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04/05/2006:

"Pakistani Taliban gaining strength"

Peshawar, Pakistan -- A pickup packed with fundamentalist fighters rolls through Wana, a troubled town in Pakistan's northern tribal belt. Some fearful residents call the vehicle "Azrael" -- the Angel of Death.

"It moves freely through the bazaar; nobody dares stop it. They use it to kill people accused of being American spies or anti-Islamic elements," said Lateef Afridi, a tribal lawyer and opposition politician in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier province.

The dramatic rise of the self-described Pakistani Taliban in recent months has triggered alarm among Pakistan's leaders and marked a significant setback in the American-driven war on Islamic militancy.
sfgate.com


Nine die in Waziristan incidents
Nine people have been killed in three separate incidents in Pakistan's restive Waziristan tribal area, near the Afghan border, officials say.
Four people, including two women, were killed when their vehicle struck a landmine in Dattakhel near North Waziristan's Miranshah town.

Two militants were killed in a clash with security forces in Mirali town.

And a woman and two children were killed in a blast at their South Waziristan home. The cause was unclear.