Pakistanis Pound Suspected al Qaeda Fighters

Al Qaeda No. 2 leader may be surrounded by thousands of troops

Friday, March 19, 2004
(11:06 AM ET) (16:06 GMT)
The Cable News Network

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in an exclusive interview with CNN, said Thursday that Pakistani forces moved into the area earlier this week and encountered "fierce resistance" -- a sign that someone was being protected. "They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we pounded them with artillery," he said. He did not name the figure being protected, but said it may be a "high value target."

Pakistani paramilitary troops guard a position Friday in southern Waziristan.

Image Credit: Photo -- AP / Map -- CNN

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- CNN
Pakistani forces will use as much force as necessary to root out hundreds of suspected al Qaeda fighters believed to be protecting a "high value target" -- perhaps al Qaeda's second-in-command -- in northwest Pakistan, the military said Friday.

Thousands of Pakistani troops have set up two lines of defense to cordon off a 19-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) area in southern Waziristan, on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, officials said at a briefing Friday. Pakistani authorities believe the fighters are protecting al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Authorities said that between 300 and 400 al Qaeda fighters and sypathetic tribesmen were in the area and that fierce fighting was continuing.

"The mission is to get these people dead or alive," Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that helicopter gunships fired rockets at houses in the area and fire from heavy guns could be heard through the night.

They said jets could also be seen flying overhead.

Military officials said the fighters were using mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy gunfire, although so far the battle had little close combat.

The fighters are very well-trained and well-equipped, an official in the intelligence services and another in the interior department said.

Earlier, Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said he suspects the fighters are protecting a "high-value target" that may be al-Zawahiri, but could not confirm it was him. (Profile)

Speaking to CNN Friday morning, Ahmed was wary of providing more details, noting that al Qaeda is monitoring television and newspaper reports.

(More: CNN.com / World)

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Dan