PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban yesterday rejected suggestions they were sending fighters to Syria, saying some have gone there independently but the movement’s focus remained in Pakistan.
Taliban sources said some militants, mainly Arabs and Central Asians, had gone to fight the forces of President Bashar Al Assad, but a senior leader dismissed reports of them setting up camps in Syria.
The lawless tribal areas of northwest Pakistan along the Afghan border have long been a magnet for militants from across the Muslim world eager to fight US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan. But since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, foreign jihadists have flocked to Syria, where disparate rebel groups are seeking his downfall. Some media reports say scores of Pakistani Taliban are among them and they have set up camps in Syria. A senior commander who sits on the Shura or ruling council of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said there was no tactical shift and no decision had been made to send forces to Syria. Agencies
