DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN — Militants loyal to Pakistan’s top Taliban commander killed at least 22 rivals from a pro-government faction after taking dozens of captives and briefly seizing an area in Pakistan’s volatile northwest, the militants said Wednesday.
The deaths brought the reported toll from the clashes this week to 37 and underscored the fragile hold Pakistan has on the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, which are believed to be rife with Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
Elsewhere in the northwest, suspected Islamic militants burned down five girls’ schools and took control of another primary school.
Attempts by the Pakistani government to reach peace with militants there have been criticized by U.S. officials, who say it will only give extremists time to regroup and plan new attacks in Afghanistan.
The latest clashes began Monday night when fighters loyal to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud attacked villages outside Jandola, near the South Waziristan tribal area, military spokesman Maj. Gen.
Athar Abbas said.
Thousands of Mehsud fighters then battled fighters loyal to Turkistan Bitani, a rival leader who is allied with the government.
That fighting killed at least 15 people, officials said.
Mehsud’s fighters then captured 30 Bitani allies and killed 28 of them, said Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Taliban.
Barkatullah Marwat, the top government official in the nearby town of Tank, said authorities had recovered 22 bodies. The bullet-riddled bodies were found early Wednesday along the Tank-Jandola road, according to other local officials.
The Mehsud fighters also demolished dozens of houses, Marwat said.
Those killed were members of the so-called Turkistan Peace Committee. Similar committees were set up with government assistance in parts of the tribal areas in recent months to help maintain order. However, Mehsud’s allies — and some officials — said the Turkistan Peace Committee had set up checkpoints and extorted money from local residents.
“We tried these 28 people, and killed them late last night before disposing of their bodies,” Umar said.
Marwat said Bitani established the committee eight months ago to consolidate his control of the area and to push out criminal gangs engaged in kidnapping, looting and theft.
The Tank-Jandola road was blocked Wednesday, making it difficult to access the area.
The government is negotiating a controversial peace deal with Mehsud’s fellow tribesmen to try to contain militancy in the region. Mehsud has been accused in the killing of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto but has denied involvement.
In a sign that a peace deal already inked with pro-Taliban forces in another part of the northwest, the Swat Valley, was in serious trouble, five girls schools were burned down on Tuesday night.
Police official Jan Mohammed said no one was hurt in the arson attack.
Also, more than 120 armed men seized control early Wednesday of a government primary school in Bela Gud village, about eight kilometers (five miles) from Mingora, the main town in Swat, said police official Wahid Ullah.
Police did not identify the assailants in either incident, but it follows reports that militant backers of pro-Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah have been reasserting their control in the valley, once a leading Pakistan tourist destination.
Last year, thousands of Fazlullah supporters took control of much of Swat, prompting a major Pakistani military operation that left scores dead and drove the militants out.
When Pakistan’s new civilian government took power after February elections, provincial leaders negotiated a peace deal with the militants. However, disagreements have since emerged over the terms of the deal, including releases of militant prisoners and implementation of Islamic law.
Analysts said the latest clashes showed how little control the government has in the region.
“It looks as if things are really somewhat sliding in the sense that the militants are getting bolder. They are sort of taking over many areas and they are showing that they are very strong,” military analyst Talat Masood said. “The army has to be called in, in order to restore the writ of the government.” Masood also said the government’s policy in dealing with the militants was unclear. A lack of coordination among the many military and political agencies, and divisions within the federal coalition government, was making matters worse, he added.
Umar said Taliban fighters also abducted and killed six “thieves and kidnappers” in the Orakzai area near Peshawar.
