Sixteen Taleban were killed in the Mohmand tribal region, bordering Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, as security forces battled into the fifth consecutive day to take control of a strategic valley in the neighbouring Malakand division. The military launched a major ground and air assault in Buner five days ago under US pressure after Taleban militants from restive Swat valley infiltrated adjoining areas and advanced to within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the capital Islamabad. Helicopters and artillery continues to pound Taleban hideouts in the towns of Ambela, Pir Baba and Sultanwas which are considered militant strongholds, a senior military official said. “We have besieged a Taleban compound in Ambela where militants had been holding a meeting,” said the official, who requested anonymity. Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas on Friday said some 400 “well-equipped and organized” Taleban had been putting up “stiff resistance” in Buner. Over 60 militants stormed a post of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in a predawn attack in the Spin Tangi area of Mohmand and killed two soldiers. Pakistan is vital for the US efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda and Taleban and stabilize Afghanistan. “Our soldiers successfully repulsed the attack and killed 16 militants,” a military spokesman Major Fazal Khan said. Militants have unleashed a campaign of suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan for several years but their creeping advances to establish their writ in parts of the North West Frontier Province has sent jitters across Pakistan and caused alarm in the United States about the stability of its nuclear-armed ally. Pakistan is vital for the US efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda and Taleban and stabilize Afghanistan. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan said on Saturday that Pakistan was not a ‘Banana Republic' and the government had decided to call an all parties conference to resolve all issues through dialogue. The government forces have taken control of Buner's main town, Daggar, though militants still control parts of the valley.
