Baitullah militia killing innocent people, says former associate.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, September 14, 2009 (Balochistan Times): Fighters from the Abdullah Mehsud militia have vowed to diminish Baitullah Mehsud group from Waziristan tribal belt, saying that the fighters from the recently-slain Taliban leaders group were killing innocent people. According to police sources, Abdullah - who was killed by security forces two years ago - and Baitullah are not related. They come from different sub tribes of the Mehsud, the major clan in Waziristan. (Baitullah) Mehsuds fighters are killing the common men, Baz Mohammed, a top commander of Abdullah Mehsud group flanked by heavily armed fighters, told a US news agency. The sources further said, last July, a Baitullah loyalist assassinated the groups former leader, Qari Zainuddin, as he slept in a room in the headquarters. Mohammed was shot four times in the leg in the attack and now walks with crutches. The attack left two bullet holes in the wall of the room. Yes, we will take revenge, Mohammed said. If we dont, what is the point of our group? Mohammed and others said they supported attacks inside Afghanistan, but that attacking the Baitullah group was their priority goal at the moment. Where people are suffering from oppression, we have to fight. That is Gods order, Mohammed said. They declined to answer when asked whether foreign al-Qaida militants should be given sanctuary in the tribal regions - a major concern of the West, which fears the area, remains an international terrorist hub. One fighter, Abdullah Haq, said he used to belong to the Pakistani Taliban but left last year in a disagreement over attacks on targets inside Pakistan. On his cell phone, he keeps pictures of captured Baitullah men - including two bound and gagged prisoners he said the group had executed last week after taking them to the tribal regions.

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