A look at recent Pakistani military offensives against Islamist militant groups

October 2nd, 2009 Video appears to show Pakistan army abusesISLAMABAD — Video apparently showing Pakistani soldiers beating men detained in anti-militant operations has surfaced on the Internet, drawing criticism from a leading rights group and possibly undercutting support for the army's fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. The 10-minute video shows an army officer casually questioning four men in a building.

October 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani troops Friday killed 27 militants in the ungoverned north-western tribal district of Khyber that borders Afghanistan, a security official said. Fazal-ur-Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, said in a press statement that helicopter gunships targeted various positions of Taliban fighters in Khyber and inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels.

September 25th, 2009 Militant says Pakistani Taliban stronger than everMIR ALI, Pakistan — Pakistan's Taliban movement is stronger than ever despite the killing of its top commander and will stage more suicide attacks if the army launches another offensive against it, a top militant told The Associated Press. Qari Hussain Mehsud, known for training Taliban suicide bombers, met with an AP reporter Thursday at a secret location in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, just hours before a U.S.

September 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A senior commander of the banned militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been apprehended in northwest Pakistan's Swat region, media reports said Monday. According to sources, Nasim alias Abu Faraj, who masterminded many suicide attacks in the country, was arrested in an operation by Pakistani security forces, GEO News reported.

September 10th, 2009 Pakistan: Swat Taliban spokesman, 4 others heldISLAMABAD — Pakistani soldiers arrested the spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat Valley and four other commanders, the military announced Friday, striking its first direct blow against the leadership of the insurgency in the one-time tourist resort. The army did not say when the men were arrested but described their detention as the result of a "successful operation" in Swat.

July 13th, 2009 Police: Blast kills at least 3 in east PakistanISLAMABAD — A explosion rocked a small village in eastern Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 3 people, police said. Some 25 people were wounded, while local media reported at least two dozen homes were damaged or destroyed.

July 12th, 2009 Police: Ambush kills 5 police in NW PakistanPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen ambushed five police officers and a forestry official responding to reports of a dead body in northwestern Pakistan, killing all six, police said Sunday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities did not rule out Taliban militants.

July 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Thursday warned against possible infiltration of Afghan militants into Pakistan in the wake of fresh offensives by the US and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan. Gilani made the remarks during a meeting at his house with Admiral Edouard Guillaud, an advisor to the French president, the Online news agency reported.

June 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Five militants loyal to Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud were killed Saturday in a shootout in Karachi, the Pakistani police said. The gunfight broke out in the early hours of the day after the police raided an apartment on a tip-off that the militants were planning attacks in the southern port city, deputy police chief Zafar Bukhari said.

June 27th, 2009 5 militants killed in shootout in south PakistanKARACHI, Pakistan — Police killed five suspected militants Saturday in a nighttime raid on a Karachi apartment housing insurgents loyal to the Pakistani Taliban leader blamed for a wave of suicide attacks, a top official said. City police chief Waseem Ahmed said officers found a large quantity of weapons and explosives in the apartment.

June 26th, 2009 Pakistani Taliban claim Kashmir attackISLAMABAD — A Pakistani Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for a suicide attack against Pakistani security forces in Kashmir that has broadened the group's anti-government campaign. A suicide bomber blew himself up Friday near an army vehicle, killing at least two soldiers in the first such assault in Pakistan's part of the divided Himalayan territory.

June 26th, 2009 Suicide bomber kills 2 troops in Pakistani KashmirISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber blew himself up early Friday near an army vehicle, killing at least two soldiers in the first such assault in Pakistan's part of divided Kashmir, the military said, marking a possible escalation in the militant campaign against security forces. The attack took place in Muzaffarabad, the region's capital.

May 8th, 2009 Hundreds of thousands flee Pakistan fightingMINGORA, Pakistan — Pakistani jets screamed over a Taliban-controlled town Friday and bombed suspected militant positions as hundreds of thousands fled in terror and other trapped residents appealed for a pause in the fighting so they could escape. A half a million people have either already left the Swat Valley and nearby districts or want to leave but can't because of the fighting, Pakistani officials and the U.N.

April 29th, 2009 Suspected US missile kills 5 in PakistanMIR ALI, Pakistan — A suspected U.S missile struck a Pakistani militant stronghold near the Afghan border late Monday, killing five people, officials and a resident said. The missile hit a compound in Machi Khel village in the North Waziristan tribal area — a region home to Taliban and Taliban-affiliated militant groups, some of which are suspected in attacks on Western troops stationed in Afghanistan.

April 29th, 2009 Pakistan troops battling Taliban take key townISLAMABAD — Helicopter-borne commandos took back a key town from the Taliban on Wednesday as warplanes pounded militants to halt their advance toward the Pakistani capital, the army said. Pakistan is acting under intense U.S.