Nearly 5 Pakistanis Killed By Militants Every Day

ABC's Nick Schifrin reports from Islamabad: We got new numbers today out of Pakistan’s interior ministry that show just how deadly this country has been of late. The interior ministry said since the beginning of 2008, 2,686 Pakistanis had died  — including soldiers – in 1,367 attacks. That’s nearly 5 Pakistanis killed by militants every day. Meanwhile the militants keep attacking each other. Yesterday 100 of Baitullah Mehsud’s men attacked a government-backed militant commander and killed at least 35 people, burning down some 40 homes. In response the army sent in helicopters to target the pro-Baitullah militants.   Today, the government-backed commander (Turkistan) abducted a bunch of his own tribesmen who were working for Baitullah. At the same time the military pounded pro-Baitullah militants from the air, using helicopters to attack Hakimullah’s fighters in South Waziristan. The Pakistani air force has been attacking Baitullah targets for months, and they have promised a ground invasion. But U.S. officials are worried that the invasion will not occur so long as the army is still fighting in Swat (which they are), and it may not occur at all if Baitullah’s successor chooses to focus his attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan rather than in Pakistan.