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American troops mass near Pakistani border
Monday October 17, 2011 05:17:16 PM,
IANS
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Islamabad: American
troops in Afghanistan are massing along the border with Pakistan's
North Waziristan tribal region where insurgents hold sway, a
tribal elder said Monday.
Malik Muhammad Mumtaz told Xinhua via phone from the region that
travellers had seen movement of US troops in Afghanistan near the
border areas.
Afghan nationals, who routinely travel to North Waziristan for
trade, said they had seen US fighter aircraft flying over the
border region, the elder said.
TV channels also reported that the US troops clamped curfew in
some areas in Afghanistan to restrict movement of the people.
Geo television said that American forces in the border Khost
province have sealed the border with Pakistan.
The US forces have moved heavy weapons, including artillery, to
the Pakistani border region, the reports said.
The motive behind the troop movements were not clear but it comes
amid tension between Islamabad and Washington over the Haqqani
network, which the US says is launching attacks from North
Waziristan across the border into Afghanistan.
US drones have stepped up strikes in Waziristan region. At least
four US strikes in three days have killed nearly 10 people,
including three Egyptians who were thought to be linked to Haqqani
network.
US officials say that members of the Haqqani network operate from
North Waziristan tribal region and plan cross-border attacks there
into Afghanistan.
The US is asking Pakistan to act against the Haqqani network,
blamed for last month's attack on the US embassy in Kabul that
killed 10 Afghan security men.
Barrack Obama has decided to go all-out against the Haqqani
network.
"The Obama administration has launched the opening salvos of a
new, more aggressive approach towards an Afghan insurgent group it
asserts is supported by Pakistan's government," the Washington
Post reported quoting senior US administration officials.
The report quotes officials as saying that Obama had gradually
lost faith in Pakistan and its weak civilian leadership.
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