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23 soldiers killed as Pakistan’s fight against Taleban spreads north

Pakistan’s battle against the Taleban spread to the North Waziristan tribal region yesterday after fighters loyal to a local militant commander killed 23 soldiers in an ambush on an army convoy.

The clashes, which ended a tenuous peace deal with the Government, opened a new front for the Pakistani Army, which is already overstretched in the region — believed to be the main hub of al-Qaeda activities.

The militants, armed with rocket launchers, struck the convoy on Sunday evening near the Lowara Mandi area a few miles from the Afghan border, destroying several vehicles. Security sources said that at least four officers were among the dead.

Local and military officials said that up to 35 soldiers were wounded, many critically, in one of the most devastating militant attacks against the army in recent years. Major-General Athar Abbas, the chief military spokesman, said that at least 12 militants were killed.

The attack came after Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a top militant commander, said that he was pulling out of a peace deal that he signed with the Government last year. He has now allied himself to his old rival, Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of the Pakistani Taleban movement. The peace accord with the militants was criticised by US officials and some Pakistani analysts who believed that the truce allowed al-Qaeda and Taleban to regroup in the area. But Pakistani military officials justified the deal, saying that it helped to divide the militant forces.

Security analysts blamed al-Qaeda for prompting the clashes in North Waziristan. “North Waziristan is strong al-Qaeda base and the main objective of the attack was to divert military’s planned offensive against Mr Mehsud,” said Mahmood Shah, a retired brigadier who had also served as top security official in the tribal area.

A spokesman for Mr Bahadur told reporters by phone that the assault on Pakistani forces would continue until US drone attacks in the area stopped. The Mir Ali area in North Waziristan along the Afghan border with has been the main target of Predator drone strikes in recent months.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official said that most of the 12 senior al-Qaeda leaders killed in missile strikes over the past year were based in North Waziristan.

The development came as Pakistani air force fighter jets continued to pound Mr Mehsud’s strongholds in South Waziristan. On Monday airstrikes hit a guesthouse being used by militants in the village of Kani Guram, a military spokesman said. The strikes were aimed at eliminating Mr Mehsud and his militant network in South Waziristan, he said.

Mr Mehsud’s group has been blamed for a string of deadly suicide bombings across the country that have killed more than 100 people in the past month. On Sunday the Government announced a 50 million rupee (£370,000) reward for information leading to Mr Mehsud’s capture or death. Smaller amounts were offered for information on his top lieutenants.

23 soldiers killed as Pakistan’s fight against Taleban spreads north - Times Online

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