The US killed four people in an airstrike in North Waziristan. The Pakistani military killed four al Qaeda operatives and four Taliban fighters in South Waziristan, and four more Taliban fighters in Arakzai. The Taliban kidnapped a tribal elder in Arakzai and blew up two schools in Bajaur. Hakeemulah Mehsud’s spokesman denied the Taliban carried out the Dec. 28 suicide attack in Karachi.