ID :
25448
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 22:15
Auther :

Pakistani fighter jets destroy Taliban`s positions; 20 killed

Islamabad, Oct 19 (PTI) At least 20 pro-Taliban militants were killed and several others injured as Pakistani fighter jets bombed houses and a mosque believed to be used by militants in the restive northwestern Swat valley Sunday.

State-run PTV also reported the bombing of militant
positions by jets in Swat. Geo News channel put the death toll
at 100 but this could not be independently confirmed.

Witnesses who fled the areas of Barthana and Shur that
were bombed said the attack destroyed several houses and a
mosque. Many people were buried under the rubble of destroyed
houses, they said.

They said local residents pulled 20 bodies from the
rubble and were searching for more injured or dead who could
be under the debris. Witnesses who arrived in Matta town said
the bombing started at 8 a.m., forcing local residents to
flee.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan too confirmed the bombing
and said several militants were injured. He said the fighter
jets started bombing at 8 a.m. and the attacks continued for
an hour. He said the "houses of civilians" were targeted.

Local journalists said the house of Taliban commander
Alam Khan and a nearby mosque were hit. They said the mosque
was completely destroyed in the attack.

The bombing created panic among the local population and
they started fleeing on foot and in vehicles to other parts of
the valley.

The army spokesman in Swat said fighter jets bombed
militant positions but did not say anything about casualties.
The army had claimed on Saturday that it had killed 60 Taliban
fighters and wounded many others during strikes in Swat.

The fresh offensive coincided with a surprise visit to
Pakistan by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher,
who held talks Saturday with interior ministry chief Rehman
Malik on the security situation. Boucher will hold talks with
political leaders Sunday, the sources said.
The U.S. has hailed the military offensive against the
Taliban though a majority of Pakistani lawmakers in an ongoing
in-camera joint session of parliament have called for an end
to military operations.

Reports said the U.S. has deployed a small unit of 25
Special Forces personnel in Pakistan to train the paramilitary
Frontier Corps for anti-militancy operations. The training of
Pakistani troops by the U.S. personnel was also discussed by
Boucher and Malik Saturday. PTI

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