khattak said he had no information that the world's most wanted man had ever taken refuge in South Waziristan and there was no indication either that he was in North Waziristan. He said he also had no information about Uzbek al Qaeda leader Tahir Yuldashev, who was thought in the past to have been hiding in the region. "We occasionally had been getting reports about him, but as time went by they stopped, he said. Khattak said the military had cut its numbers in South Waziristan but would remain as long as necessary. He said the focus now was on development work. He said the government planned to spend 440 million rupees ($7.4 million) on
developments projects in the impoverished region to build roads, schools and
heath facilities. |
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