Pakistani soldiers have found tunnels that could have allowed Al Qaeda fighters to escape a week-old siege of villages in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said Monday. One tunnel, a mile long, linked the homes of two tribesmen suspected of harboring Al Qaeda fugitives in the tribal area of South Waziristan. Another linked the fortified mud compounds in the battle zone with a dry riverbed near the Afghan border, according to Brig. Mehmood Shah, security chief for the tribal region. The tunnels were within the 20-square-mile cordon erected by Pakistani soldiers after fighting erupted last week, and it is unlikely any fighters were able to escape after that cordon went up, said the army’s chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. But it is possible that Al Qaeda fighters used the tunnels during the first chaotic day of fighting on March 16, Shah said. Full Story
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