ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's army is pushing deeper into a Taliban sanctuary near the Afghan border.

The army says it's killed 42 militants in the latest stage of its offensive in South Waziristan. It says troops are making good progress on three fronts, but are meeting resistance.

Meanwhile, militants are continuing a wave of apparent retaliation for the offensive.

In the capital today, a gunman opened fire on a high-ranking army officer as he was driving his mother through a residential neighborhood. The officer and his mother escaped unhurt, but it's the second targeted shooting against top military officers in less than a week.

Meanwhile, authorities say they've arrested the mastermind of two bombings in the main northwest city of Peshawar earlier this month. The attacks killed 49 people in a market area and wounded several in a recreational facility elsewhere in the city.

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: Family members and military personal take part in a funeral prayer to Asif Ali, a soldier killed during the Army operations in South Waziristan, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. The Army moved into South Waziristan more than a week ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, a militant network it says is behind 80 percent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan.