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.
“There’s 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.