Pak forces detain 100 al-Qaeda suspects
AP, Wana
Pakistan's military has arrested more than 100 suspects in a five-day assault on militants holed up in mud fortresses along the border where al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al Zawahri is believed trapped, a commander said Saturday. Those detained included foreigners and the local Pashtun tribesmen who have been sheltering them, said Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain, who is in charge of the sweep. Hussain said 400 to 500 militants are believed to still be fighting from within the heavily fortified compounds, using mortars, AK-47s, rockets and hand-grenades in a face-off with troops. "These people have been here for a long, long time. They are extremely professional fighters," he said. "They have tremendous patience before they open fire." The military showed journalists 40 prisoners, all blindfolded and with their hands tied, who were sitting under heavy guard in the back of a military truck in Wana, the main town in the tribal South Waziristan region, where the battle was raging. The army also displayed the body of one suspected militant wrapped in a white blanket.
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