Pakistani soldiers work to clear rebel's cave

TARTANI, Pakistan, Aug 30 (Reuters) Scores of Pakistani soldiers worked today to begin clearing rubble from a cave in Baluchistan province where a nationalist rebel chief was killed in fighting at the weekend.

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, 79, was killed on Saturday in a government assault on his cave hideout in the remote hills of gas-rich Baluchistan, Pakistan's biggest but poorest province.

The government says he and an unknown number of his men were killed when the cave they were in collapsed after a huge explosion.

The Pakistani army flew a group of reporters to the cave by helicopter to brief them on work to retrieve Bugti's body.

The smell of death and explosives hung in the air outside the cave in a rocky cliff at the bottom of a steep ravine.

''The stink is from the decomposing bodies,'' said Brigadier Nasrullah Abeer, an army engineer overseeing the work.

Violent protests have erupted across Baluchistan since Bugti, a former provincial governor, was killed.

Bugti led an increasingly violent campaign to win decades-old demands for autonomy and a greater share of profits from the province's resources. The campaign included attacks on gas facilities, infrastructure and security forces.

Suspected militants blew up a railway line today while a rally to offer prayers for Bugti turned violent as anger over his killing simmered.

Although the government says security forces did not intend to kill Bugti, Baluch nationalists, opposition politicians and security analysts say they doubt that.

Analysts say Bugti's death is likely to inflame opposition in Baluchistan and could stir nationalist sentiment in other provinces where demands for autonomy have been raised.

It could also galvanise broad opposition to President Pervez Musharraf, an important US ally who seized power in a 1999 coup. The opposition has called for a strike on Friday.

DAYS OF WORK At Bugti's cave hideout, in barren, jagged mountains 265 km east of the provincial capital, Quetta, soldiers hauled planks and poles down a narrow path to the bombed cave.

Abeer said they had to build a platform and put up supports to shore up what was left of the cave roof before they could haul out the rubble and uncover the bodies.

''After making the platforms, the retrieval of the bodies could take three to four days, or up to a week,'' he said.

Scraps of clothing, caps and a camel saddle bag were strewn in the dust at the cave's mouth. The surrounding area was heavily mined, another Pakistani army officer said, adding that teams were working to clear the mines.

A senior Baluchistan official and an Interior Ministry official said 50 or more people -- both rebels and troops -- were killed in the fighting on Saturday but the military only confirmed the death of four officers and a soldier.

Although Bugti's body had not been recovered, supporters have held funeral prayers for him in Baluchistan and elsewhere.

Protesters set fire to a government office and some shops in Khuzdar town after prayers on Wednesday.

Protesters also blocked main roads from Quetta to the rest of the country on Wednesday but residents said the city was quiet and some shops were re-opening after three days of riots.

REUTERS AKJ VV2158