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Pakistan launches all-out assault on Taliban
More than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers have launched a much-awaited ground offensive in an al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border.
The offensive in South Waziristan follows months of air strikes intended to soften up militant defences. The bombing has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee.
Pakistan's full-scale operation comes after two weeks of militant attacks that have killed more than 175 people, increasing the pressure on the army to take on the insurgents.
Aside from being the nerve centre for Pakistani insurgents opposed to the US-backed central government, South Waziristan is a key base for foreign and national jihadi groups planning attacks on American and Nato targets in Afghanistan and beyond. The US is racing to send in night-vision goggles and other equipment to aid the latest operation.