Pakistani officials say their helicopter gunships have stepped up attacks on Taliban targets in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border.
Security officials say Wednesday's military strikes were aimed at suspected militant hideouts east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana. They add that two soldiers have been killed in the operations.
The attacks come a day after commanders of the Pakistani Taliban announced that their former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, died Sunday from wounds suffered in a U.S missile strike more than two weeks earlier.
U.S. and Pakistani officials had said they believed Mehsud was killed in an August 5 missile strike in South Waziristan, but until Tuesday, the Taliban had insisted he was alive.
On Saturday, another Taliban commander said the group had named Hakimullah Mehsud to replace Mehsud.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
