Pakistani Jets Bomb Insurgents As Clashes in Northwest Intensify

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct. 9 -- As many as 250 people, including at least 45 soldiers, have been killed in fierce fighting in northwestern Pakistan over the past four days, with Pakistani military jets bombing suspected insurgent hideouts as troops encountered strong resistance, officials and residents said Tuesday.

The military said that at least 150 insurgents had been killed in the battles in North Waziristan, a remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan that al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters have used as a base for operations.

The most intense clashes have occurred in the town of Mir Ali, where the military has deployed heavy artillery, helicopter gunships and fighter jets to try to oust insurgents who have been waging an aggressive campaign against the Pakistani army. The use of fighter jets is unusual, but government officials said it was necessary given the firepower they were facing from the radical fighters.

"The resistance from local Taliban is tougher than what the government usually expects," conceded a tribal affairs official in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province. "Such tough resistance also gives credence to speculation that al-Qaeda-trained foreign fighters might be backing these local Taliban."

The Taliban, an extremist Islamic movement, ruled most of Afghanistan and sheltered al-Qaeda until it was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.

The fighting in Pakistan's northwest, which began late Saturday with an insurgent strike on a military convoy, has taken a heavy toll on civilians. There were reports Tuesday of large numbers of casualties among local residents caught in the crossfire. Civilians in some villages used mosque loudspeakers to appeal to both sides not to target homes or shopping areas.

Meanwhile, an exodus was underway for those who were able to leave.

Mohammad Zarin, 33, made it from Mir Ali to the nearby town of Bannu on Tuesday with his mother, wife, three children, sister-in-law, three nephews and two nieces.

"It was a hard decision to leave our home in Mir Ali. But life is more precious than material things," Zarin said by phone. "We decided to leave our home for the sake of our children."

Zarin said his older brother stayed behind to look after the family's home.

"The first priority of every family is to take their women and children to a safer place, and leave one person at home to take care of the household," he said.

For others, it was too late.