Pakistan Jet Strike Kills 20 Taliban as Baluch Rebels Kill 11 Soldiers
Pakistani warplanes pounded militant hideouts in the northwestern tribal area before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Taliban insurgents, as Baluch rebels attacked Pakistani security forces overnight killing at least 11 soldiers, officials said.
The jets targeted hideouts in the tribal Orakzai district and at least four compounds were hit, they said, in the latest surge of fighting between government security forces and Islamist militants in the Afghan border areas.
"At least 20 Taliban militants were killed in the bombing," a military official in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar said.
Local intelligence officials confirmed the air strikes.
The hideouts belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders Mulla Tufan and Commander Moheyuddin, a security official said. There are reports that Moheyuddin may have been killed in the bombing, he said.
A military official in Peshawar said "four hideouts have been destroyed and the death toll may go up".
Meanwhile, Baluch rebels attacked Pakistani security forces overnight, killing at least 11 soldiers and wounding another 12 in clashes that raged for five hours, officials said Wednesday.
Gunmen attacked two posts in the Margut area, about 60 kilometers east of Quetta, capital of the insurgency-torn southwestern province of Baluchistan. The soldiers were responsible for guarding coal mines, they said.
"About two dozen gunmen armed with light and heavy weapons attacked the Frontier Corps (paramilitary) posts and killed 11 soldiers," a senior military official said.
He said another 12 soldiers were wounded in the assault.
Other security officials confirmed the casualties.
The assailants belonged to a Baluch militant group led by Harbiar Marri who is living in self-exile in London, the official said.
Baluch rebels have been fighting since 2004 for political autonomy and a greater share of profits from Baluchistan's wealth of natural oil, gas and mineral resources.
Wednesday's clashes continued for five hours, the senior military official said, adding that militants came from mountain hideouts and planted remote-controlled bombs to block reinforcements.
"Harbiar is responsible for these attacks. He has been guiding his militants from Europe to target security forces.
"We want to make it clear that the FC cannot be deterred by these attacks. The militants will be given a befitting reply," he added.
On January 26, a similar attack on a Pakistani checkpost killed six soldiers in Dera Bugti, 400 kilometers southeast of Quetta.
Pakistan is also fighting a Taliban insurgency in its northwestern border areas with Afghanistan, where 14 soldiers have been killed in the last week.
Source: Agence France Presse
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