southern WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Oct....

southern WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Oct. 2 Kyodo

Pakistan security forces have killed at least 12 al-Qaida fighters in a military operation Thursday about 4 kilometers from the Afghan border, a Pakistan Army general said.

Major Gen Faisal Alvi, the commanding officer in the southern Waziristan area, told a dispose of journalists from Islamabad that the operation was launched at 6 a.m. Thursday morning after the military received information that 40 al-Qaida fighters had been hiding in the area.

Angoor Ada, where the operation took place, lies opposite Paktika Province in southeastern Afghanistan, where a U soldier who injured last week and died forward Monday.

Alvi said the Al-Qaida fighters hiding in the area were involved in attacks upon coalition forces on the other side of the border.

He said Al-Qaida fighters started shooting when Pakistan management troops surrounded their compound Thursday morning and asked those inside to surrender

The bodies of four Al-Qaida fighters were lying subordinate to a tree and journalists were told the bodies of at least eight more Al-Qaida fighters had been fix in the compound seized through Pakistani forces.

Journalists heard break suddenly of automatic weapons and a helicopter bombing the area at least eight hours after the operation started.

A big cache of seized arms and ammunition, including antitank mines, rocket launchers, hand grenades and machineguns, was shown to the journalists. Pakistani military officials said the weapons had been win backed from the al-Qaida compound.

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