Pakistan’s army troops prepare to leave for patrolling during the curfew in Bannu, a town on the edge of Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt Waziristan, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. More than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers launched a much-awaited ground offensive in an al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan along the Afghan border, officials told The Associated Press _ the nuclear-armed U.S. ally’s toughest test yet against militants aiming to topple the state. (AP Photo/Ijaz Muhammad)