TANK: Fierce clashes between supporters of Baitullah Mehsud and his rival Turkistan Bhittani in Tank late on Thursday night left 10 people dead and four others injured.
According to local people, more than 100 militants attacked the recruitment camps of the Turkistan group in Molazai and Omar Adda areas of Tank district.
Turkistan, who had won the backing of the government after challenging Baitullah in Tank and South Waziristan, had set up the camps in government school buildings.
According to sources, both sides had used rockets, mortars and heavy machine-guns in the fighting which continued for more than two hours.
Four people were killed when the armed men attacked a government primary school housing Turkistan’s men in Molazai.
Another camp was attacked in Omar Adda in which five people were killed and four others injured. The injured were taken to the Tank district hospital where a man, identified as Mian Gul, died.
Other people killed were identified as Usman, Hazrat, Baitullah Khan, Syed Hassan, Azizullah, Jehanzai, Zarai Khan and Baitullah’s supporter Gul Zaman.
Police said that two unexploded rockets were found in the school building.
Intelligence officials claimed that 11 militants of the Baitullah group had been killed in the gunbattle, but the assailants had taken away the bodies taking advantage of darkness.
However, the claim could not be confirmed from independent sources or local police.
When contacted by this correspondent, Tank DPO Abdur Rahsid said he had no information about the clash.The fresh upsurge in violence created panic in the area.
Turkistan Bhittani joined the anti-Taliban campaign after 40 of his men had been killed by supporters of Baitullah last year. A large number of families had been forced to leave the FR region of Jandola after the fighting.
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