Pakistan fighter planes bomb Taliban hideouts

Pakistani fighter planes have bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in the tribal region of North Waziristan, killing at least 32 people, military sources have said.

“Confirmed militant hideouts were targeted early morning today in North Waziristan through precise aerial strikes,” a senior military official said on Wednesday.

“There are reports of 32 terrorists killed in strikes including some important commanders.”

The official did not disclose names of the commanders killed in the strikes.

An intelligence official in North Waziristan told the AFP news agency the strikes were carried out in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, and the Mir Ali, Datta Khel and Ghulam Ali areas.

There were reports of some civilian casualties, including women and children, but the security official did not confirm them.

Independent verification of the toll and identity of the dead was not possible as journalists are not allowed to enter the area.
Al Jazeera’s Asad Hashim, reporting from Islamabad, said the aerial strikes come three days after the Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah released a video in which he vowed that his group’s fight would continue until either the imposition of Islamic law across Pakistan, or the martyrdom of its fighters.

In the video released on Sunday, Fazlullah called upon his group’s suicide bombers and fighters to prepare themselves to take on the army.

The latest attack comes weeks after the Pakistani Taliban formally ended a ceasefire called to promote talks with the government aimed at ending a seven-year insurgency.  

Source: Al Jazeera