Suspected
Taliban militants shot dead a Pakistani army brigadier and his driver
in Islamabad on Thursday as the military claimed successes in its
offensive in the South Waziristan region.

Gunmen killed Brigadier Moinuddin Ahmed, deputy force commander of the
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), who was on vacation to
Islamabad. Ahmed, on secondment from the Pakistan army, is the second
brigadier to be killed this month.

Observers say the killing of high profile military officers comes in
the wake of renewed fighting in Waziristan following the military
operation there.

Meanwhile, the military continued a major offensive against the
insurgents in their strongholds near the Afghan border. It claims to
have killed at least 25 militants in South Waziristan tribal region
during the last twenty four hours.