Islamabad, Oct 04: A majority of the 18 alleged Al-Qaeda militants captured by the Pakistan army in its counter-terror operation in areas bordering Afghanistan on October 02 were Pakistanis and Afghans, while seven of the eight militants killed were foreigners. Most of the captured Al-Qaeda suspects in the ‘Operation Mizan’, launched by the Pakistan armed forces in South Waziristan on Thursday, were Pakistanis and Afghans, a media report said today. Eight militants and two Pakistani soldiers were killed and 18 militants were captured in the raid. Five among the dead were Chechens while one of them has been identified as an Algerian and another as Turkish. Identity of the remaining who were killed in the day-long operation could not be ascertained, `The News' reported quoting sources from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan tribal agency. Pakistan officials yesterday described the arrests as a mixed bag. "There are Chechens, Uzbeks, an Algerian and some Arab-speaking nationals. We are trying to determine their exact nationalities."
The report said only two of the 18 captured persons were believed to be Arabs while the rest were either from Pakistan's Punjab and South Waziristan agency or afghanistan. The arrested persons have been shifted out of the agency in military helicopters and were in the custody of the joint interrogation team.
Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said the identity of the suspects was being ascertained but could not be disclosed, "because it could influence the investigations".
Bureau Report