Washington, Sept 12: As the US death toll in Afghanistan has reportedly reached an all-time high, around 113 this year alone, the American intelligence agency CIA has reportedly launched a major blitz into Pakistan against top Al Qaeda and Taliban targets, apparently with due authority from US President George Bush.

Besides the 113 American soldiers, 101 other foreign troops have died during this year.

According to the Daily News, the CIA had rarely hit targets in Pakistan because they sparked anti-American outrage that threatened former Pakistan president and US ally Pervez Musharraf’s fragile hold on power.

“With Musharraf ousted and the government in disarray, the spy agency has gotten a freer hand,” the paper quoted officials as saying.

“The US is being much more proactive with the intelligence it gets,” said Vikram Singh, a former Pentagon official and now a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and added that the US was striking Al Qaeda camps in Pakistan because Afghanistan “has reached the tipping point”.

To beat back Al Qaeda and a resurgent Taliban, the CIA has unleashed a series of missile strikes by unmanned drones in Pakistan’s tribal areas, a senior US intelligence official said and added: “There has been a big push. As targets become available, there’s a lot less hesitation now. When they're in our sights, we pull the trigger.”

Primary targets include the Taliban’s military commanders Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Siraj, added the paper. (ANI)