Pakistani jets bomb militants near Afghan border
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani jets bombed militant targets in the main insurgent stronghold along the Afghan border Tuesday ahead of an expected ground offensive there, while the army killed 26 insurgents elsewhere in the northwest, authorities said.
The army’s resolve to launch the offensive has been deepened by a recent series of bold and deadly attacks. On Tuesday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide assault Monday that killed 41 people, including soldiers, in a northwest district next to the troubled Swat region.
The army says 80 percent of the militant attacks plaguing nuclear-armed Pakistan are planned from South Waziristan, while the United States says insurgent leaders blamed for spiraling violence in Afghanistan are also based in the lawless, remote area.
The army and the government have agreed to launch what is expected to be a bloody and difficult ground operation in the mountainous region. An army spokesman Monday declined to say when the operation would begin, but there has been speculation it could be imminent.
For the past three months, jets have been bombing targets in the region, and the military has been trying to cut off militant supply and communication lines. Authorities are also trying to secure the support of militant factions that in the past have agreed not to attack Pakistani troops.
Bombing runs Tuesday destroyed around 15 houses in the Makeen, Ladha and Barwand regions of South Waziristan, a local intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief to the media.
No army spokesman was available to comment. However, the military said in a statement that “terrorists fired 31 rockets” at a convoy of security forces in South Waziristan on Tuesday, wounding two soldiers. It was unclear whether the army bombed the militant targets before or after the rocket attack.
In a reminder of the militants’ reach, authorities said helicopter gunship attacks killed 26 insurgents in Bajur, a tribally administered region 185 miles (300 kilometers) north of Waziristan. The army undertook a major offensive there six months ago and declared it free of insurgents, but some remain.
Abdul Malik, a local government official, said the attacks took place in Damadola and Sawai, known as militant-held areas. He said he got the information about militant casualties from intelligence and military sources.
Pakistan has seen four major terrorist attacks over the last nine days, including a suicide attack on a U.N. office in the capital, Islamabad, that killed five staffers and a 22-hour siege on the army’s headquarters over the weekend.
Monday’s suicide attack occurred in Shangla district, which lies next to Swat, where the military recently staged a massive offensive aimed at wiping out a strong contingent of Taliban.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told The Associated Press in a phone call that a wing of the Swat Taliban called the “Farzandan-e-Islam” — or Sons of Islam — carried it out and was targeting military vehicles.
“We will continue to attack the army and government,” Tariq warned.
He also said that the military’s bombings in Waziristan in the past two days have not damaged Taliban sites but rather homes of innocent tribesmen.
Associated Press writer Habib Khan contributed to this report from Khar.
Related News
Pakistan jets attack militants ahead of expected offensive close to Afghan borderOctober 13th, 2009 Pakistan bombs militants close to Afghan borderISLAMABAD — An intelligence official says Pakistani jets have bombed militant targets in an insurgent stronghold close to the Afghan border. The military has been attacking militants in South Waziristan for several months ahead of an expected ground offensive there.
A look at recent Pakistani military offensives against Islamist militant groupsOctober 9th, 2009 Recent Pakistani offensives against militants— April 2009: The military launches an offensive to clear as many as 5,000 militants from the Swat Valley after the Taliban — who controlled the area — began spilling into a neighboring district just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Islamabad. After three months of fighting, the military said it had largely cleared the valley and killed more than 1,700 insurgents.
Bomb kills 3 in restive northwest as Pakistani troops attempt to secure NATO supply lineSeptember 13th, 2009 3 Pakistani troops killed in bomb blast in NWISLAMABAD — A bomb blast killed three paramilitary troops Sunday in Pakistan's Khyber region, where security forces are pressing ahead with an offensive to secure a major supply route for foreign forces in Afghanistan. Also in the northwest, a suicide bomber attempted to attack a security post in the Swat Valley but was killed before he could strike.
Bomb kills 2 in restive northwest as Pakistani troops attempt to secure NATO supply lineSeptember 12th, 2009 2 killed in attack on Pakistani troopsISLAMABAD — A bomb blast killed two paramilitary troops Sunday in Pakistan's Khyber region, where security forces are pressing ahead with an offensive to secure a major supply route for foreign forces in Afghanistan. Also in the northwest, a suicide bomber attempted to attack a security post in the Swat Valley but was killed before he could strike.
Pakistani army kills 30 Taliban in Swat battles; border reopens after NATO convoy bombedAugust 31st, 2009 Pakistan army kills 30 Taliban; border reopensISLAMABAD — Pakistani soldiers killed at least 30 Taliban militants in overnight gunbattles across the northwestern Swat Valley after a suicide bombing on a police station killed 17 cadets, the military said Monday. Hundreds of miles (kilometers) away, a southwestern border crossing with Afghanistan reopened after an administrative dispute culminated in an attack on a line of waiting NATO fuel tankers.
Police say a bomb at a checkpoint close to the Pakistani capital wounds 7 peopleAugust 20th, 2009 Bomb wounds 7 close to Pakistan capitalRAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A bomb exploded at a security checkpoint close to the Pakistani capital late Thursday, wounding seven people. Pakistan is battling Islamist militants blamed for scores of bloody bombings over the last two years.
Intel officials say Pakistani jets kill 6 militants in attack on Taliban hide-out in northwestJuly 18th, 2009 Pakistani jets kill 6 militants in northwestDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani fighter jets destroyed two suspected militant hide-outs near the Afghan border, killing six men believed to be associates of top local Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, intelligence officials said Wednesday. The strikes in South Waziristan flattened the hide-outs of Mehsud's associates in two villages late Tuesday, two intelligence officials said.
24 killed in airstrikes in northwest Pakistan; troops arrest 40 militants in series of raidsJuly 10th, 2009 Airstrikes in northwest Pakistan kill 24 militantsISLAMABAD — Pakistani fighter jets killed 24 insurgents close to the Afghan border while security forces arrested 40 militants in raids in another northwestern region, officials said Friday. Under heavy U.S.
Militants kill 4 officers in northwest Pakistani region previously declared cleared of rebelsJuly 10th, 2009 Militants attack security post in Pakistan; 4 deadISLAMABAD — Militants overran a security post and killed four officers in a northwestern Pakistani region that the army claimed to have cleared of insurgents earlier this year, a government official said Friday. Elsewhere in the Afghan border region, fighter jets killed 24 insurgents and security forces arrested 40 militants, intelligence officers and a government spokesman said.
Suspected US missile attack kills 12 Taliban militants in northwest PakistanJuly 7th, 2009 Suspected US missiles, Pakistan jets hit militantsISLAMABAD — Suspected U.S. missiles and Pakistani fighter jets attacked followers of a notorious militant leader close to the Afghan border Tuesday, but the army complained the American strikes were hurting its campaign against the country's public enemy No.
Pakistan says more troops sent to Afghan border to stop Taliban fleeing US assaultJuly 2nd, 2009 Pakistan moves troops to Afghan borderISLAMABAD — Pakistan's army has deployed troops to a stretch of the Afghan border to stop Taliban militants fleeing a major U.S. offensive in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman said Thursday.
Pakistan moves troops to Afghan border: ReportJuly 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Army has deployed troops to a stretch of the Afghan border to stop Taliban militants fleeing a major US offensive in southern Afghanistan, a military spokesman said Thursday. Major General Athar Abbas told Geo TV that they had "mustered more troops from the other areas of the border" to deploy opposite the Helmand region,
"It is sort of a reorganisation," he said, adding that the threat of militants crossing over had been "visualised".
Pakistani officials says at least 5 killed, 25 wounded in bomb blast in northwestern PeshawarJune 9th, 2009 Pakistani officials: Huge bomb at Peshawar hotelPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Officials says a huge bomb has exploded at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least five people and wounding 25 others. Police official Liaqat Ali says gunmen stormed into the Pearl Continental Hotel in the northwestern city on Tuesday night just before "a big bomb went off."
Sahibzada Anis, a top government official in Peshawar, says at least five people were killed and 25 wounded.
2 Afghan children killed by bicycle bomb in marketMay 3rd, 2009 2 Afghan children killed by bomb on bicycleKABUL — A bomb placed on a bicycle in a busy market killed four people Sunday, including two children, while American fighter aircraft and ground forces killed 19 militants near the Pakistan border, officials said. The bicycle bomb went off in Gereshk district of southern Helmand province.
Pakistan military jets, helicopters bomb Taliban in district near capital in broader offensiveApril 28th, 2009 Pakistani jets, choppers bomb Taliban near capitalISLAMABAD — Pakistani jets and attack helicopters bombed Taliban positions in a district near the capital Tuesday, the military said, in an expansion of an offensive against militants seemingly emboldened by a much-criticized peace deal. Troops and heavy artillery also joined the operation in Buner, which follows urgent calls from the United States for Islamabad to step up its fight against the militants, who moved into the region this month from the nearby Swat Valley.
Loading ...