Rebels end truce in Pakistan

Pakistani militants tied to the Taliban announced today they were ending a two-year truce with the government, as violence mounted in northern Pakistan, the BBC reports. Officials believe the new crisis is tied to the storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad earlier in the week, which left 102 dead, including a number of militants believed to be from the north.

The rebels said in a statement that the government had broken the agreement, which ended armed clashes as well as attacks across the border into Afghanistan. More than 50 Pakistanis, including soldiers and police, have been killed in the last two days, in what is being characterized as a "holy war"  and a payback for the Mosque killings. (More Red Mosque crisis stories.)