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Pakistani troops approach militants

A Pakistani army helicopter patrols on the outskirts of Wana, the capital of Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Riaz Khan Associated Press
A Pakistani army helicopter patrols on the outskirts of Wana, the capital of Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships and fighter jets searched the mountains, skirmishing with militants Saturday as they closed in on a cluster of suspected al Qaeda hideouts and a training facility near the Afghan border.

A U.S. military official said American forces in Afghanistan were closely following the action in the remote, tribal part of Pakistan and were ready to move against any militants who attempted to flee across the border.

The four-day-old offensive focuses on three al Qaeda-linked compounds – a training facility, a safe house and the home of an alleged terror financier – near the town of Shakai, about 15 miles west of Wana, the largest town in South Waziristan.

A day earlier, Pakistani forces used artillery and helicopter gunships against rebels near Shakai. Casualties from Friday’s fighting were not known, but officials have said 35 insurgents were killed Wednesday and Thursday.

Troops aided by helicopters and fighter jets searched for militants in mountains near Shakai on Saturday, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told the Associated Press in the capital Islamabad. No arrests were reported.

Sultan said Pakistani troops and the militants exchanged sporadic gun fire throughout the day Saturday. There was no word on new casualties, but a security official said on condition of anonymity that Pakistani forces met little opposition.

Rehmatullah Yargul Khel, a tribal elder living in Wana, said by telephone that they see planes and helicopters flying toward Shakai and hear artillery booms coming from the area.

Residents say a number of civilians have been killed, with mud homes leveled and many people forced to flee, but Sultan said he had no information about any civilian casualties.

Skirmishes between Pakistani government soldiers and militants began Wednesday when rebels attacked a checkpoint, killing 15 security personnel.

In Kabul, the Afghan capital, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Tucker Mansager said American forces were in “very close contact” with their Pakistani counterparts and sharing information.

“We maintain a very robust presence on that portion of the border in anticipation that any anti-coalition militants that might try to escape the Pakistani army across the border,” Mansager told reporters, adding that so far there was “no particular increase” in movement across the border.

On Friday, Sultan said Pakistani troops launched the operation in response to “unprovoked firing” by foreign militants.

“Pakistan took a bold decision to fight against terrorism,” he told a news conference. “We are ready to pay the price, whatever it may be, and we will take this fight against terrorism to its logical end.”

Sultan said one of the targets was the home of a suspected al Qaeda financier, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi.

Pakistan’s tribal regions bordering Afghanistan are considered a possible hideout for Osama bin Laden and his chief aide, Ayman al-Zawahri. There was no immediate indication that top al Qaeda figures were among those involved in the latest fighting.