Pakistan army joins militia fighting Taliban
...The Taliban are in more trouble than ever because they have lost the support of the people who are also no longer intimidated by their despotic rule. The army has given them the courage to fight back against the Taliban and religious bigots have made matters worse for themselves by engaging in human bomb attacks on worshipers. Their mass murder of non combatants has angered rather than intimidated this time.Senior police officer Rahim Gul told Reuters by telephone two army helicopters had attacked militants surrounded by militia fighters in a village.
"There must be militant casualties but we don't know at the moment," Gul said, adding more people were joining the militia and it was making advances after heavy clashes.
Paramilitary soldiers had set up mortars on high ground above the village, Gul said later.
Previously, the army had not helped the militiamen because they were locked in close-quarter fighting with the Taliban and the military was worried it might hit them by mistake.
About 25 militants have been killed in the fighting, police and the military said.
The villagers' action is the latest in a series of instances of people turning on the Taliban in recent weeks, underscoring a shift in public opinion away from the hardline Islamists.
...Separately, authorities imposed a curfew in the northwestern town of Bannu after members of an ethnic Pashtun tribe failed to hand over the suspected Taliban kidnappers of hundreds of pupils and staff from a military-run school last week.
Residents and intelligence officials said the military might take action against the tribesmen. All of the kidnapped students and staff were eventually rescued or released.
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