Up to 60 Taliban militants killed as Pakistani army steps up assaults

PAKISTANI helicopter gunships and ground troops pounded Taliban fighters yesterday, killing up to 60 militants and destroying a dozen would-be suicide bombers in fierce fighting, the army said.

The military launched the gruelling assault in the northwest of the nuclear power six days ago under US pressure after the Islamist hardliners advanced to within 100km of the capital Islamabad.

As the fighting raged, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates appealed to Congress to free up money for military aid to Pakistan, which is central to Washington’s strategy for stopping the insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.

“During the last 24 hours, 55 to 60 militants have been killed,” Major General Athar Abbas told a briefing update on the operation in Buner.

Based on combined tolls released by the military, nearly 200 militants have been killed in Operation Black Thunder since tanks, fighter jets and helicopter gunships swung into action in Buner and neighbouring Lower Dir.

None of the deaths or details provided by the military could be immediately confirmed independently.

Abbas described “fierce fighting” in the northern area of a strategic pass that heads towards Islamabad and said that 400 “well-equipped and organised” Taliban were putting up “stiff resistance”.

Ground troops backed by helicopter gunships destroyed nine suicide vehicles and six vehicles of “fleeing militants”, he said. Three “suicide motorcyclists” were shot dead by ground troops advancing on narrow mountain tracks, he said.

A suicide bomber blew up a booby-trapped house killing two paramilitary soldiers and wounding eight others, said Abbas, bringing the military’s overall losses to 13 during the offensive.

Another suicide bomber was arrested after detonating his explosives and wounding himself, the spokesman said.

Pakistan ceded control of the nearby Swat valley in February, signing a deal to allow religious hardliners to enforce Islamic law in the region in order to end a bloody two-year rebellion led by a radical cleric.

But instead of disarming as required under the deal, the Taliban instead pushed further south towards Islamabad, taking over large swathes of Lower Dir and Buner – and prompting the latest army offensive.

The military accused militants of violating the peace agreement by erecting multiple checkpoints, planting hundreds of improvised bombs, abducting government employees and beheading four other people in Swat.