Rocket attack kills 4 Pakistani soldiers
From Ash-har Quraishi
CNN
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Aftermath of raid by Pakistan army in Kaloshah village along Pakistan-Afghanistan border
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) – Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in a rocket attack Thursday night on their base camp near the Afghan border.
It is unclear who fired the rocket, Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.
The attack comes after Pakistani military and paramilitary forces suspended a sweep for suspected foreign terrorists along the rugged, lawless border, Pakistan military officials said.
No one was taken into custody, but tribal members face questioning in hopes new leads will turn up in the military's search, officials said.
The sweep was launched early Thursday, west of Wana in Pakistan's mountainous South Waziristan region -- conservative tribal areas along the semiautonomous border in the northwest part of the nation.
Elements of the Taliban, the former Afghan regime, as well as al Qaeda are believed to be hiding out in the region and might be trying to regroup, Pakistani officials. Some also suspect Osama bin Laden may be in the area, too.
The operation is at least the second major raid in South Waziristan in recent months.
In a similar campaign in October, Pakistani military forces killed eight suspected al Qaeda members and captured 18 others in Angoor Adda near Wana. Two Pakistani soldiers died in that raid.
Afghan and U.S. officials have complained that Pakistan is not doing enough to prevent Taliban and al Qaeda militants from crossing over from Afghanistan to seek shelter.
Pakistan has said it is doing all it can to seal what is largely a porous border in its tribal regions.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war on terror, much to the irritation of Islamic hard-liners in his country.
