Government warplanes flattened a suspected Taleban hide-out in the northwest early Saturday, killing nine associates of Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud, intelligence officials said. The military has targeted Mehsud and his militant network in recent months in the tribal regions along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The Taleban leader is accused of orchestrating the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and launching a string of suicide attacks across the country in recent months that have killed more than 100 people. Early Saturday, fighter jets destroyed hide-outs of Mehsud's deputy Hakim Ullah in the Orakzai region, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt. It was unclear whether Ullah was present at the time, said two intelligence officials who sought anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The Pakistani military's campaign against Mehsud comes as it pursues another operation against Taleban fighters in the Swat Valley and surrounding districts, also in the northwest. In a statement Saturday, the army said security forces had killed three suspected militants in the valley during the previous 24 hours. Also, one soldier died and three were wounded in the Bannu area, it said. The continued violence indicates that danger persists in the region, even as the army has declared it largely cleared of militants and Pakistanis displaced by fighting have started to return by the thousands. Saturday's airstrikes in Orakzai came a day after suspected US missiles killed at least five suspected militants in the nearby tribal region of North Waziristan. The drone strike shows Washington's unwillingness to abandon the tactic even as Pakistani officials say it could hamper their army offensives in the northwest.
