'Pak Army plans to open new front against militants'

Pakistan has told US that it plans to launch combat operations against Taliban militants soon in a tribal area near the Afghan border that also serves as a haven for leaders of the al Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani network, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said.Panetta said Pakistans military chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani discussed the planned operation in recent conversations with the top American commander in Afghanistan Gen John Allen.The US long has been frustrated by Islamabads refusal to target Afghan Taliban militants and their allies using Pakistani territory to stage attacks against US and coalition troops in Afghanistan.Many analysts believe Pakistan is reluctant to target groups with which it has strong historical ties and could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.Panetta told a news agency that he did not know when the Pakistani operation would start, but he said he understands it will be in the near future, and that the main target will be the Pakistani Taliban, rather than the Haqqani network.Panetta welcomed Kayanis initiative, even though the main target may not be the Haqqani leadership.Theyve talked about it for a long time. Frankly, Id lost hope that they were going do anything about it. But it does appear that they in fact are going to take that step.Panetta also revealed that the US is providing additional military assistance to peacekeeping forces in Egypts Sinai Peninsula in order to strengthen security in the region. But he said that so far the Pentagon has not moved to send additional US troops to the Sinai.