Pakistan warplanes attack Taliban in area 100km from capital

Pakistan launched air strikesagainst Taliban positions in the Afghan border region on Tuesday, as part of the military's expanded offensiveto expel militants froma contested district just 100 kilometres from the capital Islamabad.

Military spokesman Maj. Nasir Khansaid fighter jets have begun attackingTaliban hideouts inBuner district after the military warned militants to flee earlier in the day.

Hesaid ground troops also are preparing to enter Buner,a districtmilitant fighters recentlyenteredfrom their strongholdsinthe neighouring Swat valley

The decision to expand theoffensivecould testPakistan's heavily-criticized peace deal reached earlier this year withthe Taliban in thecountry'sembattled northwest frontier region.

The military began an operation in the nearbyLower Dir district on Sundayin anattempt tohaltmilitant attacks on security forces andnumerous abductions of prominent people for ransom.

Tens of thousands of civilians have reportedly fled their homes to escape the fighting since Sunday, according to international aid groups.

The Interior Ministrysaid 70 militants were killed in two days of fighting, butabout 450 militantsremained in Buner as of Tuesday.

Pakistan, anuclear-armed nation,had come under increasing pressure by U.S. and other western governments to do more to curtail the growing influence of the Taliban in parts of the country, especially in Buner for its proximity to the capital.

U.S. and NATO officials have also condemnedPakistan's peace deal with the Taliban, saying theyfearit creates a sanctuary for al-Qaeda allies who launch attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

In exchange forthe ceasefire, the Pakistani government agreed in Februaryto the Taliban imposingIslamic law in Swat, Buner, Dir and other districts that make up the Malakand division, a vast tract not far from Afghanistan.

The deal's proponents say it addresses long-standing local demands for a more efficient judicial system, a grievance exploited by the Taliban, and was the best hope for ending some two years of bloodshed in the Swat valley.

The Taliban seized control of Swat, once an alpine resort, in a violent uprising in 2007 that pushed tens of thousands of residents from the area.