Q+A-What outcome for Pakistan's South Waziristan battle?

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By Robert Birsel

ISLAMABAD, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. drones prowled the sky over South Waziristan on Wednesday as Pakistan's army prepares an all-out assault on Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

On Tuesday, one of the pilotless U.S. aircraft attacked a Mehsud stronghold, killing about 70 militants. Mehsud has been accused of orchestrating a bloody campaign of bombings, including the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Following are some questions and answers on the Pakistani campaign against Mehsud in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.

WHAT ROLE WILL U.S. FORCES PLAY IN THE PAKISTANI BATTLE?

The U.S. drone strike on Tuesday, on a funeral for one of six militants killed in a similar strike earlier in the day, would appear to indicate increasing coordination between the United States and Pakistan. But Pakistan is unlikely to admit that openly in a country where many people are suspicious of a close alliance with the United States in its campaign against militancy. Pakistan officially objects to U.S. drone strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and complicate efforts to win over a patchwork of ethnic Pashtun tribes in its northwest. The United States says the drone strikes are carried out under an agreement which allows Pakistani leaders to decry the attacks in public. Pakistan denies that. The chance of U.S. ground troops getting involved in fighting militants on Pakistani territory is minimal. Pakistan has ruled that out, although U.S. forces have indicated they would intrude if they were after a "high-value target", such as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. and Afghan troops are likely to be on guard on the other side of the border in case Mehsud and his men try to flee into Afghanistan. But U.S. and Afghan forces have never attempted to seal the porous, mountainous border and it is unclear how many of the thousands of U.S. reinforcements arriving in Afghanistan will be posted there.

WILL IT BE A TOUGH BATTLE?

Yes. Mehsud and his thousands of well-armed followers will put up a very tough fight in the rugged region where they have had years to prepare defences. The army has Mehsud bottled up and it is likely to rely on its air power, which the United Sates can be expected to augment with its drones. Mehsud has a network of supporters in towns and cities and is likely to order suicide bombers to attack. Ultimately, provided the political will of the government and the support of the public remain strong, the well-trained army should prevail.