Taliban fights back against Pakistan offensive

Militants fired on helicopter gunships and attacked Pakistani troops advancing into their main sanctuary near the Afghan border today as the army pressed ahead with its most critical offensive yet against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The assault in South Waziristan followed repeated requests from the US to take on the jihadists behind soaring terrorist attacks in the nuclear-armed nation and al-Qaida and other extremists believed to be plotting strikes in the West.