ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Security forces struck suspected militant hideouts in northwest Pakistan, killing 32 people, including three women, an official said Monday.
The attack Sunday came in the latest round of a bloody military offensive that has reportedly killed hundreds of people in recent weeks in the Bajur tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Bajur is a suspected hide-out of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and one of the regions the U.S. fears is a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban fighters involved in attacks in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military operation in Bajur comes amid tension with the U.S. over whether the Muslim nation is doing enough to root out insurgents from its territory and whether the U.S. should pursue its own unilateral strikes there.
Senior government official Iqbal Khattak said most of the dead Sunday were alleged militants but at least three were women. The information is difficult to confirm independently because of the region's remote and dangerous nature.
Security forces have used helicopter gunships, fighter jets and heavy artillery to attack suspected militant positions in various areas in Bajur, Khattak said.
The government said late last month that it would cease military operations in Bajur for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but reserved the right to retaliate against insurgent activities.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said factors including persistent militant mortar attacks and threats to pro-government tribes prompted the military to restart its operation.
"It may take long, but this issue has to be resolved once and for all," Abbas said. "It may take a long time. We cannot just hand over this area to the Taliban."
A series of suspected U.S. missile strikes and an American-led ground assault in Pakistani territory in the northwest in recent days have prompted official protests from Pakistan's military and government.
Although Pakistan has vowed to defend its territorial integrity and publicly denounced U.S. incursions, top officials have indicated they would prefer to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to discuss the incursions with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week.
The Bajur operation in August forced a reported 300,000 people to flee to neighboring regions, but the announcement of a Ramadan halt in fighting led many to return. Now, people are again fleeing.
One resident, Abdul Malik, was heading Sunday to the Dir area north of Bajur with his wife and three children. He said they were trying to return to the relief camp they'd vacated upon hearing of the Ramadan suspension.
"This is more fierce fighting than before, and we don't know who is killing whom, as no big figure has been killed as yet, only innocent civilians," Malik said.
