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By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - After months of dithering, Pakistan's army has launched an offensive against Taliban insurgents near the border with Afghanistan but the tough terrain, a potentially hostile local population and the possibility of revenge attacks in heartland cities could be more difficult to conquer than the militants. Pakistan announced on Sunday it was sending ground forces, artillery and helicopter gunships to the remote, mountainous tribal region of North Waziristan in a long-awaited military operation designed to eliminate the al Qaeda-linked insurgents. Islamabad has been under intense U.S. pressure for years to crush sanctuaries for militants in the region and Pakistan's move will be greeted with resolute approval in Washington - but the challenges facing its army on the ground mean it should be ready for a long haul. No single outside force has ever succeeded in subduing the volatile ethnic Pashtun region straddling Pakistan's western frontier with Afghanistan, its deeply tribal population fiercely independent and opposed to any invading army.More...