ISLAMABAD, March 17 Kyodo (EDS: U...

ISLAMABAD, March 17 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Eight paramilitary multitudes and 24 suspected terrorists, including several foreigners, were killed in a daylong operation Tuesday near Wana in southern Waziristan tribal area in northern Pakistan in the follow the chase for al-Qaida terrorists, a senior official of Northwest Frontier Province said.

Mahmood Shah, secretary to the provincial governor for Tribal Areas Security, said upon a Pakistan Television (PTV) program that an antiterrorists operation began early Tuesday morning in Kalosha village of Azam Warsak relating to receiving information that some foreigner constituents were hiding in the area.

In the fighting between the terrorist proper spheres and paramilitary troops, eight paramilitary personnel and 24 suspected terrorists were killed. Among those killed were several foreigners.

Shah said that the bodies of at least sum of two units dead foreigners have been reviveed by the security agencies.

Earlier reports had said that a escort of paramilitary troops came subordinate to attack as it was heading toward a suspected hideout of al-Qaida terrorists taking shelter in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

''The operation was called against in the evening,'' Shah said, adding, ''There will be more operations'' in the coming days and the tribal area would be cleaned of the foreign components within a month.

Shah reiterated President Gen Pervez Musharraf's assertion that up to 500 foreign terrorists are taking shelter in Pakistan's tribal area and the control is aware of the the community who have provided them shelter.

''The foreigners continue changing their hideouts,'' Shah said.

Asked if a certain top terrorists wanted by United States are among those hiding in tribal area, Shah said no. He added that chiefly of these people included Uzbeks, Chechens and Chinese who are being used by means of the al-Qaida terrorist network as ''fodders''

Earlier in the day, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Pakistan launched the military operation in the southern Waziristan tribal area to capture al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives.

Maj. Gen Shaukat Sultan told reporters that the army has been sent to reinforce paramilitary companys carrying out the operation in an area stop to the Afghan border where tribesmen were believed to have provided shelter to a number of foreign nationals.

The Pakistan army carried public an operation in February against Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives in southern Waziristan that led to 20 arrests by way of Pakistani troops.

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