Militants stage pair of attacks against anti-Taliban figures in NW Pakistan, killing 1

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Militants staged a pair of attacks against anti-Taliban figures in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing one of the men as part of an escalating campaign to weaken the country's resolve to fight Islamic extremism.

Militants have killed more than 300 civilians and security force personnel in the last month in retaliation for an army offensive launched in the tribal area of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.

The government has supplemented its military campaigns by helping tribal leaders and local government officials set up militias to battle the Taliban. The militias, known as lashkars, have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.

As in Iraq, militants in Pakistan have targeted the leaders of such groups.

A group of militants opened fire on the house of an elder in the Bajur tribal region around midnight on Sunday, killing him several months after he signed an agreement with the government to battle the Taliban, said senior local official Abdul Malik. The militants blew up part of Malik Sher Zaman's house in the Mamund area after the attack, he said.

Several hours later, more than a dozen militants opened fire on the house of an anti-Taliban mayor outside the main northwestern city of Peshawar, but security guards repelled the attack, killing three of the assailants, said police official Nabi Shah.

The militants who initiated the attack against Mayor Mohammad Fahim Khan's house in Bazid Khel town, some 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of Peshawar, had disguised themselves by donning burqas, the all-encompassing garments traditionally worn by Muslim women, said Shah.

"Seeing three burqa-clad women early in the morning, Fahim Khan's security guards challenged them, and the men threw away their disguise and opened fire," Shah said. "But the guards were alert and they retaliated quickly."

The guards killed the three militants, but several others joined the fight, Shah said. The two groups waged a gunbattle before the remaining militants fled, he said.

Khan is the second mayor to be attacked in the last week who has organized a lashkar to fight against the Taliban. A suicide bomber hit a crowded market outside Peshawar last Sunday, killing 12 people, including a mayor who once supported but turned against the Taliban.

Khan said he would continue his campaign against the Taliban despite repeated attempts on his life.

"Militants have exploded three bombs near my house, killing innocent people, and they have opened fire on me several times but have failed so far," Khan said. "These attacks will not weaken my resolve against militants."

The government has similarly vowed that the recent escalation of militant attacks will not deter it from continuing its South Waziristan offensive, which it launched in mid-October. The U.S. supports the operation because Pakistan's tribal belt is home to many militants involved in attacks on Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's army has pitted some 30,000 troops against up to 8,000 militants, including many Uzbeks and other foreign insurgents who have long taken refuge in the lawless tribal areas.

The soldiers have been battling militants in three key Taliban bases in South Waziristan in recent days. Fighting over the past 24 hours has killed five militants, an army statement said Sunday.

The information is impossible to verify independently — Pakistan has blocked access to the battle zone.

The South Waziristan offensive follows a similar military push into the Swat Valley during the summer to wrest control from the Taliban. The government has called the operation a success, but sporadic violence there continues, underscoring the difficulties the army faces.

Pakistani troops killed 12 militants in several different areas of Swat in the last 24 hours, the army said Sunday.

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Associated Press writer Anwarullah Khan contributed to this report from Khar.