Pakistan Hunts Militants on Border

Pakistani troops backed by helicopters launched an offensive Thursday to capture suspected Al Qaeda fugitives in the mountains along the border with Afghanistan.

The operations follow a series of attacks this week in Afghanistan suspected to have been carried out by Taliban and possibly Al Qaeda fighters. The attacks came amid new calls by Osama bin Laden for Muslims to attack U.S. forces and their allies.

Gen. Shaukat Sultan, spokesman for Pakistan’s army, would not say whether the operation in Wana, across the border from Afghanistan’s Paktika province, was launched to capture Bin Laden or any other Al Qaeda leader.

“I will not make any comment about it,” Sultan said. “This operation is part of our campaign in the war on terror. So far, no foreigner has been arrested, but we are questioning some local tribesmen.”

U.S. officials in Washington, speaking on the condition of anonymity, characterized the Pakistani offensive as a general sweep for militants.

A Pakistani intelligence official, who did not want to be identified, said authorities received a tip Monday that 15 to 20 armed men believed to be foreigners were taking refuge in three compounds in the village of Kalosha, near Wana, in the tribal area of South Waziristan.

The closest American base is across the border in Shkin, in Paktika province.

South Waziristan is one of the main suspected hide-outs for Bin Laden and other top fugitives.

Paktika province is a major area of Taliban resistance to the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.