Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistani troops backed by artillery and helicopters attacked hideouts of suspected foreign militants in a remote tribal region near Afghanistan on Friday in continuing clashes that have killed 50 people in the past three days, the military said.
The skirmishes started Wednesday when militants fired rockets on army checkpoints near Wana, the main city in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, sparking an exchange of fire between the troops and rebels.
"Today, we appropriately responded to the latest unprovoked attacks by the terrorists," army spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said Friday.
The Pakistan army later said in a statement that 35 militants and 15 security forces had been killed in South Waziristan since Wednesday. It said the militants had taken the local population hostage, forcing the army to take action to flush them out.
Of Friday's assault, it said the army was targeting "known and confirmed hideouts of miscreants."
Government and security officials said the army was pounding the hideouts with artillery, mortars and other weapons, while helicopters also were seen flying in the area.
Residents in Wana said by phone that they saw some fighter planes in the area and heard a "loud explosion," suggesting the military might have dropped bombs on the militants' hideouts, but Sultan refused to confirm any bombardment.
"We cannot give such operational details at this stage," he said.
Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are considered a possible hideout for al-Qaeda chief 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.
Tension has been building in South Waziristan over the past month as authorities have pressured tribesmen to evict hundreds of Central Asian, Arab and Afghan militants, many of whom moved there from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
The militants have refused to surrender and register with authorities despite a government amnesty offer that would allow them to settle in Pakistan if they renounce terrorism.
The army said it would grant an amnesty to any locals it deemed "facilitators" of the foreign fighters if they agreed to surrender.
However, it condemned tribal strongmen who had been granted an amnesty in April in return for turning over all foreigners in their midst. No militants were ever handed over, despite the withdrawal of many Pakistani troops from the combat area.
The army statement said the leaders "started taking undue advantage from this amnesty in order to draw personal benefits at the cost of their fellow tribesmen."
The foreign militants on Wednesday "betrayed the trust, abused the government's sincere offer" by targeting security forces, it said, adding they "forcibly occupied a civilian compound and used women and children as human shields."
