30 militants killed in Khyber Agency, N Waziristan air blitz

About 30 terrorists were killed in targeted strikes by jet aircraft in Khyber Agency and North Waziristan early Saturday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release.

At 2 AM, aircraft destroyed two hideouts close to the Pak- Afghan border in Khyber Agency killing 10 terrorists. At 5 AM, three hideouts were destroyed in Hassu Khel in North Waziristan, killing 15 terrorists.

All strikes were made in areas where there is no civil population, the statement said.

Over 300 suspected militants have reportedly been killed in the Zarb-i-Azb operation launched a week ago.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1114221/30-militants-killed-in-khyber-agency-n-waziristan-air-blitz

North Waziristan: 'Truckloads try to escape bombardment'

BBC correspondent Shahzeb Jillani, in the north-western town of Bannu, witnessed thousands of people are on the move carrying few possessions.

He spoke to one man who said Islamic militants had already left the areas the government was targeting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27953335

Panicked refugees pour out of Pakistan's troubled North Waziristan

Their belongings piled high on buses, rickety donkey carts and tractors, thousands of refugees poured out of Pakistan's North Waziristan on Thursday, terrified by both state troops and Taliban insurgents fighting for control of the troubled region.

Pakistan announced the start of a full-on military offensive on Sunday to quash an increasingly assertive Pakistani Taliban insurgency in the ethnic Pashtun region, the base of some of the country's most feared al Qaeda-linked militants.

Troops have since encircled the mountainous region on the Afghan border and fighter jets have pounded villages and militant hideouts, sending a wave of panicked people spilling into the nearby region of Bannu, as well as Afghanistan.

For tens of thousands of people massing in camps and private homes in Bannu, living under army control was as frightening a prospect as living in the Taliban's shadow.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/19/uk-pakistan-security-refugees-idUKKBN0EU10320140619

It comes some 12 days after Islamic insurgents targeted the country’s largest airport in Karachi in a brazen, commando-style raid. The attack, which was claimed by the Pakistan Taliban and their Uzbek allies, left 36 people dead, including 14 members of the security forces.

The people of Pakistan know all about Islamic militancy – its towns and cities have suffered a long list of attacks in recent years, but the assault on Karachi’s international airport seemed to shock the nation. As a consequence, the government junked an attempt to negotiate with the insurgents and went on the offensive. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the national assembly this week that a major military campaign, called “Strike of the Prophet’s Sword”, would “eliminate” the militants once and for all.

That announcement was followed by a barrage of air strikes and artillery fire in North Waziristan – the opening act in an operation designed to purge the area of local and foreign fighters. There was help from the Americans as well – a US drone strike on a compound in the town called Dandey reportedly killed four members of the militant Haqqani network.

With Pakistani air force F-16s circling overhead – and a government curfew on the ground – local residents were stuck in the middle but on Wednesday the military called a temporary halt in the bombardment to allow tribesmen and their families to get out. Unnamed officials in the capital Islamabad said they were giving people a chance to escape before a fully-fledged ground offensive begins.



http://blogs.channel4.com/world-news-blog/north-waziristan-ffleeing-bombardment-begins/27549

Pakistan condemns drone strike in North Waziristan

Six suspected militants were killed in a drone strike in Miranshah Tehsil in North Waziristan, Pakistan, local tribesmen and Pakistani intelligence sources not authorized to speak to media told CNN on Wednesday.

The drone struck a house and a pickup truck in the Daraga Mandi area of Miranshah, they said.

On Thursday Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tasnim Aslamm confirmed to reporters that a U.S. drone struck, and stressed that Pakistan condemns such action.
...
"Are you implying that these attacks have been coordinated?" Aslam answered. "If that is the case then you are wrong. There is no way we condone these attacks. We have condemned them. You know that the government of Pakistan has taken a number of steps to generate international public opinion against drone strikes."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/19/world/asia/pakistan-drone/