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| 25 February 2004 | Wednesday | 04 Muharram 1425 |
Foreign suspects among 20 held in Wana operation: Arms, documents seized
ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR, Feb 24: At least 20 suspected terrorists, including some foreign nationals, were arrested during a day-long operation conducted jointly by the army and paramilitary troops in South Waziristan Agency on Tuesday, sources told Dawn.
They said troops backed by over a dozen helicopter gunships and artillery, also destroyed three houses in the remote border area where Al Qaeda militants and possibly Osama bin Laden, were believed to be hiding.
Commandos from the elite Special Services Group were flown into Ziara Latta in the Azam Warsak area close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Hundreds of regular troops and paramilitary forces, backed by helicopter gun ships, surrounded a small valley in the west of Wana, the agency headquarters, which according to intelligence reports was being used as a hideout by the militants.
The operation began at dawn in the village of Zarkai. Two other villages of the South Waziristan Agency - Kaloosha and Azam Warsak - were also besieged by the troops, the sources said.
The operation was launched after a Feb 20 deadline set by the government for tribal elders to hand over Al Qaeda fugitives and their supporters passed and the government received a tip-off about presence of foreign suspects, the sources added.
The sources said the troops conducted a house-to-house search and razed houses of three tribesmen who refused to cooperate with the authorities. ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan confirmed the arrest of 20 people during the crackdown.
He said the operation which commenced in the morning on reports about presence of suspected foreign terrorist successfully concluded by the evening. "However, certain post-operation activities are still going on," he added.
"There were no casualties on either side," the ISPR chief said. He said weapons, ammunition and some audio-cassettes were recovered by the troops during the search operation.
"In addition, certain documents, including passports have also been recovered from the houses which confirm the presence of outsiders," he maintained.
The ISPR chief said the political agent of the South Waziristan Agency, maliks and tribal elders were present during the operation. Some of the locals taken into custody during the operation were later released after getting necessary assurances from tribal chiefs.
He reiterated that such operations were a routine matter and a part of the ongoing war on terror and conducted whenever required. Officials told Dawn in Peshawar that among the 20 suspects arrested, four were women.
The women, who spoke Pushto, appeared to be either Kazakhs or Afghans married to Kazakhs, the official said, adding they held Kazakh passports. The women were later handed over to local tribesmen on the guarantee that they would be presented to the authorities as and when needed, an official in Peshawar said.
The official said troops blasted the houses of Mitta Khan and Abdullah, both Gurmazkhel tribesmen and Malik Salad Khan Ghulamkhel for sheltering militants. A jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has been convened on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the face of an impending operation against foreign militants.
Officials said the operation had nothing to do with the plans being worked out by the political administration in Waziristan to flush out Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants.
"The army could go after a high value target. This (operation) has nothing to do with the search operation to be conducted in the area in the coming days," the officials said.
The operation that continued till 2.30pm caused panic among local people, adds Sailab Mehsud from Wana. The arrested people have been identified as; Amir Hamza, Ghulam Haider, Wali Mohammad, Noor Mohammad, Mir Wali, Khan Mohammad, Mir Waid Khan, Omar Farooq, Rehmatullah, Zardad Khan, Mehnat Khan, Abdul Waheed, Gul Mohammad, Abdul Malik, Serat Khan, Gul Salam, Abdul Qadir and Ashraf. The names of other suspects could not be ascertained.
FOREIGN SUSPECTS: Intelligence officials said 25 people, including Saudi, Egyptian and Yemeni nationals, were among those held and others could be Uzbeks or Chechens, adds Reuters. They said the detainees included men and women.
"We are trying to establish their identity," one intelligence source said, but added that no top Al Qaeda figures were thought to be among those held. Seven suspects were seen being driven away in military vehicles, but it was unclear if they were foreigners or local tribesmen.
CNN quoted Pakistani intelligence sources as saying that helicopter gunships were a part of the force that conducted the raid on Tuesday. The battle that resulted in the arrests included exchange of rocket fire.
Ahead of the operation, the sources said, tribal leaders had turned over at least 32 wanted people to the government, with at least 40 others still at large.
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