International   

Foreign militants killed: Pakistan

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: Lending credence to the U.S. air attack last Friday on a village in the troubled Waziristan tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan has conceded that at least four to five foreign elements had been killed in the missile attack.

In a statement issued from Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Bajaur Agency Political Agent Mohammad Fahim Wazir on Tuesday confirmed that some foreign "terrorists" were present there.

Mr. Wazir has based his statement on an initial report compiled by a joint investigation team comprising representatives of various government agencies. He said the investigation had revealed that the missile attack was directed against some foreign terrorists present in the area.

Observers here are intrigued why the Political Agent has chosen to go public with the preliminary investigation into the incident which has caused a storm in the country. There have been street protests and demands for an apology from Washington for the incident.

The statement said the bodies of the militants were "immediately removed" by their companions, to suppress the actual reason of the attack.

The Friday air attack is reported to have been undertaken at the behest of the CIA on the basis of intelligence that Osama bin Laden's key aide, Ayman Zawahiri, was present in the targeted village. Till date no one seems to have any clue on the identity of the foreigners killed.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Singapore to stay engaged with IIM-B
Dialogue on Kashmir issue to continue
"Plot'' to kidnap Blair's son smashed
Drought: millions at risk in Kenya
U.S. document slams Iraq situation
SAFTA decision deferred
Hu, Kim stress on talks
Efforts on to trace American reporter
Bush faces first legal challenges on tapping
Merkel for balanced ties with U.S., Russia
Foreign militants killed: Pakistan
Big freeze in Moscow
"Death with dignity" law upheld

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu