Pakistan Army Kills 100+ "Militants"

Pakistan's government said Wednesday that fighting this week between local and foreign militants near the Afghan border, which has killed about 100 people, is testament to the success of efforts to get tribesmen to root out al-Qaida fighters.

But the bloodshed also underscores the government's inability to police the region and could unleash a cycle of violence between the warring factions, experts warned. At least two children were killed and around 20 wounded when a stray mortar round hit their school bus after the fighting broke out Monday in South Waziristan, where international humanitarian agencies have no access.

Senior government and intelligence officials said about 105 people - mostly Uzbeks and Chechens and their local supporters - had been killed in three days of clashes. It was the deadliest episode reported involving foreign militants who fled to Pakistan's lawless tribal regions from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Source: Forbes

Photo: Pakistan's Air Force Chief Air Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed, right, speaks during the arrival ceremony of JF-17 Thunder military aircraft, Monday, Mar. 12, 2007 in Kamra, 76 kilometers (46 miles) West of Islamabad, Pakistan.