Pakistani jets pound Taliban militants close to capital

Pakistani jets and attack helicopters struck Taliban positions in mountains close to the capital Tuesday as part of a widening offensive against militants spreading out from the lawless region along the border with Afghanistan, the military said.

With residents reporting ground troops also moving into the Buner area, the operation could allay worry in the U.S. and other Western nations that nuclear-armed Pakistan lacks the will to fight extremists in the northwest, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.

The attack stands to further strain a shaky peace deal in the Malakand region, of which Buner is a part. The truce has been widely viewed in the West as a surrender to the militants and a sign Pakistan’s shaky civilian government does not recognize the threat they pose.

Pakistan has waged several offensives in the border region since the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians and the flight of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

Officials have frequently claimed success from the assaults, but the ultraconservative area remains a haven for extremists who use it to stage attacks in Afghanistan, according to foreign governments.

Analysts said the 100,000-plus government soldiers in the border region have little experience in guerrilla operations, having been trained only to fight a conventional war against long-standing enemy India on the country’s eastern flank.

Heavily armed militants began moving into Buner, about 60 miles from Islamabad, this month from the nearby Swat Valley. Swat, a one-time tourist destination, has turned into a militant haven under the peace deal, which imposed Islamic law in the area in exchange for an end to hostilities.