Washington, Sept 15: The ongoing US’ military strikes targeting the Taliban and Al Qaeda were “risky” but must continue, as over the past six years the Bush administration’s reliance on Pakistan to combat the militants only “strengthened the Taliban and Al Qaeda networks in FATA”, said an editorial in the Washington Post.

It said that the Pakistan forces alone lacked the capacity to eliminate the extremists.

According to it, the US strikes in Pakistan were necessary and were long overdue. “They must continue,” it added.

Lahore, Sept 15 : The US forces deployed along the Pak-Afghan border are facing around 10,000 insurgents on the Pakistani side of the border, said a US commander manning around 19,000 troops in Afghanistan.

He warned that if Pakistan did not step up its fight against terrorists and let terrorists escaping into its territory, then a there was a risk of a new kind of war being broken in the Islamic country.

Galveston, Texas - Officer Blake Patton puts his right hand on the butt of his gun and shouts, "Anybody there?"

The house he has been ordered to check looks deserted, but you never know. Patton and his partner, Mustafa, disappear around the back of the house, and a gunshot is soon heard.

A pitbull that was locked up in the backyard is killed in the operation.

"He charged against me, and I had no other option," Patton tells Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

His boss is not happy.

New York - The Coen brothers espionage comedy Burn After Reading snuck into first place in the North American box office rankings over the three-day weekend, according to preliminary studio estimat

New York, Sept 14 : Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who is said to be instrumental in the reversal of positions of Barack Obama and John McCain in the presidential race, has reportedly fired a salvo at Barack Obama on not picking up Senator Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

Phnom Penh - US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte flew into the northern Cambodian tourist hub of Siem Reap in a relaxed start to his three-day official visit, touring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, local officials said on Sunday.

Negroponte arrived in Cambodia from neighbouring Vietnam for a visit which will include meetings with Prime Minister Hun Sen and an array of ministers including Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.