Pakistan's military badly wounded a senior al-Qaida leader, who is now hiding out in the country's western tribal area, a military spokesman said Saturday. Al-Qaida commander Tahir Yuldash — also known as Tahir Yuldashev — had been mentioned earlier as one of two possible "high-value targets" cornered when Pakistan's military began a sweep of South Waziristan on March 16. In a statement, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said only that recent intelligence indicated that Yuldash was severely wounded and in hiding in western Pakistan.
| ... which is a fairly large area, of course. |
Sultan said the sweep operation has been successful, with more than 50 suspected militants killed and 163 captured. Pakistani forces also suffered casualties, though Sultan refused to release figures until the operation is over. |