A powerful tribal chief on Tuesday warned al Qaeda-linked militants to leave Wana after the death of eight members of his clan supporting peace efforts in the troubled region. Maulavi Nazir, who drove out hundreds of Uzbek fighters in a bloody battle last year, said his armed followers would attack those loyal to an al Qaeda linchpin in South Waziristan.
Nazir, who represents the influential Wazir tribe, blamed Baitullah Mehsud for the killing on Sunday night of eight peace committee members. The area is a known hub of al Qaeda and Taliban militants and thousands of troops have been deployed in the region to hunt them down.
Mehsud is accused by the government of masterminding a spate of suicide attacks in the country, including the December 27 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide bomb attack in Rawalpindi. Nazir, who commands considerable influence in Wana, has summoned a meeting of elders of his clan on Wednesday to discuss the situation after the killings, his aides said.
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