Pakistani Air Force fighters and gunships have pounded positions held by Taliban militants led by Baitullah Mehsud, but militants have hit back at army convoys in the Waziristan tribal region.
Voice of America (
VOA) reports that militants in North Waziristan hit a convoy of Pakistani troops, and six soldiers were reported killed. Pakistani officials say the air raids are in preparation for a major air and ground offensive similar to the one that cleared Taliban fighters out of the Swat valley.
The
Dawn newspaper reported Interior Minister Rehman Malik struck a confident note in relation to the difficult operation:
Taliban will not be able to re-emerge as the government is utilising all recourse to cure this menace.
Malik repeated an earlier assertion that foreign countries were helping to fund the Taliban:
At the same time the government of Pakistan is in contact with international community to stop supply of arms and funds to the militants. I have talked to my Afghan counterpart yesterday and he was very kind to offer maximum cooperation in countering terrorism.
Baitullah Mehsud’s group has a large international contingent, made up of Arabs, Chechens, Uighurs, Uzbeks and other nationalities, as well as Pashtun mountain men from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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