Monday, September 29, 2008

28 Die in Latest Pakistan Attacks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces pounded militant positions near strategic areas in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, killing 25 suspected insurgents in a new round of a military offensive that also left three soldiers dead, the army said. The battle in the Bajur tribal region came as the nuclear-armed U.S. anti-terror ally struggles to recover from a massive suicide attack at the Marriott Hotel in the capital. Police said Saturday the death toll from the blast a week ago in Islamabad has risen to 54, one higher than previously reported. The weeks-long military operation in Bajur has already killed more than 1,000 militants and some 66 soldiers, and officials say it could be another two months before the militant stronghold is stabilized.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Fighting between Pakistani troops and militants in a tribal region has forced some 20,000 Pakistanis to seek refuge across the border in eastern Afghanistan, the U.N.'s refugee agency said Monday. Nearly 4,000 families have fled Pakistan's Bajur tribal agency into Afghanistan's Kunar province. Bajur is the most northerly of Pakistan's wild tribal regions, several of which have fallen largely under the control of militants opposed to the Afghan and Pakistani governments. Most have found shelter with relatives across northwestern Pakistan, though about 100,000 have taken refuge in camps set up by Pakistani authorities. Pakistan's border region is considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

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