Taliban Targets Pakistani Military HQ

Six Taliban gunmen dressed as Pakistani soldiers brazenly attacked Pakistan's military headquarters Saturday in a 45-minute shootout that resulted in the deaths of four gunmen and six soldiers. Two of the men escaped and have not been found. By attacking the military's headquarters, the Pakistan Taliban (an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban that has been responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the last two years), sent an explicit message that they will target anyone, at any time. The group later exposed its identity through a phone call to private television station Geo TV. The Pakistan military is planning an offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area, a large Islamist militant base, in response. The militants, who released grenades and gunfire from a white van during broad daylight, are currently holding up to fifteen men hostage inside the headquarters, reports the Times Online.