Pakistan steps up hunt for Muslim extremists

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Authorities on Saturday intensified a hunt for suspected Muslim extremists in hideouts from hectic downtowns to craggy mountainsides, using wanted posters, reward offers and growing military force.

In the largest deployment against al-Qaida since the Pakistan's government pledged support last year for the U.S.-led war on terror, more than 3,000 Pakistani soldiers searched mountainsides, houses and vehicles near the Afghan border Saturday for suspected fighters from Osama bin Laden's network.

The troops, backed by helicopters and U.S. intelligence, have arrested at least 20 men since Wednesday, when fighters believed to be from al-Qaida clashed with Pakistani troops, killing 10 of them.

In the metropolis of Karachi, meanwhile, police released photos of 11 militants suspected in recent deadly bombings and the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and offered rewards totaling $320,000 for help in their capture.

It was the first time authorities had named suspects in the June 14 blast outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed 12 Pakistanis, and in the May 8 car bombing outside the Karachi Sheraton Hotel that killed 11 French engineers and three other people, including the bomber.

Provincial police chief Kamal Shah said most of the men listed are members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Muslim extremist group banned last year.

The list named Asif Ramzi, a top Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader, as wanted in the Pearl case and in other killings. A $48,000 reward was posted.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has traditionally targeted Pakistan's Shiite Muslim minority, but police have speculated they may now be working with al-Qaida-affiliated groups to take revenge on Westerners and the Pakistani government for the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pearl, the Journal's South Asia bureau chief, disappeared after leaving for an appointment with an Islamic militant contact. News organizations later received e-mails claiming responsibility for the kidnapping in the name of a previously unknown group.

The U.S. Consulate in Karachi received a videotape in February that showed Pearl dead. Remains believed to be Pearl's were recovered in Karachi last month from a grave near a shed where police believe he was held before being killed.

The trial of the chief suspect, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and three others resumed briefly Saturday before adjourning until Monday. Authorities say they believe Saeed masterminded the kidnapping, but did not kill Pearl. They are hunting at least three other suspects.

The troops along the mountainous Afghan border Saturday conducted house-to-house searches, mountain patrols and roadblock checks. The search was centered near the border town of Wana, about 190 miles west of Islamabad, scene of Wednesday's deadly clash.

News reports quoted Pakistani Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider as saying the U.S. government would give his army five modern helicopters and three surveillance airplanes in coming days to help monitor the volatile border region.

U.S. officials estimate that up to 1,000 al-Qaida fighters still operate in small groups on both sides of the rugged border.

A Pakistani intelligence agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 20 al-Qaida suspects arrested in the past four days included Chechens, Sudanese, Nigerians and Afghans accused of involvement in the border clash.

Immediately after Wednesday's clash, the government deployed 500 soldiers to help the 100 or so troops already in the North West Frontier Province to hunt the fugitives, who were suspected to have fled after the U.S. military's Operation Anaconda in southeastern Afghanistan in March.

Nearly 2,500 more soldiers have since joined in the search in the region, which is inhabited by fiercely independent, conservative tribesman, many of whom support al-Qaida or the ousted Taliban.

Across the border in the Afghan town of Spinboldak, soldiers began clearing unexploded bombs and ammunition Saturday after a massive blast at a munitions depot killed at least 25 people and injured dozens.

The blast, which killed at least seven Afghan soldiers and 18 civilians scattered munitions throughout a 1-mile radius, and were heard as a series of thundering explosions three miles away in the Pakistani town of Chaman.

Afghan Interior Minister Taj Mohammed Wardak said the blast was set off by an attacker with a Russian-designed BM-21 missile but he did not identify any suspects. He said U.S. and Afghan forces were investigating.