RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Heavily armed militants were holding up to 15 soldiers hostage inside Pakistan's army headquarters early Sunday after they stormed the complex in an audacious assault on the heart of the most powerful institution in the nuclear-armed country.
Ten people were killed in the attack, including two ranking officers.
The standoff was continuing 12 hours after assailants wearing military uniforms bundled from a white van and launched the strike, which appeared to be a warning to the military that its planned offensive on the insurgents' stronghold along the Afghan border would be met with attacks against targets across Pakistan.
he government said the assault on the headquarters, which followed a bloody market bombing and a homicide blast at a U.N. aid agency in the past week, had strengthened its resolve to push into South Waziristan — a mountainous region home to Al Qaeda leaders where security forces have been beaten back by insurgents before.
The spasm of violence was confirmation that the militants had regrouped despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August. His replacement vowed just last week to step up attacks around the country and repel any push into Waziristan.
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