WANA, Jan 10: Tribesmen on Thursday raised a Lashkar of 600 armed volunteers to take on foreign militants and their local collaborators in areas of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe of South Waziristan.

The decision by the Wazir tribe came four days after gunmen, believed to be Uzbek militants and local followers of Baitullah Mehsud, attacked two offices of the government-sponsored peace movement in South Waziristan and killed eight members of the tribe.

Supporters of Maulvi Nazir, chief of the Wazir tribe, blame Baitullah Mehsud and Uzbek militants for the attack.

“The lashkar will be deployed tomorrow,” tribal elder Meetha Khan, a close aide to Maulvi Nazir, told a gathering in Wana.

Wazir tribesmen sheltering foreign militants must now hand them over, he said.

Those sheltering the foreigners must either stop sheltering them or face eviction of their families from the area, Mr Khan said.

“The volunteers have been tasked to clear the area of Uzbeks and their local supporters,” he said.

The elders and militants of the tribe assembled at a ground on the outskirts of Wana town to enlist volunteers for the lashkar. Before the meeting began, two rockets landed near the venue, but caused no damage.Elders of the Zalikhel tribe, a sub-clan of the Ahmadzai Wazir, pledged to provide 300 men for the lashkar while about 300 volunteers belonging to other small clans also joined the force.

The meeting decided to deploy armed volunteers in places adjacent to Mehsud areas to block the entry of unwanted elements.

“Our objective is to eliminate criminals from the area and to provide security to Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen,” said Mr Khan.

Meanwhile, an army soldier was killed and another wounded in a rocket attack on Landi Noor Picket in the Mehsud area on Wednesday night, Alamgir Bhittani adds from Tank.

The soldier was identified as Yousuf. Sources said that militants had continued the blockade of Laddah Fort in the Mehsud area and stopped supply of food and drinking water for the past few days, adding that stranded soldiers had sought help from the brigade headquarters in the region.

Meanwhile, 80 elders of the Mehsud tribe failed to win release of seven paramilitary soldiers kidnapped by followers of Baitullah Mehsud. Officials said the elders held a meeting with the militants in South Waziristan, but talks failed to persuade the militants to release the troops.The militants are demanding release of six of their comrades in exchange for soldiers.