U.S. begins training mission in Pakistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. military is beginning a training effort inside Pakistan aimed at helping Pakistanis fight tribal militants, officials said.

The militants are blamed for much of the increase in violence in the tribal area as well as in neighboring Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

The newspaper reported that the United States deployed a unit of about 30 Special Forces personnel into Pakistan this week to assist Pakistan's Frontier Corps to fight the insurgency.

A proposed sale of new and refurbished F-16 jet fighters to Pakistan also holds the promise of helping Pakistan quell militants. The deal has been sought by the White House, which says Islamabad's fleet of fighter jets is ineffective.

The newspaper reported that the older planes aren't able to fly night missions, and they aren't equipped to drop precision munitions.

"Right now, they're basically dropping dumb bombs in the daylight, a fact that does not escape the enemy," a defense official was quoted by the newspaper as saying.