Pakistan: Militants Kill 8 Tribal Elders*

By SADAQAT JAN
The Associated Press
Monday, January 7, 2008; 2:52 AM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Suspected Islamic militants fatally shot eight
tribal leaders involved in efforts to broker a cease-fire between
security forces and insurgents in Pakistan's volatile northwest,
authorities said Monday.

The men were killed in separate attacks late Sunday and early Monday in
South Waziristan, a mountainous region close to Afghanistan where
al-Qaida and Taliban militants are known to operate, a security official
and the military said in a statement.

The suspected insurgents killed three of the men in a market in Wana,
the region's main town, while the other five were killed in attacks on
their homes, the security official said. The men were scheduled to meet
each other on Monday in Wana to discuss the negotiations, the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized
to talk to media.

Pakistan is an ally in the U.S. war on terrorism, and its security
forces have fought intense battles with militants in South Waziristan.
Although the government has encouraged moderate tribal elders to broker
a cease-fire in the region, there has been little sign of success.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border area has long been considered a likely
hiding place for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy
Ayman al-Zawahri, and the U.S. has pressured the government of President
Pervez Musharraf to crack down on militants operating in the area.

On Sunday, Pakistan reiterated that it will not let American forces hunt
al-Qaida and Taliban militants on its soil, after a report in The New
York Times said that the Bush administration was considering expanding
U.S. military and intelligence operations into Pakistan's tribal regions.

The Pakistani government also has blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a South
Waziristan-based militant leader with links to al-Qaida, in the Dec. 27
assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Mehsud has reportedly
denied involvement, and many Bhutto backers claim elements within the
government played a role in her killing.