In Pakistan Battle Zone, Few Back Army

Tensions high as shots rebuff helicopters

(NEWSER) - Pakistani soldiers fired shots into the air to prevent American troops from crossing the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan, according to officials in the region. The BBC reports that 9 US helicopters landed at around midnight on the Afghan side of the border, and troops then tried to enter into South Waziristan, part of Pakistan's lawless northwest. More»

Militants regroup further north in a different district

(NEWSER) - Good news from Pakistan's prime minister in the fight against the Taliban—the army has driven the militants from South Waziristan after a 3-month campaign. The bad news: The Taliban appear to have regrouped a little further north in a district called Orakza, reports BBC . "The operation in South Waziristan is over," said Yousuf Raza Gilani. "Now there are talks about Orakza." More»

Head of UN mission killed as army pushes into Taliban heartland

(NEWSER) - A top army officer was gunned down in the Pakistani capital today as the military continued to push into the Taliban's Waziristan sanctuary. Brigadier Moinudin Ahmed, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan, was shot dead along with his driver by suspected militants on a motorbike as their jeep moved through rush-hour traffic in Islamabad. Authorities believe the killing was a direct reprisal for the anti-Taliban offensive, reports the New York Times. More»

Military readies all-out offensive on militants' South Waziristan stronghold

(NEWSER) - More than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers launched a major assault on the Taliban's sanctuary in Waziristan early today, following months of airstrikes intended to soften up militant defenses. Officials have given few details but said the troops are pursuing militants holed up in the region. Civilians have been evacuated from the lawless area on the Afghan border, which is believed to be a base for around 10,000 Pakistani militants and 1,500 foreign fighters; all entry routes to the area bigger than a goat track have been sealed off. More»

(AP) - A US missile strike today in Pakistan's lawless tribal region killed a wife of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander, the AP reports. Mehsud has been accused of orchestrating dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The US, as usual, did not comment on the strike, but three Pakistani officials confirmed that the blast destroyed the home of Mehsud's father-in-law and killed two people. More»