Pakistan orders army to go after Taliban chief

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan ordered its army to go after the country’s top Taliban commander, a feared al-Qaida-allied militant whose remote stronghold could prove a difficult test for troops but whose demise would remove a major threat to the country’s stability.

The announcement Sunday came hours after a suspected U.S. missile strike killed five alleged militants.

Owais Ghani, the governor of North West Frontier Province, said Sunday that the government felt it had no choice but to resort to force against chief Baitullah Mehsud and his network.