Pakistani army helicopters pounded mountains near the Afghan border yesterday after nearly 50 people were killed in clashes with pro-Taliban militants, a resident of the area said.
The fighting -- some of the worst in the remote North Waziristan region in years -- started on Saturday and ended early yesterday in the area, where well-armed, fiercely independent tribes have long resisted government control.
"Fighting continued throughout the night with both sides using heavy weapons," a resident of Miranshah said yesterday.
The overnight exchanges of fire eased off in the morning but helicopter gunships later fired rockets into mountains to the east of Miranshah, sending plumes of smoke and dust into the sky.
After the tribesmen and soldiers retreated to their strongholds and bases, the streets and bazaars were empty in the town of Miranshah -- the main hotspot of the unrest. Security forces had fortified themselves inside a heavily guarded base, and troops fired into the air if anyone came within 300m of the base.
Hundreds of villagers -- men, women and children -- were seen fleeing Miranshah on foot yesterday, carrying suitcases and bundles of clothes. Vehicles weren't allowed in or out of the town, so they had to walk 15km to a security checkpoint, where they could find transport.
The fighting took place about 300km southwest of Islamabad, where US President George W. Bush made a 24-hour visit and declared his solidarity with Pakistan in the war on terror. He left the country late on Saturday in much the same way he arrived -- after dark, and with the running lights off and window shades pulled down to conceal Air Force One's distinctive markings.
There were conflicting reports about casualties.
Major General Shaukat Sultan, an army spokesman, said on Saturday that 25 militants were killed in Miranshah and 21 in the nearby town of Mir Ali. He said three soldiers were killed and about 10 were injured.
Intercepts of radio communications between militants on Saturday in Miranshah and nearby Mir Ali suggested 80 or more fighters had died, security and intelligence officials said.
Ethnic Pashtuns inhabit Waziristan as well as Afghan areas on the other side of the border and many people support the Taliban, most of whose leaders and rank-and-file are Pashtun.
also see story:
Foreign soldiers killed in accident, Afghan attacks
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS