MIRANSHAH/ISLAMABAD, 7 March 2006 — Authorities imposed curfew on Miranshah, the main town in the semi-autonomous North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, after army seized control of the bazaar and key government buildings.
Pakistani forces using helicopter gunships yesterday tackled sporadic resistance by militants after three days of clashes in the remote tribal town left nearly 120 rebels dead, the military said.
Residents said more than 1,000 terrified families clutching belongings had fled the area following the fierce rocket and artillery clashes. They were the most violent in the tribal belt since the Taleban regime in neighboring Afghanistan fell in late 2001 and many fighters fled across the border.
“According to latest information, the death toll in March 4 (Saturday) fighting has gone up to 100. This is in addition to the 19 killed this morning in Miranshah,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told Agence France Presse yesterday.
Sultan earlier said 19 militants, including some foreigners, died yesterday when troops tried to take control of a telephone exchange in Miranshah, the main town in the semi-autonomous North Waziristan tribal agency. Five paramilitary soldiers have also been killed, he said.
Earlier Qazi Ijaz, a spokesman for the governor of North West Frontier Province which borders the tribal belt, also said that more than 100 rebels had died in the fighting.
“Intelligence reports and information gathered from local sources indicate that more than 100 militants had been killed in fighting in Miranshah.”
Authorities imposed a curfew on the city, he said. The fighting broke out on Saturday when hundreds of tribal rebels seized government buildings in revenge for an army raid three days earlier targeting an Al-Qaeda training camp. That raid killed 40 militants, including foreigners.
Pakistani forces have spent the last four years battling Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants who sneaked across from Afghanistan after a US-led military operation toppled the Taleban in late 2001.
They have also battled the Taleban’s local supporters in the semi-autonomous tribal regions, who are blamed for the current unrest.
Terrified residents of Miranshah reported yesterday hearing intermittent fighting until dawn.
About 3,000 people were seen leaving the city early yesterday after a similar number fled at the weekend, an Associated Press reporter saw.
