Pakistan's top Taliban leader says he's seeking peace with the Pakistan government, but will send more of his fighters to battle American forces in Afghanistan.
Baitullah Mehsud's comments on Saturday could fuel concerns in the West that militants are using the peace process initiated by Pakistan's new civilian government to ramp up attacks elsewhere.
South Waziristan -- Mehsud's base -- is part of Pakistan's lawless tribal regions used and is considered a safe haven for both Afghanistan's Taliban and al Qaeda.
Reporters were invited to a hideout in the region, where Mehsud said his group "sincerely wants" the peace talks to succeed but added that attacks would continue in Afghanistan until U.S. forces withdraw.
Mehsud, 36, also said that he was not hiding al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but would like to meet him.
Mehsud heads up a militant group called Tehrik-e-Taliban, which has declared a ceasefire to attacks in Pakistan. Since then, suicide attacks in the country have virtually ended.
Mehsud has been accused to masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister.
U.S. marines not charged
Afghan officials are furious at the decision to not charge U.S. marines involved in a 2007 shooting spree that left 19 Afghan civilians dead.
Fazel Hadi Muslimyar, head of the Nangarhar provincial council, said the decision not to charge the two officers was "illegal."
"I am very angry," said Kubra Aman, a senator from Nangarhar. "This is too much. They are killing people. First, they say it is a mistake, and after that they let them go without charges."
Both men said they expect protests in Nangarhar once word of the decision spreads.
The incident occurred on March 4, 2007 in the eastern province.
The special operations unit came under attack from a suicide bomber. As the marines fled the area, they opened fire along a 10-kilometre stretch of road. Besides the 19 killed, 50 other Afghans were wounded.
A U.S. military court of inquiry heard more than three weeks of testimony in January.
Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland -- commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command -- decided not to bring charges against Maj. Fred C. Galvin, and Capt. Vincent J. Noble, the marines said.
Galvin commanded the 120-person company. Noble was a platoon leader.
Helland ruled the marines "acted appropriately and in accordance with the rules of engagement and tactics, techniques and procedures in place at the time in response to a complex attack," the marines said.
The incident left Haji Lawania wounded and his father and cousin dead. He also thought the marines' finding was a grave injustice.
"It is true that there was a suicide attack against their convoy," Lawania said. "But I disagree that there was an ambush after the suicide attack."
Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a marine corps spokesperson, said Friday that the court of inquiry's findings will not be released to the public.
Other news
The U.S.-led coalition said its troops killed several insurgents and detained six others during a Friday operation in Helmand province.
The U.S. has marines in the area helping British troops.
Estonia has 130 troops in Afghanistan helping the British, and one died Friday of injuries suffered while unloading a truck at Camp Bastion, a British base.
Sgt. Maj. Ivar Brok, 30, died in a military hospital in Kandahar after a spare wheel rolled over him.
He is the third Estonian soldier to die in Afghanistan since the Baltic country joined the NATO-led coalition in 2003.
In France, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters on Saturday that the Afghan government will eventually have to hold talks with the Taliban -- but added that it is premature to do so now.
Kouchner felt there is a risk that NATO forces could eventually be seen as occupiers by Afghans.
France will be hosting an Afghan donors' conference in Paris next month.
With files from The Associated Press
