Missile strike could complicate Pakistan battle

[unhappycamper]

Missile strike could complicate Pakistan battle
By Hussain Afzal - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 22, 2009 7:15:18 EDT

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Soldiers fought for control of the Pakistani Taliban chief’s hometown as they pressed an offensive along the Afghan border, while intelligence officials said U.S. missiles hit territory controlled by another insurgent, threatening to undermine deals that keep some militants out of the battle.

The five-day-old offensive in South Waziristan is considered a critical test of nuclear-armed Pakistan’s campaign against Islamist extremists blamed for soaring attacks at home and on Western forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Earlier this week, suicide attacks killed six people at a university in Islamabad, leading Pakistan to temporarily close all educational institutions.

The military is advancing on multiple fronts in South Waziristan, a tribal region home to al-Qaida fighters and Taliban insurgents who have focused on overthrowing the U.S.-allied Pakistani government.

The fight for the town of Kotkai is symbolically important because Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and a top deputy, Qari Hussain, hail from there. Kotkai also lies on the way to the major militant base of Sararogha.

An army statement Wednesday said forces were engaged in “intense encounters” in hills surrounding Kotkai and had secured an area to its east. Two intelligence officials said troops had secured parts of the town and destroyed Mehsud’s and Hussain’s homes, but army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas denied that late Wednesday, saying there was no significant fighting inside the town yet.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_pakistan_missile_strike_102109/