Pakistan: which 19 died on the Taliban

which 19 died on the Taliban

Pakistan will launch an operation against militants in restive South Waziristan "imminently", Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
He was speaking after troops stormed a building at an army base in Rawalpindi, rescuing dozens of people taken hostage in an attack by militants.
Mr Malik blamed the attack, in which 19 died, on the Taliban and al-Qaeda whose strongholds are in South Waziristan.
One militant, thought to be the group's leader, was arrested. Mr Malik said the government had given its approval to an operation in South Waziristan, and it was now up to the army to decide on its timing.
"The operation is imminent," he said, according to Reuters news agency.The army has been preparing for a major operation in South Waziristan since it successfully cleared the Swat valley of militants in September.
The standoff killed 20 people, including three captives and nine militants, who wore army fatigues in the audacious assault. The rescue operation began before dawn Sunday, ultimately freeing 42 hostages, the military said.
One attacker, described as the militants' ringleader, was captured.
The attack on Pakistan's "Pentagon," home to the nation's most powerful institution, showed the continued strength of insurgents allied with al-Qaida and the Taliban despite military operations and U.S. missile strikes that have battered their ranks. It was the third major attack in Pakistan in a week and threatens to deflate the army's growing popularity in the wake of successful operations against the Taliban in the Swat Valley, Buner and Bajur.
The attack on Rawalpindi, an army town to the south of the capital, Islamabad, prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking during a visit to London, to say militants in Pakistan were increasingly threatening the authority of the state.But she said the US saw no evidence they were going to succeed, or that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal was at threat.