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| India-Pakistan | |
| Pakistan: Fighter jets target pro-Taliban stronghold | |
| 2008-10-21 | |
| (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistani fighter jets bombed a pro-Taliban village in the northwestern Swat region on Sunday, killing at least 47 people and causing widespread damage to local property. The air raid in the Matta district of Swat is believed to have killed a senior commander allegedly associated with Maulana Fazlullah, a pro-Taliban leader, a security official said. Locals feared that the death toll might rise because most of the injured could not be taken to hospital due to a local curfew, and a number of people were believed to have been trapped under the debris. Official sources said that 25 militants were killed in the air strike in Barthana and scores of others were injured. But eyewitnesses contradicted the official version alleging that homes had been targeted in the area, some 60km northwest of Mingora near the Peuchar Valley, a stronghold of militants. They said that jets had made two sorties and dropped huge bombs, causing "massive destruction". "The bombing was so severe that it forced local people to start running for shelter, but the curfew and closure of the Venai bridge by security forces multiplied their agony," said a journalist who visited the area. Some local people said that security forces had acted on suspicion that militants had been hiding in a mosque in Barthana.
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Normally the Pak AF drops miniature bombs. |
| Posted by: Steven 2008-10-21 16:18 |
| #2 The Mighty Pak Army motto: "When we do the shooting, anyone who runs is a Taliban. Anyone who doesn't run is a well disciplined Taliban." |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-10-21 10:03 |
| #1 Yep, a curfew is sure gonna keep me under a heavy metal pattern. Why no bunny and kitten count? Cause the paks did it to themselves? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2008-10-21 08:47 |