Pakistani paramilitary forces destroyed a handful of militant centers, including a radio station, and unearthed alleged torture cells as they pressed ahead Sunday with an offensive against extremists near the Afghan border, officials said, according to AP. A spokesman for Pakistan's top Taliban commander threatened retaliation against the government's show of force and said peace talks would stay suspended. The operation in the Khyber tribal area is a shift for Pakistan's new government, which has sought to reduce violence through peace deals with militants. But with extremists increasingly threatening Peshawar, a major northwest city, and ambushing supply convoys bound for U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan, the government turned to its troops. The forces encountered virtually no resistance since launching the operation Saturday, officials said. Troops from the paramilitary Frontier Corps, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, quickly cleared militants out of Khyber's Bara region, said Muhammad Siddiq Khan, a local official. They then moved into areas outside Bara.
