US drones kill militants
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISLAMABAD - Suspected U.S. drones launched two missile attacks on Taliban targets in the South Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday, killing at least 28 militants in the latest in a barrage of strikes close to the Afghan border, intelligence officials said. The army said the top Taliban commander in another area of the northwest, the scenic Swat Valley, was wounded in an airstrike. It gave no more details. South Waziristan lies close to the Afghan border and is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Pakistan's military was also bombing and firing mortars at insurgent targets in the region, saying it is chipping away at Mehsud's resistance before launching an offensive there to eliminate him. Mehsud is blamed for many of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in nuclear-armed Pakistan in recent years.
Pakistan launched the Swat Valley offensive more than two months ago after militants led by Maulana Fazlullah violated the terms of a peace deal.
It claims to have nearly cleared the valley of militants, killing more than 1,500. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Wednesday that according to "credible information" Fazlullah was wounded in a recent airstrike. Fazlullah's capture or killing would be a major symbolic victory for the army.