Pakistan launches ground operation against militants
More than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers launched a ground offensive against al-Qaeda and the Taliban's main stronghold along the Afghan border on Saturday in the country's toughest test yet against a strengthening insurgency.
The offensive in South Waziristan comes after two weeks of militant attacks that have killed more than 175 people across the nuclear-armed country. That has ramped up pressure on the army to act.
Text: AP
Image: Pakistan army troops prepare to leave for patrolling during a curfew in Bannu, a town on the edge of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt Waziristan, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (Photograph copyright AP)
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