Pakistani jets pound South Waziristan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Pakistani fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan as the battle against regional insurgents escalates.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the national forces would eliminate terrorist groups in the region with a major military operation that Pakistan's News International media agency describes as imminent.

Military officials claim to have gained control over the Swat Valley, though the region was the site of a suicide bombing on Monday that killed more than 40 people.

Taliban officials have claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, saying it was revenge for its martyrs.

"This is part of the series of attacks that we are carrying out," said Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq. "Wait and see more."

Islamabad had planned an earlier military intervention into South Waziristan but backed off following the death of Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Taliban, in an August airstrike by the United States.

Taliban leaders had issued warnings of retribution for the Mehsud assassination following the release of a video on Pakistani television showing the body of Mehsud.

The Taliban took credit for a series of high-profile operations that occurred during the past few days, including an explosion at the offices of the World Food Program in Islamabad that killed five employees of the United Nations.

The situation in Pakistan was the focus of talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and his top national security advisers last week as part of a broader fight against regional terrorism.