Ground forces move in for Pakistan offensive (South Waziristan up next on the '09 Taliban Tour)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/19/09 | Rohan Sullivan and Afiz Shahzad - ap

[NormsRevenge]

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani ground troops moved into Taliban-controlled areas Friday and engaged in the first gunbattle of a new offensive in the volatile northwest, as an aerial and artillery bombardment pounded other targets.

Officials said Friday's action did not represent the start of a full-scale operation in the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan, but that most troops were now in place for when the orders came.

The coming operation in South Waziristan, along with one winding down in the Swat Valley further north, could be a turning point in Pakistan's yearslong and sometimes halfhearted fight against militancy.

[NormsRevenge]

Canadian Press on Yahoo

Pakistani jets bomb suspected Taliban training facilities in South Waziristan tribal area
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090619/world/as_pakistan_22
Munir Ahmad, The Associated Press

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani jet fighters flattened at least three suspected Taliban training facilities in the volatile South Waziristan tribal region Friday, killing or wounding several insurgents, two senior intelligence officials said.

The Taliban also opened fire on troops elsewhere in the mountainous area, starting an exchange of fire that was still going on hours later, said an intelligence official, without giving any further details. The battle marked the first ground fighting since the military started softening up the area with artillery several days ago in preparation for an expected offensive.

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and from upi..

Several dead in Waziristan air strikes
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/19/Several-dead-in-Waziristan-air-strikes/UPI-52431245390515/
Published: June 19, 2009 at 1:48 AM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 19 (UPI) — Missile strikes at suspected militant hideouts In Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal area killed several people, authorities said.

Geo TV, quoting sources, said two suspected unmanned U.S. drone planes fired five missiles at hideouts of a Taliban commander in Shah Alam and Raghzai near Wana, killing at least five people. The report said the hideouts were destroyed but there was no word on the fate of the commander, identified in the report as a former member of the Wana peace committee.

The BBC put the death toll at nine, quoting a local administration official in Wana near the border with Afghanistan who said he had seen nine bodies of men, all of them militants.