The Pakistan army said on Monday it had launched an air and ground offensive in Kurram region on the Afghan border, its first major military operation since the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden. Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas gave few details of the operation.
But he said the offensive aimed to reopen the road to Parachinar, a Shia town on the Afghan border that had been virtually cut off from the rest of Pakistan for years and was facing increasing attacks from Sunni militants.