Sympathy for al-Qaida Surges in Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jan 22, 3:37 PM ET
Sympathy for al-Qaida has surged after a U.S. airstrike devastated
this remote mountain hamlet in a region sometimes as hostile toward
the Pakistani government as it is to the United States.
A week after the attack, villagers insist no members of the terror
network were anywhere near the border village when it was hit. But
thousands of protesters flooded a nearby town chanting, "Long live
Osama bin Laden!"
Pakistan's army, in charge of hunting militants, was nowhere to be
seen.
The rally was the latest in a series of demonstrations across
Pakistan against the Jan. 13 attack, which apparently targeted but
missed al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri.
The military still mans numerous checkpoints in the area, but it
appears to be keeping a low profile so it will not inflame
villagers still seething over the deaths of 13 civilians, including
women and children, in the attack.
Pakistani intelligence officials believe that four top al-Qaida
operatives may have also been killed in the strike including
al-Qaida's master bomb maker, Midhat Mursi, who has a $5 million
U.S. bounty on his head.
The men had gathered for dinner on the Islamic holiday of Eid
al-Adha to plan attacks for early this year in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said.
"This attack has increased our hatred for Americans because they
are killing innocent women and children," said Zakir Ullah, one of
5,000 demonstrators in Inayat Qala, a market town about three miles
from Damadola.
"We support jihad (holy war). Jihad is the duty of every Muslim,"
he said.
The assault has caused friction between Islamabad and Washington
and widespread outrage in this Islamic nation of 150 million, but
few are as angry as the people who live in the virtually lawless
tribal region that borders Afghanistan. The area is a hotbed of
Taliban and al-Qaida sympathizers and a possible sanctuary for
bin Laden himself.
Damadola residents deny any links to the militants.
"We don't have anything to do with al-Qaida, and it was a cruel act
of the Americans to attack my house without reason," said Bacha
Khan, a flour mill worker whose house was among the three
destroyed.
A relative of Faqir Mohammed, a pro-Taliban cleric who intelligence
officials believe hid the bodies of the four suspected al-Qaida
militants killed in the attack to prevent their identification, was
arrested Sunday in Damadola, a security official said on condition
of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the
media.
Pakistani authorities say they are looking for fighters who might
have survived the attack, but they have not visibly stepped up
maneuvers in the area.
While the military has about 70,000 soldiers along the border with
Afghanistan, an Associated Press reporter who has visited Damadola
three times since the attack has not seen a single uniformed
soldier there.
Army spokesman Brigadier Shahjehan Ali Khan said there has been no
change in the military's policy of fighting terrorism.
"Whenever we get a tip-off, we always conduct operations," he
said.
Khan could not estimate how many militants are hiding among the
border region's 3.2 million residents. Officials in the past have
said hundreds of Arab, Central Asian and Afghan fighters are among
them.
Outrage at the United States and at the government of President
Gen. Pervez Musharraf for backing Washington's war on terrorism has
reached its highest pitch since the U.S. ousted Afghanistan's
Taliban regime after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on
America.
Back then, a local cleric in Bajur, the region surrounding
Damadola, rallied 8,000 villagers to fight with the Taliban against
U.S.-led forces.
Bajur and Afghanistan's neighboring Kunar region have since served
as hideouts because of their rugged mountains and the sympathies
of residents. Many are Pashtuns, the same ethnic group as the
Taliban.
The Jan. 13 attack was believed to have been launched by a Predator
drone from Afghanistan, where some 20,000 U.S. troops are based.
Pakistan does not allow U.S. forces to pursue militants across the
border or launch strikes without permission. Government officials
have said they were not informed ahead of time.
Many of Sunday's protesters called for Musharraf's
resignation.
"As a president he has failed to protect the people and as chief of
the army staff he has failed to protect the frontiers," said
Maulana Mohammed Sadiq, a lawmaker in the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
party, which helped organize the rallies.
In a show of solidarity, the opposition Jamaat Islami, or Islamic
Party, marshaled 50 volunteers Sunday to help the village
rebuild.
Taliban-style radicals are gaining strength along Pakistan's border
partly because they intimidate anyone who disagrees, said Talat
Masood, a retired Pakistani general.
The military often relies on tribal justice to turn people over and
avoids large-scale operations that could cause civilian casualties,
he said.
___
Associated Press writer Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad contributed to
this report.
