04 March 2004	Thursday	12 Muharram 1425

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PESHAWAR, March 3: Suspected religious extremists fired at a military checkpoint on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Tuesday as authorities in South Waziristan called in reinforcements to launch search and cordon operations against Al Qaeda remnants in the tribal region, an official said.

He said suspected radicals had fired at a military checkpoint situated in the Dre Nishtar area on the border besides shelling areas in South and North Waziristan.

The official said light and heavy weapons, including rockets, were used in the attack, lasting for about 15 minutes. No loss of life or property was reported in the attack.

Government officials believe that extremists, fleeing the tribal region, were behind the attack, adding they were probably hiding in the Shawal Mountains on the border.

Another official, who blamed Al Qaeda remnants for the attack, said: "Usually, they begin moving after the sunset." Government sources had earlier told Dawn that authorities in the South and North Waziristan tribal regions were planning a mop up operation in a bid to flush out Al Qaeda remnants from the Shawal Mountains.

The operation was apparently delayed as paramilitary forces' involvement with the Moharram security operation. A senior official in Peshawar confirmed that about 700 soldiers of Dir Scouts had been dispatched to South Waziristan.

Administrator of South Waziristan Mohammad Azam Khan confirmed reports in this regard, saying reinforcements would be used in the search for foreign militants.

Troops, he said, had been lodged at a fort in the Tiarzay area in the South Waziristan Agency as "we did not have any facility to accommodate them in Wana." Mr Khan said: "The government will make available all resources in our endeavour to flush out these militants."

In South Waziristan, authorities detained elders of a major tribe after they failed to reach an agreement among themselves to choose a commander for action against Al Qaeda remnants.

Azam Khan, while confirming the report, said that the administration had detained key tribal figures, including Malik Bismillah Khan, Malik Khanzada and Malik Sarwar Khan of the Zalikhel-Yargulkhel tribe after they failed to agree on a candidate to command a force of tribal volunteers at their jirga on Wednesday.

Tribesmen had been detained. Malik Ba'a Khan was among the detainees. He belongs to the same tribe as Maulavi Abbas, one of the key suspects in providing shelter to Al Qaeda elements.

Yargulkhel, largest sub-tribe within the Ahmadzai Wazirs in South Waziristan, are reported to have convened their own jirga without the political authorities to decide about the commander of the search operation.

The jirga, said a tribal elder, had been called to encourage the tribe to act on its own to avert a confrontation with the government. Government officials said that while other sub-tribes of the predominant Ahmadzai Wazirs in South Waziristan had complied with government orders, Zalikhel-Yargulkhels had been dragging their feet.

Azam Khan alleged that the arrested tribal figures had acted in a way which he termed trying to fail the whole exercise. "They were ... out to thwart efforts aimed at reaching a consensus amongst the Yargulkehls to choose a commander for themselves," Azam Khan said.

He said that he had ordered them to be sent to the central prison in Dera Ismail Khan, adding that he had also barred them from meeting visitors. Local tribesmen said the arrest of key tribal figures had created tension and could stir troubles in the tribal region. The administrator South however, downplayed these apprehensions, saying there could be trouble but "we will meet all challenges head-on."

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