Afghan Militants In Cross-Border Raid

Reuter reports:

About 250 militants staged a cross-border raid from Afghanistan into a pro-government Pakistani village on Thursday, security officials and residents said, apparently part of a new Pakistani Taliban campaign of large-scale attacks.

An intelligence official said six civilians were killed after militants opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles. Two women were wounded, said government official Shah Naseem.

"They came from mountains where we don't have any security post," said another government official, Faramoosh Khan. "Villagers told us that militants also used rocket-propelled grenades to target houses."

A spokesman for Pakistani paramilitary forces confirmed the attack but did not provide details.

The Pakistani Taliban have been stepping up attacks against the state after warning they would avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces on May 2.

Pakistani Taliban fighters who fled to Afghanistan in the face of army offensives have joined allies in Afghanistan to regroup and threaten Pakistan's border regions again, analysts say.

Thursday's attack was in the Bajaur region, opposite the Afghan province of Kunar.