The Pakistani military continues their push in Waziristan. From, Reuters:
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani warplanes killed at least a dozen Taliban fighters on Saturday, in a strike on their stronghold near the Afghan border, while police in the southern city of Karachi shot dead five militants.
U.S. officials have issued a steady stream of praise for Pakistan since the government first took the decision to go on the offensive against the militants over two months ago.
Operations in Swat and Buner, two valleys north of the capital of Islamabad, are in their final stages and the focus has switched to the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, a remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The air raid on Saturday on Mehsud's mountainous redoubt was the latest in a series over recent weeks, and the government has already given orders for the military to mount an all-out assault.
The army is still assembling its forces in South Waziristan, and some diplomats expect some of the troops fighting in Swat to be moved there soon.
Recently, a US drone strike reportedly killed 60 people at a funeral for a Taliban leader. The target, Baitullah Mehsud, was narrowly missed.
are we actually verifying any of this? With all due respect, I would want to make sure that first, it's not some fantasy cooked up in Islamabad, and second, that these really are bad guys and not some poor villagers in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Posted by: matt | June 27, 2009 at 11:59 AM
This is all coordinated between US and Pakistan. That is why the delay in comments from Pakistan foreign office. Usually, they comment and condemn our invasion of their sovereignty hours not days after attacks. They are finally waking up that the Taliban and AQ mean business and are not content to live in the caves of the NWF tribal areas but are also interested in accommodating more luxurious enclaves like Islamabad and Lahore. Expect more drone attacks and remember The O was even suggesting invading Pakistan back during the campaign.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | June 27, 2009 at 12:42 PM
If I remember correctly, most of the time air strikes hit large numbers of people in Iraq and Afghanistan, they involved large crowds of innocents at funerals and weddings.
Those "militants" sure are most unfortunate in their choices of location for their important celebrations.
Posted by: Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet | June 27, 2009 at 12:43 PM
I recall an Afghan wedding that was bombed when the wedding party's celebratory gun fire was interpreted as hostile by a coalition war plane. I think they won a Darwin Award.
Posted by: Strawman Cometh | June 27, 2009 at 02:35 PM
It's a shame we don't have F-18's patrolling over Santa Ana or East L.A. on the 4th of July or New Year's.
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