Western troop build-up sows alarm in Pakistan

By Haji Mujtaba

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A build up of Western coalition forces on the Afghan border spread alarm on Tuesday among villagers in the Pakistani tribal region of North Waziristan, a known stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

The deployment will add to a mounting sense of foreboding in Pakistan that U.S. ground troops could be ordered into Pakistan on covert missions or hot pursuit to eliminate militants fuelling an insurgency in Afghanistan that appears stronger than ever.

An intelligence official, who requested anonymity, and villagers said hundreds of coalition troops had been airlifted to a border area opposite the village of Lowara Mandi.

"The movement of troops started last night," the intelligence official said, adding that armoured vehicles and heavy weaponry had been brought in with them.

A villager said he could clearly see the troops.

"They were brought by helicopters. They are at the zero point," Akmal Khan, a resident of Lowara Mandi, told Reuters, referring to the disputed international boundary.

"They haven't moved towards this side."

The deployment is in the vicinity of Camp Tillman, a forward operating base for U.S. forces that has come under regular rocket and mortar attack in the past.