Pakistani authorities have arrested 31 Arabs believed to have fled besieged bases of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in neighbouring Afghanistan, reports said on Sunday. The Arabs, mainly young Yemenis, were detained on Saturday in tribal areas of north west frontier province and are being held in jail in the town of Parachinar near the border, The News daily said. It quoted sources there as saying the group was caught four kilometres inside Pakistan by members of a tribal militia. None were armed.
They were thought to have broken through the siege of Tora Bora and crossed White Mountains via Zeran Tangi Pass. Provincial home and tribal affairs secretary Javed Iqbal was quoted by dawn newspaper as saying the men were of Saudi and Yemeni origin.
US warplanes and Special Forces and their Afghan militia allies have besieged bin Laden's fighters at Tora Bora since early this month. Intensive air attacks in their positions continued on Saturday. Bureau Report