Pakistani Army Continues Northwest Offensive
By VOA News
15 June 2009
Pakistan's military says its forces are continuing an offensive against Taliban fighters in the northwest, killing six suspected militants in the last 24 hours.
A day after the government formally announced its forces are pursuing top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, the army reported clashes with militants in the greater Swat valley, as well as Taliban positions in Bannu.
In Dir, the army says a civilian militia killed five suspected militants in recent fighting.
On Sunday, the governor of North West Frontier Province, Owais Ghani, said the government felt it had no choice but to resort to force against Taliban commander Mehsud in his stronghold in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border.
Mehsud has claimed responsibility for many attacks across Pakistan in recent months, including suicide bombings. He is believed to be a key link between Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida militants.
Ghani's announcement came after a bomb killed eight people and wounded 40 others in a busy market in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, south of Peshawar.
Also Sunday, a U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile at a vehicle in South Waziristan, killing at least three suspected al-Qaida operatives.
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