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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0429afghan29.html U.S. units reportedly led raid at Pakistani mosque USA Today April 29, 2002 MIRAM SHAH, PAKISTAN - U.S. special-operations forces reportedly raided a mosque and religious school in this tribal border village Friday in an unsuccessful attempt to pin down al-Qaida and Taliban militants who may have slipped into the country from Afghanistan. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf confirmed Sunday that U.S. military personnel, taking action for the first time in Pakistan, were helping Pakistani forces track down al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives in Pakistan. "There are some (U.S.) officials inside Pakistan for communication purposes, but they are not fighting," he said. Word of the raid came as Afghan officials told the Washington Post that helicopters swooping into the desolate mountains have deposited hundreds of U.S. and British troops along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in recent days as coalition forces target al-Qaida fugitives in Pakistan's unruly tribal areas. Local officials in Miram Shah, a village in the semiautonomous tribal area of North Waziristan Agency, said nine U.S. commandos equipped with laser-aimed guns, knives, grenades, bullet-resistant vests and radio headsets landed in two Pakistani troop-transport helicopters. They were accompanied by about 300 Pakistani soldiers, including the elite Special Services Group. Officials said U.S. forces led the operation. Javaid Marwat, the Pakistani government's deputy administrator in Miram Shah, said the U.S. and Pakistani troops smashed the front door of the mosque and conducted a room-to-room search of the religious shrine and preparatory school founded by Taliban commander Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani. Marwat said the search was "totally unwarranted, baseless and wrong." He said he had closed the mosque in January under orders from Pakistan's national government. Marwat also said he led three previous fruitless inspections of suspected al-Qaida hideouts here. U.S. officials said last week that a small number of special-operations forces were in Pakistan pursuing remnants of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. The U.S. military chose Miram Shah for its first test of the "hot pursuit" authority granted last week by Pakistan. Musharraf is permitting the U.S. military to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan to trap fleeing al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in the rugged border region and to engage in joint operations with the Pakistani army. Villagers outside Haqqani's mosque protested Friday when they saw soldiers enter the shrine in military-issue boots. Muslims traditionally leave their shoes outside before going inside to pray. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
