KHYBER AGENCY, Pakistan — Pakistan’s newly elected government launched the first major assault against militants in the country’s volatile northwest Saturday, destroying a militant leader’s headquarters and shelling suspected hideouts of other fighters.
The offensive in the Khyber tribal region appeared to mark a refinement in strategy by the government, backing its calls for peace deals in the tribal areas along the Afghan border with the threat of action against militants who step out of line.
Late Friday, 700 troops from the paramilitary Frontier Corps moved into Khyber in preparation for the offensive.
By Saturday afternoon, the Frontier Corps began shelling suspected militant hideouts in the mountains, said local official Muhammad Siddiq Khan.
Authorities blew up the headquarters of militant leader Menghal Bagh in a scene broadcast on national television. Bagh reportedly fled to the remote Tirah Valley along the Afghan border.
Maj. Gen. Alam Khattak, head of the Frontier Corps, said his troops destroyed three militant centers in Bara and killed one attacker in the operation.
