Pakistan battles Taliban

No , Mister Taliban spokesperson , Pakistan is not trying to please us !
But they are trying to rid Pakistan of you !
  If they were trying to please us you would be incapable of talking right now !

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani forces battled Taliban fighters on Monday as the militants denounced the army and government as U.S. stooges and said a peace pact would end unless the government halted its offensive.

The February pact and spreading Taliban influence have raised alarm in the United States about the ability of nuclear-armed Pakistan -- important in efforts to stabilize Afghanistan -- to stand up to the militants.

In the Buner valley, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the Pakistani capital, security forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery attacked militants in three hamlets on Monday, residents and security officials said.

"There's been heavy firing going on since morning. It's very scary. Troops are using heavy artillery and gunships," resident Nasir Khan told Reuters by telephone.

A military spokesman said seven militants, including a commander, were killed. One soldier was killed and three wounded.

The militants were also using about 2,000 villagers as human shields, the military said.

Amid mounting concern at home and abroad, security forces launched an offensive to expel militants from Buner and another district just over a week ago.

About 180 militants have been killed, according to the military, although there has been no independent confirmation of that casualty estimate.

A Taliban spokesman in Swat said elements in the military and the government were trying to sabotage the peace process to please the United States.