Pakistan clashes leave 13 dead

[Bhaisahab]

Thirteen people, including five soldiers, were killed in fierce clashes between security forces and militants in an area inhabited largely by the Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan on Sunday, sources said.

SNIP

The sources said fighting between security forces and militants began in the Makin area after tribal elders rejected a request by the local authorities to provide security forces a safe passage through an area dominated by the Mahsud tribe.

They said an influential tribal elder of the area, Abdullah Mahsud, had refused to provide access to security forces from South Waziristan to the North Waziristan region.

Abdullah Mahsud was released from Guantanamo Bay a few months back. He was arrested in Afghanistan after the US-led forces removed the Taliban government. This is the first encounter between security forces and Mahsud tribesmen since the launch of the operation to flush out foreign militants in the region.

http://www.dawn.com/2004/09/13/top3.htm