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| 24 Killed as Pakistan Goes After Militants | 24 Killed as Pakistan Goes After Militants |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 24 people were killed and dozens more injured in overnight raids Tuesday as Pakistani jets and artillery fired on suspected militant strongholds at different locations across North Waziristan, according to local residents and officials. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 24 people were killed and dozens more injured in overnight raids Tuesday as Pakistani jets and artillery fired on suspected militant strongholds at different locations across North Waziristan, according to local residents and officials. |
| The overnight reprisals by the Pakistani military in the volatile tribal region in northwest Pakistan came in the wake of two brazen Taliban attacks that killed at least 30 members of the security forces. | The overnight reprisals by the Pakistani military in the volatile tribal region in northwest Pakistan came in the wake of two brazen Taliban attacks that killed at least 30 members of the security forces. |
| According to local residents of Mir Ali, the second-largest town of North Waziristan, Pakistani jets and artillery pounded the villages of Esori, Haider Khel, Hurmaz and Boya in Mir Ali, killing at least 16 people. The area is the home to the antigovernment Taliban faction Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. | According to local residents of Mir Ali, the second-largest town of North Waziristan, Pakistani jets and artillery pounded the villages of Esori, Haider Khel, Hurmaz and Boya in Mir Ali, killing at least 16 people. The area is the home to the antigovernment Taliban faction Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. |
| The United States has long urged Pakistan to do more to root out militants in the area, particularly those from the Haqqani network and Al Qaeda. And Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has faced growing public pressure to get tough on the militants, who have wreaked havoc in the country through a string of recent suicide bombings. | The United States has long urged Pakistan to do more to root out militants in the area, particularly those from the Haqqani network and Al Qaeda. And Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has faced growing public pressure to get tough on the militants, who have wreaked havoc in the country through a string of recent suicide bombings. |
| Panic gripped the area during the shelling as people started fleeing their villages for safer places. | Panic gripped the area during the shelling as people started fleeing their villages for safer places. |
| “We were sleeping and they attacked us in the night,” Muqeem khan Dawar, a local schoolteacher from Mir Ali, said by telephone. “And all those killed in the shelling were civilians. We know very well who is a Taliban and who is a civilian.” | “We were sleeping and they attacked us in the night,” Muqeem khan Dawar, a local schoolteacher from Mir Ali, said by telephone. “And all those killed in the shelling were civilians. We know very well who is a Taliban and who is a civilian.” |
| But local officials dismissed the claims of civilian casualties and insisted that security forces were going after militant hide-outs only. | |
| “The security forces targeted militant hide-outs in the area. And there are reports that senior TTP commanders have been killed in the operation, but I cannot confirm their identity yet,” a local government official said by telephone from Miram Shah, the capital of North Waziristan. “We attacked those places where terrorist masterminds are based.” | “The security forces targeted militant hide-outs in the area. And there are reports that senior TTP commanders have been killed in the operation, but I cannot confirm their identity yet,” a local government official said by telephone from Miram Shah, the capital of North Waziristan. “We attacked those places where terrorist masterminds are based.” |
| An intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “All those killed in overnight operations are Mehsud and Uzbek fighters,” referring to Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed last year. | |
| Artillery shelling was also carried out in Miram Shah, where local residents said at least eight people had been killed. | |
| “Dozens have been wounded,” said Muhammad Din Wazir, an official in Miram Shah who said the death count there could go higher. “And we cannot shift them to hospitals due to curfew.” | “Dozens have been wounded,” said Muhammad Din Wazir, an official in Miram Shah who said the death count there could go higher. “And we cannot shift them to hospitals due to curfew.” |
| North Waziristan is considered a main sanctuary for several militant factions, who use the region as a base to launch attacks inside both Afghanistan and Pakistan. | North Waziristan is considered a main sanctuary for several militant factions, who use the region as a base to launch attacks inside both Afghanistan and Pakistan. |