Middle East, Pakistan | featured news

A military offensive to rid Pakistan's northwest of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters has killed more than 1,000 militants since it began in full force earlier this month, the country's interior ministry said Sunday.

Pakistani planes bombed suspected militant positions in a stronghold close to the capital Monday, pressing ahead with a fierce offensive the government claimed had killed 700 insurgents and had the Taliban on the run.

The Pakistani government plans to scrap a tenuous peace deal with Taliban militants and launch an even more aggressive operation against them in northwestern Pakistan, a Pakistani military official said today.

Pakistan's nuclear weapons are secure, the top US military chief Adm. Michael Mullen said Monday, ruling out that they could fall into the hands of Taliban militants.

Pakistan pounded Taliban hideouts for a third consecutive day Thursday and said troops killed 14 insurgents in 24 hours as the president urged the nation to unite behind the offensive.

A Pakistani military offensive against insurgent hideouts prompted suspension of controversial peace talks with the Taliban on Monday, and the country's president sought additional foreign aid to ensure that its nuclear arms remain in "safe hands."

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained a mystery and there was a suspicion that he could be dead.

The Pakistani army says it has launched a new offensive against militants in a northwest district that neighbors the beleaguered Swat Valley and Afghanistan.

As the Taliban tightened their hold over newly won territory, Pakistani politicians and American officials on Thursday sharply questioned the government’s willingness to deal with the insurgents and the Pakistani military’s decision to remain on the sidelines.

Pakistan's strategy of trying to appease Taliban militants is showing signs of backfiring, as extremists move within 60 miles ...