Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Pakistan jets bomb Taliban positions

Pakistan jets bomb Taliban positions in North Waziristan

Map

Pakistani military aircraft have bombed suspected Taliban positions in North Waziristan, following a wave of attacks against security forces.

A military official said 25 militants had been killed in the air strikes in the tribal area, which borders Afghanistan.

On Sunday, 20 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an ambush on an army convoy.

The Pakistani Taliban have vowed to step up attacks after their leader was killed in a drone strike.

The air strikes started at around 00:30 local time (19:30 GMT on Monday), an official told AFP news agency, adding that helicopter gunships also took part.

The air strikes were still going on, one report said.

It was not immediately clear if there were civilian casualties.

On Sunday, soldiers and paramilitary personnel were preparing to leave Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for Razmak in North Waziristan when their convoy was hit by a bomb.

On Monday, a suicide bomber killed at least 13 people near Pakistan's army headquarters in Rawalpindi, south of the capital Islamabad. Among those who died were eight military personnel.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed both attacks, which follow weeks of relative calm since their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, died in a US drone strike in November.

The new leader, Mullah Fazlullah, has vowed to continue attacks against Pakistani forces.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif - under pressure to take a tougher stand on militants - cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos after Sunday's attack.

The two attacks were among the most serious assaults on the military in recent months. Correspondents say they will refresh concerns about Pakistan's strategy for dealing with militancy, with the government keen to pursue peace talks.


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