28 die in Pakistan clashes

2008-10-14 19:16

Khar - At least 28 Taliban militants and a tribesman were killed in the latest clashes in Pakistani tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday.

Pakistani jets and helicopters killed 16 militants in the Bajaur tribal region on Tuesday, while artillery and mortars overnight killed 10 others, security officials told AFP.

Separately, two militants and a tribesman were killed during a gunbattle between rebels and a tribal lashkar (force), they said.

The lashkar was formed last week to take action against militants hiding in the area, whom local tribesmen say are undermining their control.

190 000 displaced

There was no way to independently verify the tolls.

Almost 190 000 people have been displaced from the Bajaur region since fighting began in August, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.

Pakistan said recently the fighting in Bajaur was some of the heaviest since it joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001.

The army said since early August it had killed 1 000 militants, including al-Qaeda's operational commander in the region, Egyptian Abu Saeed Al-Masri.

US national held

Also on Tuesday Pakistani police questioned a man they said was a US national arrested near the Afghan border.

The man was dressed as a local and had no travel documents, police said.

"Officers arrested a young American national as he was entering the Mohmand tribal region on Monday evening," local policeman Khurshid Khan told AFP.

"The bearded man was aged 20-25 and wore a traditional Pakistani shalwar kameez. He said he was visiting a friend."

Police said he told them that he was an American from Florida.

He was taken to Peshawar for questioning as foreigners are required to have a special permit to enter the tribal belt.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy said he was unable to confirm reports of the arrest.

- AFP