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Militants force men to fight

Pakistani offensive targets 'center of gravity' for al Qaeda, others

By Nahal Toosi ASSOCIATED PRESS | Thursday, October 2, 2008

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | Militants battling security forces in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan have forced families to give up sons to fight alongside Islamist extremists, a Pakistani military official said.

New violence in the Bajur tribal region Saturday reportedly killed 16 insurgents, while police said they caught 35 militant suspects on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Overall, more than 1,000 reported militants have died since Pakistan launched a military offensive in Bajur in early August, officials said. The effort has won praise from U.S. officials, who say al Qaeda and Taliban fighters involved in attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan use Bajur and neighboring tribal regions as a safe haven.

The offensive, which could last up to two more months, proceeds as Pakistan struggles with economic problems, power shortages and violence throughout the country, including a massive attack that devastated the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad a week ago.

Insurgents had a stranglehold on Bajur before the offensive, officials said. The militants converted schools into Islamic courts, set up a traffic control system, and imposed taxes on the timber and marble industries, the region's two main industries.

On Friday, a Pakistani military commander accused insurgents of forced conscription.

"All families were asked to give their one male child to this [militant] movement, and this was done forcibly, and if somebody doesn't do it, his house would be destroyed," said Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan of the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

It is nearly impossible to independently confirm the details provided by Gen. Khan and others in the military. Journalists' access to Bajur is restricted, and the area is remote and dangerous.

The government traditionally has had limited authority in the area, allowing tribes to wield tremendous influence, although that has suffered as militants have grown in power.

In a briefing to reporters visiting the region Friday on a special army-organized trip, Gen. Khan showed photos of militant tunnel systems and trenches and said Bajur had become a "center of gravity" for all sorts of insurgents from throughout the region.