Gunships kill 10 militant suspects

Parachinar: Helicopter gunships shelled militant hideouts in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 suspected fighters after a Taliban attack left two paramilitary soldiers dead at an outpost in the area.

The assault on the outpost in Mohmand, one of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas, was the latest staged by militants in retaliation for an army offensive against the Taliban's main stronghold in Pakistan's northwest.

Militants hope the attacks will weaken the army's resolve and have shown a growing willingness to target innocent civilians in an attempt to weaken public support for the offensive.

A suicide car bomber attacked a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 26 people, the fourth such attack in about a month.

Pakistani officials have blamed such attacks on the Taliban, but the group has reportedly denied being behind at least some of the blasts, sparking conspiracy theories and making it more difficult for the government to convert public anger into greater support for its crackdown on militants.

"I think the government itself is making these blasts, or the Taliban," Muzamal Khan said as he attended yesterday's funeral for the victims of the latest market bombing.

"But the Taliban is saying we are not involved in these blasts, so it means the government is involved or foreign countries like India or Afghans who live here illegally or American spies."

Others blame the violence on the government's alliance with the United States, which supports the army offensive in South Waziristan because Pakistan's tribal belt is home to many Taliban and Al Qaida militants involved in attacks on western troops across the border in Afghanistan.