Helicopter gunships kill 10 suspected militants in Pakistan after 2 soldiers die in attack

By HUSSAIN AFZAL , Associated Press

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 5:32 AM

PARACHINAR, Pakistan - Helicopter gunships shelled militant hide-outs in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 suspected fighters after gunmen murdered two paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint in the area, officials said.

The gunmen also injured three soldiers when they attacked the checkpoint Tuesday night outside Bai Zai town in Mohmand, said an intelligence officer and a local government official. Security forces have been unable to establish contact with 10 other soldiers who were at the checkpoint at the time of the attack, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The helicopter assault against militant hide-outs in Bai Zai came as the army is waging a major anti-Taliban offensive against the group's main stronghold further south in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas. Militants have retaliated against the South Waziristan offensive with a wave of attacks that have killed more than 300 people since the operation was launched in mid-October.

A suicide car bomber attacked a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 26 people and wounding 72 others, said police officer Rokhan Zeb. The attack in Charsadda city was the fourth in about a month to target a crowded market in North West Frontier Province, which is adjacent to Pakistan's tribal areas.

No one has claimed responsibility for the market attacks, but authorities have blamed the Taliban, which has taken credit for similar bombings that have targeted security forces and government officials.

Taliban militants apparently hope the attacks will weaken the army's resolve in South Waziristan, but officials have repeatedly said they will not be deterred.

"We are fully committed and this is our resolve to eliminate terrorism completely," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters Wednesday in Islamabad. "This is a challenge for us and we accept the challenge as this is the primary duty of the government to protect the life and property of the people."

The U.S. has encouraged the government to persevere in South Waziristan because Pakistan's tribal belt is home to many Taliban and al-Qaida militants involved in attacks on Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.

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