Jets pound Taliban hide-outs; 16 die

Fighter planes bombed Taliban positions in the north-west on Sunday, killing 16 militants and destroying three hideouts, a government official said. Militants have gone on the offensive again after a recent lull in violence, challenging government assertions that an assault in the militant stronghold of South Waziristan had dealt a major blow to al Qaeda-backed Taliban.
The airstrikes came after a week of bombings which killed 81 people, including soldiers, policemen and aid workers in the north-west and eastern regions of Pakistan. Khaista Akbar, a government official, told Reuters the fighter jets carried out the strikes in the Ghund Mela village of Orakzai, an ethnic Pashtun tribal region. The bombing killed 16 militants and completely destroyed three hideouts, he said.