100 dead as local Pakistan militants battle foreign Al-Qaeda forces

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

1 hour, 19 minutes ago

WANA, Pakistan (AFP) - Tribesmen loyal to the Pakistani government
fought fierce battles with foreign Al-Qaeda militants for a third day
Wednesday, leaving more than 100 people dead, officials said.

Pakistani troops also shelled the Uzbek militants sheltering in the
mountainous tribal area of South Waziristan, security officials and
residents said, although a military spokesman denied the army was
involved.

The fighting started Monday after ex-Taliban commander Mullah Nazir,
who backs President Pervez Musharraf's moves to expel foreign fighters
from the area, ordered followers of Uzbek militant Tahir Yuldashev to
disarm.

Officials said Yuldashev, who leads a group called the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan, was formerly a close confidant of Osama bin Laden. He has
been sentenced to death in absentia for bombings in the Uzbek capital,
Tashkent.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070321/wl_asia_afp/pakistanafghanistan_070321095158

[Kagemusha]

1. I'd love to know if this really happened.

Because I see a lot of reasons to make up a fish tale here.

[pinniped]

2. I was thinking the same thing, exactly!

I'd love to know if this really happened.

Where are the piles of rotting corpses?

What? They're all foreigners?

foreign Al-Qaeda forces

What lands are they from?

[Kagemusha]

3. Uh, Afghanistan surely. That's not the point

That's not the implausible part. The implausible part is tribes dying for Musharraf.

[Igel]

5. You misunderstand.

In the last couple years over a 100 tribal elders have been killed, mostly by "foreign fighters", in S. Waziristan and other parts of NW Pakistan.

They've been gunned down because they don't approve of the actions the fighters have been taking, whether in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. The fighters' actions have created ethical and moral problems, and also brought down the wrath of the central government, weaking the tribal elders' authority. The foreigners agreed to lay down their arms, the elders took them at their word and made a commitment to the central authority in return for preserving their autonomy: the fighters have made the elders into liars.

This is local politics. Nobody's dying for the Honored One.

The elders mostly still support the Taliban. It's not necessary to split hairs here; we just have to acknowledge that the hairs are on different animals.

[Igel]

4. "Uzbek" is a clue. n/t

[Bandit]

6. Stirring up tribal resentments in Pakistan now as well as Iraq

There will soon be a "Civil War" all throughout the Mid-East just as the NeoCons want. Divide and Conquer...