Islamabad, July 18: Pakistani warplanes have pounded a “Taliban hideout” in the country’s northwestern tribal region, apparently killing nine militants linked to Baitullah Mehsud.
The airstrike on Saturday hit the house of Mehsud’s deputy Hakim Ullah in Gariwam village in Orakzai, North Waziristan, two Pakistani intelligence officials claimed.
It was unclear whether Hakim Ullah was present at the time, said the intelligence officials who sought anonymity.
The airstrikes came a day after US drones once again bombed what Washington claims to be ‘Taliban positions’ in tribal areas within Pakistan’s borders in North Waziristan province, killing five people.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has no choice but to lay down arms in his own interest.
“The government will crack down on militants and they will not be allowed to challenge the writ of the government,” a Press TV correspondent quoted the minister as saying on Thursday.
Mehsud has a five million dollar reward on his head offered by the US, and a bounty of 615,000 dollars in Pakistan for allegedly masterminding several deadly bombings in the last two years.
—–Agencies