Peshawar, Sept 24 : Highly placed sources in Pakistan have said that “foreign” Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters were ‘infiltrating’ into Bajaur from Afghanistan to join their colleagues in the crucial battle for survival in the face of an all-out military action, because it was beyond the local commandants’ capacity to face the Army action.

The foreign Taliban and Al Qaeda included Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks and Afghans, who were being led by an Afghan commander Qari Ziaur Rehman.

Pakistan Army’s Major Murad Khan confirmed presence of foreign Taliban and Qaeda fighters, saying: “We have received information about militants crossing into Bajaur from across the border and they are mostly foreigners.”

Islamabad- A suicide bomber attacked a security convoy on Wednesday in south-west Pakistan, killing a young girl and injuring 17 more, including 13 troops, a police official said.

The pedestrian bomber came across the road and blew himself up near a convoy of six to seven vehicles carrying paramilitary Frontier Corpse (FC) personnel in Quetta, the capital of the north-western province of Balochistan.

Pakistan- The Pakistan Army said Wednesday that it had retrieved the wreckage of an unmanned US spy plane that crashed in a tribal area along the Afghan border.

The crash occurred Tuesday night apparently because of a malfunction after the drone flew over the Afghan-Pakistan border, military spokesman Major Murad Khan said.

But local media reports cited witnesses saying the plane was shot down by tribesmen and security forces while flying at a low altitude.

It came down at Jalal village near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, Khan said, adding that an inquiry had been ordered.

Islamabad, Sept 24 : Following Saturday’s devastating hotel blast in which 60 persons were killed, the British High Commission has reportedly stopped entertaining any more visa applications as its commercial partner Gerry’s International has stopped its country wide operations citing “security reasons”.

“Our commercial partner Gerry’s International took the decision to temporarily close down its visa application centres in Pakistan after the deadly Marriott Hotel blast on September 20,” the Daily Times quoted BHC spokeswoman Jennifer Wilkes as saying last evening.

She said that it was not the BHC’s decision, but that of its commercial partner to suspend its operations until law and order improved.

Peshawar, Sept 24 : Highly placed sources in Pakistan have said that “foreign” Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters were ‘infiltrating’ into Bajaur from Afghanistan to join their colleagues in the crucial battle for survival in the face of an all-out military action, because it was beyond the local commandants’ capacity to face the Army action.

The foreign Taliban and Al Qaeda included Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks and Afghans, who were being led by an Afghan commander Qari Ziaur Rehman.

Islamabad, Sept 24 : The Marriott Hotel, which was reduced to ashes in Saturday''s massive suicide attack detonated by around 600 kg RDX, will be opened from December 31.