Pat Dollard

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Yeah, go ahead there Goat-boy, increase the militant-per-square-foot concentration up there would ya? It improves our kill ratios.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan –Tribal elders on Tuesday raised the alarm over a buildup of hundreds of NATO-led troops on the Afghanistan side of the border, but Pakistan’s military downplayed fears of any intrusion.

The gathering of foreign forces came as Pakistan was under pressure from the U.S. to curb cross-border attacks by Taliban militants, with the U.S. military chief flying into Pakistan last weekend for urgent talks.

“We have heard there is a buildup of foreign troops,” said Malik Mohammad Afzal Khan Darpakhel, a local tribal leader in North Waziristan who isn’t affiliated with the Taliban.

“We want to warn them that 3 million tribesmen will rise against them if they try to move in,” Darpakhel told a news conference held by five elders in Miranshah, the main town in the region.

Intelligence sources said some 300 NATO soldiers equipped with tanks, armored vehicles and heavy weaponry have been moved very close to Lwara Mundi, a border village in North Waziristan.

The village is also close to Camp Tillman, a U.S. forward operating base in Afghanistan’s Paktika province named after American football player-turned- soldier Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in 2004.

“They have not crossed into Pakistan but this is the first time that such a large number of foreign troops have come so close to the border,” Darpakhel said.

A Pakistani military spokesman denied there was any unusual troop movement on the border. The spokesman said the NATO forces may be gathering for an operation on the Afghan side.

“There may be some operational movement of these forces in Afghanistan,” the spokesman said.

But tribal elders vowed to support the army in case of any incursion.

“We will protect every inch of our territory and we will support our army in fighting these foreign forces,” Darpakhel said. “We urge the tribesmen to clean up their weapons and be ready for jihad if foreign forces enter our area.”

(AFP)