Pakistani officials say their forces have destroyed a key militant
compound in an effort to clear insurgents from the northwestern Khyber
tribal district.
Officials say security forces blew up the
headquarters of the hardline Lashkar-e-Islam group Tuesday. No
casualties were reported.
Pakistani forces have been working
in Khyber's Bara area for the past four days to tackle militants who
were threatening the northwestern city of Peshawar and a supply route
for U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
Khyber is
one of several semi-autonomous tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where
Pakistan's federal government has limited authority. The area is at
least 100 kilometers northeast of the region across the Afghan border,
in Khost province where a coordinated counterattack by NATO and
Pakistani troops on Monday repelled militant fighters.
Officials
in Islamabad say U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher
expressed concern about the situation in Pakistan's tribal areas during
a visit this week to the capital.
News
