Pakistani offensive targets Bhutto assassin

Daily fighting costs 44 lives as Pakistan begins military offensive against leader of Bhutto assassination plot

Associated Press and independent sources reported Tuesday, Jan. 22, on Pakistani-Islamic militant fighting near the Afghan border, killing 44 or more.

Independent sources noted hundreds of Pakistani troops involved in a “major operation” against the pro-Taliban commander who Pakistan blames for the assassination of Pakistani political candidate Benazir Bhutto last month.

Clashes began when militants attacked a fort in a lawless tribal region where al-Qaida and Taliban-linked fighters operate.

It's the second attack on the fort this month. The army says some 37 militants and five troops were killed in intense fighting.

Two other soldiers died in a clash in a neighboring region…AP report

Two soldiers were killed, officials said, as more than 700 soldiers from the Baloch regiment of the Pakistan Army began an offensive against the hideouts of Islamic militants in the mountains of the tribal district of South Waziristan.

Several hundred paramilitary troops were also assisting them in the action.

An official who spoke on condition of anonymity, and said at least half a dozen tanks, heavy artillery and helicopter gun ships were backing the government forces in the operation against the heavily armed followers of the tribal commander Baitullah Mehsud.

The military's chief spokesman confirmed the report. "Security forces are engaging militant hideouts and strongholds in three areas of the tribal district," Major General Athar Abbas said.

"The action will continue until the region is cleared of the militants' hideouts."

We can hope a government responsible to the interests of all humanity, and not secretly part of a plan to establish a global theocratic despotism, would rise to the occasion of keeping the peace.

Add Comments

Join Our E-Mail list

Original Article

400,000 Copies Now in America's Homes

Order your copy of our "Jihad in America!" pamphlet