Source: The Canadian Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Suspected Islamic militants fatally shot eight tribal leaders involved in efforts to broker a ceasefire between security forces and insurgents in Pakistan’s volatile northwest, authorities said Monday.

The men were killed in separate attacks late Sunday and early Monday in South Waziristan, a mountainous region close to Afghanistan where al-Qaida and Taliban militants are known to operate, a security official and the military said in a statement.

The suspected insurgents killed three of the men in a market in Wana, the region’s main town, while the other five were killed in attacks on their homes, the security official said. The men were scheduled to meet each other Monday in Wana to discuss the negotiations, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Although the government has encouraged moderate tribal elders to broker a ceasefire in the region, there has been little sign of success.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border area has long been considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri and the United States has put pressure on the government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to crack down on militants operating in the area.

On Sunday, Pakistan reiterated it will not let U.S. forces hunt al-Qaida and Taliban militants on its soil, after a report in the New York Times newspaper said President George W. Bush’s administration was considering expanding military and intelligence operations into Pakistan’s tribal regions.

The Pakistani government also has blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a South Waziristan-based militant leader with links to al-Qaida, in the Dec. 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Mehsud is reported to have denied involvement and many Bhutto backers claim elements within the government played a role in her killing.

 E-mail this article to a friend

Tags: Al Qaida, Baitullah Behsud, Militants, Musharraf, Taliban, Waziristan