Pak. forces kill 40 militants in Khyber raids

September 01, 2009 08:56 pm | Updated September 02, 2009 12:05 am IST - PESHAWAR

A soldier of Pakistan Army ties hands of an alleged Taliban activist who surrendered with others in Kanju, near Mingora, capital of Pakistani troubled Valley of Swat on Tuesday. The army said 105 Taliban fighters surrendered in Swat. Eight of them are close aides to Swat Taliban chieftain Maulana Fazlullah, said Brig. Salman Akbar. Photo: AP

A soldier of Pakistan Army ties hands of an alleged Taliban activist who surrendered with others in Kanju, near Mingora, capital of Pakistani troubled Valley of Swat on Tuesday. The army said 105 Taliban fighters surrendered in Swat. Eight of them are close aides to Swat Taliban chieftain Maulana Fazlullah, said Brig. Salman Akbar. Photo: AP

Government forces destroyed four militant bases and killed 40 insurgents on Tuesday in a new offensive near Pakistan’s famed Khyber Pass, the main route for supplies to U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, authorities said.

The offensive follows a suicide blast in the region last week that killed 19 police officers at a key border crossing.

Tariq Hayat, the top administrator in Khyber, said 40 militants were killed and 43 arrested. The four destroyed bases belonged to the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, he said. The death toll could not be independently verified.

Mr Hayat gave no indication of whether a sustained operation was planned in the area, through which scores of trucks carrying fuel and other goods to U.S and NATO troops in Afghanistan travel each day. The convoys are often targeted.

Pakistan is under intense U.S. pressure to crack down on militants close to the Afghan border, a lawless region where al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding out. The Taliban there also help mount attacks against Western troops across the frontier.

Elsewhere in the northwest, the army claimed 105 Pakistani Taliban fighters had surrendered in the Swat Valley. Eight were close aides to Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah, said Brig. Salman Akbar, the army commander of Kabal town in the valley.

The Taliban were not immediately available for comment.

The army launched an offensive in Swat in April that the government says was a success, although no insurgent leaders were killed or captured and pockets of resistance remain. On Sunday, a suicide bombing at a police station killed 17 cadets training. The army says it has killed 45 militants in Swat since that attack.

Human rights activists have accused security forces of executing captured militants and dumping their bodies, but the military denies it.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.