Militants step up attacks

Gunmen on a motorcycle wounded a senior Army officer and a soldier in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad yesterday, the third such attack in about two weeks as militants retaliate against a new military offensive along the Afghan border.

The militants hope the wave of attacks, which have killed 300 civilians and security force members in the past month, will weaken the Army's resolve as it pushes deeper into South Waziristan, the mountainous stronghold of the Taleban and al Qaeda in Pakistan.

Gunmen opened fire at the personal vehicle of the Army officer, who held the rank of brigadier, while it was in a residential district of Islamabad.

The gunmen then sped off, he said. Both men were in stable condition in hospital.