Pakistan gets U.S. equipment for offensive

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The United States has quietly shipped substantial military equipment in recent months to aid Pakistan's fight against militants, officials of both nations said.

The rushed U.S. supply, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, includes 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters, spare parts for Cobra helicopter gunships, night vision goggles, body armor and eavesdropping equipment, The New York Times reported.

The help, meant for both Pakistan's spring offensive in the Swat Valley and the current operation in South Waziristan, has come despite Pakistan's efforts to downplay America's role in its fight against the Taliban, al-Qaida and other terror groups, the officials told the newspaper.

The report said additional U.S. military surveillance drones are providing video images and target information to Pakistani ground commanders. The Pentagon also has quietly provided the Pakistani Air Force with high-resolution, infrared sensors to guide the F-16 warplanes' bomb attacks on militants' strongholds in South Waziristan.

In other areas, an American adviser told the Times, the United States in the past eight months has increased to about 150 the number of its Special Forces soldiers and support personnel to train and advise the Pakistani army and paramilitary troops but the U.S. soldiers are not involved in the combat operations.

These developments, although widely known, are not officially disclosed because of the deep-seated anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and to prevent the militants from using them for propaganda purposes, the report said. It is difficult to determine the effectiveness of U.S. assistance in the military operations, the newspaper said.