Pakistan Breaks Out Fighter Aircraft To Kill 40 Taliban

I'm starting to believe that Pakistan has, in essence, declared war on the Taliban. After all the peace treaty and cease fire bullshit, the government of Pakistan has resorted to military operations against the Talian in the North West Frontier Provinces and now, the government has even dusted off its fighter jets to join the attacks. Here's some of the details from the report at Breitbart:

Fighter jets bombed Taliban hide-outs in Pakistan's troubled northwest while troops pushed into militant territory on the ground, killing at least 40 insurgents in a 24-hour siege, the army said Saturday.
Separately, five others died when an explosion ripped through a house near the Afghan border, local officials said. Claims that it was a missile strike could not immediately be confirmed.
Pakistan's five-month-old civilian government has been plagued by violence and political instability since Pervez Musharraf was forced to resign as president two weeks ago, adding to the many challenges ahead in the Muslim nation of 160 million people.

This of course is great news and one can only hope that the Pakistani military won't let up - it would be perfect to see the Taliban start to feel the pressure so bad that they feel they have to move into Afghanistan and there, flying along the Paki/Afghan border will be NATO's contingent of air support.

I believe the final straw in all of this was when the Taliban, with al Qaeda help, attacked that munitions factory in Islamabad and killed over 100 people - I think that finally put the government over the edge that they couldn't wait any longer. Well, took 'em fucking long enough.

Pakistan jets kill 40 Taliban in new fighting

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Fighter jets bombed Taliban hide-outs in Pakistan's troubled northwest while troops pushed into militant territory on the ground, killing at least 40 insurgents in a 24-hour siege, the army said Saturday.
Separately, five others died when an explosion ripped through a house near the Afghan border, local officials said. Claims that it was a missile strike could not immediately be confirmed.
Pakistan's five-month-old civilian government has been plagued by violence and political instability since Pervez Musharraf was forced to resign as president two weeks ago, adding to the many challenges ahead in the Muslim nation of 160 million people.
The economy is sinking, power outages are common, there are food shortages, and many drivers cannot afford to fill up their tanks.
But with a string of suicide bombings, including one that left 67 dead near the capital, Islamabad, tackling extremism is a priority.
Leaders initially offered to hold peace talks with insurgents—something Musharraf also briefly tried before his ouster—but have since resorted to what some are calling all-out war.
Army spokesman Maj. Nasir Ali said at least 40 Taliban were killed Friday when fighter jets pounded militants in Swat Valley, which was a popular tourist destination not long ago.
A cache of ammunition exploded when it was hit in one of the strikes, he said, adding that ground troops were advancing into the region Saturday to root out other militant fighters.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said eight of his men, including a local commander, were killed.
The violence followed news that Asif Ali Zardari, who seems poised to be voted Pakistan's next president in a Sept. 6 election by lawmakers, had moved into a tightly guarded government compound because of security fears.
His late wife, Benazir Bhutto, a two-time former prime minister and an outspoken critic of Islamic extremism, was assassinated in a Dec. 27 gun-and-bomb attack during a campaign rally.
Officials say that fighting in Swat and Bajur, a rumored hide-out of Osama bin Laden, have left nearly 500 militants dead in August alone. There are no separate statistics for civilians, but witnesses say dozens have died.