KHYBER AGENCY, Pakistan - Pakistan's newly elected government launched the first major assault against militants in Pakistan's volatile northwest yesterday, destroying a militant leader's headquarters and shelling suspected hide-outs of other fighters.
The offensive in the Khyber tribal region appeared to mark a refinement in strategy by the new government, backing its calls for peace deals in the tribal areas along the Afghan border with the threat of forceful action against militants who get out of line.
The United States said that such deals were giving militants the freedom to regroup for attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. With growing militant threats to the nearby Pakistani city of Peshawar -- and to the key Khyber supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan -- Pakistan took action.
Late Friday, 700 troops from the paramilitary Frontier Corps moved into Kyber to prepare for the offensive, a curfew was imposed in the Bara area, and large contingents of troops blocked the main road from Peshawar into Kyber, local officials said.
By yesterday afternoon, the Frontier Corps began shelling suspected militant hide-outs in the mountains, Muhammad Siddiq Khan, a local official, said.
Authorities blew up the headquarters of militant leader Menghal Bagh. Bagh fled to the Tirah Valley along the Afghan border, a military intelligence official in the frontier said, speaking on condition of anonymity because identifying himself would compromise his work.
In recent weeks, Bagh's fighters waged attacks in Peshawar in what provincial officials say was an attempt to prove that they wield influence outside the tribal regions, and to intimidate the population. Bagh's followers also have been accused of threatening supply convoys bound for coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Alam Khattak, the head of the Frontier Corps, said that his troops destroyed three militant centers in Bara and killed one attacker in the operation, which was expected to last up to a week.
"We have occupied, captured all important heights, and we have taken control of the area," he said. Hinting that the offensive would not be the last, he said, "Other pockets of resistance and crime will also be visited."
The operation was also expected to target Haji Namdar, whose Vice and Virtue Movement is suspected of attacks against coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. Namdar has sought to impose his own strict brand of Islamic law in the region.
"If the government thinks there is any issue to address, that should be resolved through talks, not by the use of force," said Munsif Khan, the spokesman for Namdar's group. "We are ready for talks with the government."
In response to the offensive and other confrontations with security forces, Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader in Pakistan, said he was suspending talks between his allies and the government.
"Peace cannot be brought with force and aggression. This will be very unfortunate for the Pakistani nation if fighting starts again," he said.
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