Jets pummel Taliban bolt-holes

BAJAUR AGENCY - Shelling of gunship helicopters and jet planes continued here in tehsil Mamond and Salarzai areas on Tuesday, as military operation against militants has been under way in Bajaur Agency for the last few days.
According to details, many suspected hideouts of militants were destroyed in fresh attacks. A number of militants were also killed in the shelling, while the security forces moved ahead in Mamond area.
The residents of the area have been facing numerous problems in the wake of prolonged and unscheduled curfew that has been clamped for the last four days and demanding relaxation in it.
Reuters/AFP add: Fighter jets Tuesday killed six suspected militants in fresh strikes on Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan, as forces prepare for a ground offensive against the militant hub, security officials said.
The government says most attacks in the country - including four major ones over the past week that killed more than 100 people - are plotted in South Waziristan, the main bastion of al Qaeda-linked Taliban and their allies.
Theres been a heavy bombardment. They targeted some militant hideouts as well as pro-Taliban tribal elders, said an intelligence agency official in the region, who declined to be identified.
Two ethnic Pashtun tribal elders were said to have been killed, he said.
The government and military have vowed to launch an all-out offensive in South Waziristan to hunt down the militant leadership, but the timing of the offensive remains unclear. Air strikes have been going on for months.
The warplanes Tuesday targeted the Taliban strongholds of Makeen, Ladha and Nawazkot towns, which had already been pummelled from the air on Sunday.
At least six Taliban including a local commander were killed in the air attack. Five militants have been injured, said a security official in South Waziristan who asked not to be named. Intelligence and local government officials confirmed the death toll.
There were airstrikes on Taliban hideouts while heavy artillery was also being used by the troops to pound militant hideouts, local government official Naseer Ullah told AFP.
Later, militants attacked a nearby military camp in the North Waziristan region, triggering a clash, residents and intelligence officials said.
Militant attacks have intensified as the army prepares to launch a ground offensive, with 41 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in Shangla on Monday after a brazen weekend raid on the tightly guarded Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
A ground offensive in South Waziristan could be the armys toughest test since the militants turned on the state.
The army has not said when it would begin but Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said it was imminent.
The military has been conducting air and artillery strikes for months, while deploying troops, blockading the region and trying to win over factions among various groups.
About 28,000 troops have been put in place to take on an estimated 10,000 hardcore Taliban, army officials said earlier.
NNI adds: The security forces have continued search and clearance operations in Swat and Malakand and during search operation, 26 terrorists voluntarily surrendered themselves to security forces at Fazl-e-Haq College near Sakhra, the ISPR said Tuesday.
A statement said that seven terrorists voluntarily surrendered themselves to security forces at Runial, Barshaur and Chuprial. Security forces conducted search operation in Baro Kandao and discovered destroyed a small training camp comprising four tunnels and apprehended three terrorists. Security forces conducted search operation in Delai Bara Banda and killed four terrorists, the statement said. The security forces conducted search operation in Kuz Banjir Banda near Barikot and killed one terrorist while two were apprehended. In Waziristan, terrorists fired 31 rockets at convoy near Razmak Camp. Resultantly, two soldiers were injured.