| Pakistani army kills al qaeda suspects { October 3 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059480307816http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059480307816
Pakistani army kills al-Qaeda suspects By Victoria Burnett in Islamabad and Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: October 3 2003 11:57 | Last Updated: October 3 2003 11:57 The Pakistani military killed up to a dozen suspected al-Qaeda militants in a remote tribal area close to the Afghan border on Thursday, demonstrating what the army said was Pakistan's commitment to hunt down terrorists.
The army said it had arrested 18 suspected militants in the operation in South Waziristan, a semi- autonomous tribal area where Afghan and western security officials believe al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists are hiding. Afghan officials say there are indications Chechens and Arabs are among them.
Troops moved into the area after they heard that al-Qaeda operatives had slipped over the border from Afghanistan and were hiding there, the military said. None of the dead or captured was identified but a Pakistani military spokesman said they were all "foreign".
"This operation manifests Pakistan's commitment to eliminate terrorism in all its forms from her soil," the army said. To reinforce that message, the military flew journalists to Angore Adda, a border town close to where the fighting was continuing.
The operation was mounted at the same time as Richard Armitage, US deputy secretary of state, and Christina Rocca, assistant secretary, had been due in Pakistan at the start of a regional tour.
But because of a "brief illness", Mr Armitage would arrive in Pakistan on Saturday, the State Department said. The US delegation will also travel to Kabul, the Afghan capital, but planned stops in three central Asian states were taken off the itinerary.
Mr Armitage told Congress this week he did not believe that the commitment of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to fight al-Qaeda and Taliban forces extended "up and down the rank and file of the Pakistani security community".
In Kabul, two Canadian peacekeepers were reported killed and three injured in a land-mine blast yesterday. Canada has the largest contingent in the 5,500-strong Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in the city.
Jean Chrétien, Canadian prime minister, told reporters in Vancouver that the 2,000 Canadian troops would remain in Afghanistan for a year as planned.
Reuters news agency quoted Afghan state media as reporting that security forces had arrested five people in Kabul who had trained outside the country and were preparing to carry out terrorist attacks.
In his talks with Pakistan's military leader, Mr Armitage is expected to focus on the US war against Islamist extremists and security problems along the Afghan border.
Pakistani security forces have netted several top al-Qaeda figures, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 2001 attacks on the US.
Afghan and western officials have grown impatient with what they see as Pakistan's half-hearted support in stamping out extremists, in particular members of the Taliban.
Suspected Taliban fighters killed 10 Afghan soldiers and two children on Wednesday night in the southern province of Kandahar.
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