Pakistani planes strike militant targets

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Pakistani planes struck militants in tribal areas as the army prepared for a ground assault against the Taliban and other terror groups, officials said.

The jets carried out bombing raids in the South Waziristan region near the border with Afghanistan. No reports were immediately available on the casualties in Tuesday's strikes.

Military spokesman Athar Abbas told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper the military has blocked all entry and exit points to the Waziristan tribal areas. He said long range artillery and aerial strikes were being used to soften up targets including hideouts of the Taliban, al-Qaida and other foreign militants, the report said.

A CNN report, quoting a military official, said the jets bombed the hideouts in the villages of Makeen and Ladha. There were also air strikes in the Bajaur tribal agency.

Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was killed in South Waziristan in August in a suspected U.S. drone attack.

The latest offensive comes in the wake of four deadly militant attacks in the past week in which more than 100 people died. One of those attacks included the weekend siege at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi in which 24 died, including 10 soldiers and nine militants. Military commandos helped free 39 hostages taken by the militants.

Dawn reported no date has been announced for the start of the ground offensive but quoted Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying it was "imminent."