A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he has sent thousands of fighters to neighbouring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming US troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt.
Waliur Rehman told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Monday night that the Pakistani Taliban remain committed to battling the army in the South Waziristan tribal region, but that they are essentially waging a guerrilla war.
Rehman is a deputy to Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, and the man in-charge of the group's operations in South Waziristan.
"Since (president Barack) Obama is also sending additional forces to Afghanistan, we sent thousands of our men there to fight Nato and American forces," Rehman said.
The Afghan Taliban needed our help at this stage, and we are helping them, he added.
Col Wayne Shanks, a US military spokesman in Afghanistan, called Rehman's comments "rhetoric" and that they were not to be believed.
"We have not noticed any significant movement of insurgents in the border area," he said.
Either stance is nearly impossible to independently verify.
Access to the tribal belt, especially conflict zones, is severely restricted.
Pakistani army spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.
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