Pakistani soldiers battle rebels as Bush visits

Pro-Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers battled for control of a major tribal town during President Bush's visit to Pakistan, signaling a worrying decline in security in the semi-lawless tribal areas. Helicopter gunships, heavy artillery and small arms fire were used during 24 hours of fighting in Miran Shah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal agency. At least 46 militants and five soldiers died, an army spokesman said. The violence underscored the instability of the tribal belt where several al-Qaida members, possibly including Osama bin Laden, are sheltering among sympathetic Pashtun tribesmen. "There's a lot of work to be done in defeating al-Qaida," Bush said after meeting President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Mar. 4. At about the same time in the town of Miran Shah, 180 miles to the west, gunships were strafing a telephone exchange captured by the rebels, and civilians cowered in their homes as shells whistled overhead. The army trained its guns on a religious school run by an extremist Islamist fundamentalist cleric, Maulana Sadiq Noor. The weekend battle was the worst violence since a 2004 clash in South Waziristan that left more than 600 troops dead. The fighting eased on Mar. 5, allowing hundreds of residents to flee. The streets were empty, the bazaar deserted and a firebombed bank was smoldering, said a military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan. A local man, Noor Nawaz, told the Associated Press news agency as he fled with his veiled wife and their three children: "People are extremely scared. Nobody has slept. Children were crying." General Sultan said that the violence was sparked by an army ambush on a militant hideout, 10 miles outside Miran Shah, on Mar. 1. "We were able to kill over 45 militants and destroy their base," he said. It was possible civilians had died, he admitted. "Yes, we feel sorry for them. But if their compounds are being used by militants, then we have to respond," he said. Analysts said the military offensive was probably timed to impress Bush. "It's a little too coincidental," said Samina Ahmed of the International Crisis Group. Several internal conflicts have flared dramatically and tested President Musharraf's authority in recent months. Tribal rebels in Baluchistan province have stepped up their attacks on military installations and gas pipelines, inflicting a steady drip of casualties. Eleven soldiers were wounded in an ambush in Pathar Nala village, southeast of Quetta, on Mar. 5.