Pakistan Taliban 'Re-enters' Buner

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Source: Al Jazeera

Pakistani Taliban fighters are reportedly re-entering Buner, hours after they pulled back from the district just 100km away from the capital Islamabad.

Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Pakistan, said there were reports of about 100 Taliban fighters heading back to Buner from the neighbouring Swat valley on Friday evening.

Earlier during the day, the Taliban had appeared to withdraw from the district, a day after its fighters clashed with regional forces, leaving one policemen dead.

"Our leader has ordered that Taliban should immediately be called back from Buner," Muslim Khan, a Pakistan Taliban spokesman, had said.

The group's move into Buner had alarmed the Pakistan government over what the Taliban's future intentions might be.

Army assurance

Meanwhile, General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan's army chief, has sought to dispel doubts that the country's armed forces were reluctant to take on the fighters.

more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/04/200942417947485300.html