Warplanes, troops kill 40 militants in NW Pakistan

By Augustine Anthony

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani forces killed 40 Islamist fighters on Thursday as artillery and jet fighters backed ground troops fighting in the Bajaur tribal region, and an air strike hit militants in Swat valley, officials said.

Pakistani troops launched an offensive in Bajaur last August, and the military says more than 1,500 militants have been killed while 73 soldiers have also died, though no independent verification of casualties is available.

NATO forces launched "Operation Lionheart" recently to put pressure along the Afghan side of the border across from Bajaur and squeeze the Taliban and al Qaeda militants into areas where they can be attacked more easily.

The latest clashes erupted in parts of Mamond and Nawagai districts of Bajaur overnight.

"Twenty-four militants, including 11 foreign fighters, probably Uzbeks, and a local commander have been killed in exchanges of fire with security forces in the last 24 hours," a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps said.

A suicide blast in Mamond on Thursday evening killed at least nine people, including the leader of a pro-government tribal 'lashkar' or force, an administration official, Mohammad Jameel, said.

Al Qaeda-linked militants have targeted tribesmen who have banded together in some areas, with the encouragement of the government, and have taken action against insurgents whom they blame for bringing violence to their areas.

Pakistani troops are also battling militants in the northwestern valley of Swat, and there is widespread expectation the next offensive will target the Mohmand tribal region.

Sixteen militants were killed in an airstrike on a school building used by militants in Swat's Matta town on Thursday, a military official said.

But there were civilian casualties elsewhere.

Seven women and a man were killed when artillery fire hit two houses in Khawazakhela district of Swat, police said.

Pakistan has been under pressure from the United States to do more to go after al Qaeda and Taliban militants in ethnic Pashtun lands.

At the same time, U.S. forces have stepped up missile strikes by pilotless drone aircraft against militant targets on Pakistani territory, angering Islamabad and straining relations between the allies.

Pakistan lodged a protest with the U.S. ambassador in Islamabad on Thursday, a day after the latest missile strike killed at least five militants, including a possible Arab al Qaeda member.

NATO's spokesman in Kabul, Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, said coordination with Pakistan has been improving and the Pakistani military was routinely helping NATO forces direct fire in retaliation when they come under attack from insurgents in Pakistan.