WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Taliban claims bombing in Pakistan; up to 14 dead
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-12 23:33 NATO contends the cease-fire deals have allowed militants based in the frontier region to step up attacks in Afghanistan, while US officials warn that al-Qaida leaders hiding along the border could be plotting another Sept. 11-style attack on the West. Also Tuesday, a senior Interior Ministry official confirmed that authorities were probing the identity of a suspected militant reported killed this week in clashes in Bajur tribal region, where the army has pounded militant positions. A senior intelligence official identified the militant as an Egyptian known as Abu Saeed and said he was believed to be a close aide of al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Authorities had intelligence the militant had died but did not have the body, the official said. A top al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, who had appeared in videos issued by the terror group, is also known by the alias Abu Saeed al-Masri. The ministry official said Pakistani authorities were trying to confirm whether the Abu Saeed reported killed was the same man. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.Two Taliban spokesmen contacted by The Associated Press in Afghanistan, Qari Yousef Ahmadi and Zabiullah Mujahid, said Tuesday that they had no information about it. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the fighting in Bajur had killed at least 150 militants in the past week. Officials have reported at least nine paramilitary troops died. Independent confirmation of the toll has not been possible. Thousands of residents have reportedly fled the area. In late July, an al-Qaida explosives and poison expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri, died in a suspected US missile strike in the Pakistani border region of South Waziristan. |
