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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Pakistan forces kill 59 militants

From Wire Reports

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani jets and ground forces killed 59 militants in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, the army said today, days after Taliban fighters killed 148 people – most of them children – in a school massacre.

The violence at a school in Pakistan’s northwest earlier this week stunned people around the country and sparked cries for retribution. In the wake of the violence the military has struck targets in the Khyber tribal region and approved the death penalty for six convicted terrorists.

The military said it had carried out air strikes and ground operations Thursday and Friday in the Khyber agency.

The military said its ground forces late Thursday killed 10 militants while jets killed another 17, including an Uzbek commander. Another 32 terrorists were killed by security forces in an ambush in Tirah valley in Khyber on Friday as they headed toward the Afghan border, the military said.

Three security forces were wounded in the ensuing shootout, it said, adding that the “fleeing terrorists left behind bodies of their accomplices.”

Khyber agency is one of two main areas in the country’s northwest where the Pakistani military has been trying to root out militants in recent months. Khyber borders Peshawar, where the school massacre happened, and militants have traditionally attacked the city only to quickly flee into the tribal region where police can’t chase them.

The other area is the North Waziristan, where the military launched a massive operation in June.

8 kids killed in Australian home

SYDNEY – Eight dead children and a woman suffering from stab wounds were found inside a home in a northern Australian city today, police said.

Queensland state police said they were called to the home in the Cairns suburb of Manoora this morning after receiving a report of a woman with serious injuries.

When police got to the house, they found the bodies of the children inside. The victims range in age from 18 months to 15 years.

A 34-year-old woman found inside the home was suffering from stab wounds to the chest, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said.

The woman was receiving treatment for her wounds and was in stable condition at a hospital, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said. He said he had no further information, including how the children were killed.