Taliban hideouts pounded

PAKISTAN pounded Taliban hideouts for a third day yesterday and said its troops killed 14 insurgents as the president urged the nation to unite behind the offensive.

Faced with grave US concerns that rebels threaten Pakistan’s very existence, fighter jets, attack helicopter and tanks this week opened three fronts after armed Taliban seized control of districts 100km from Islamabad. The fighters captured Lower Dir and Buner districts despite a deal to enforce sharia law in those areas in a bid to end a Taliban insurgency.