31 Taliban militants killed, 28 nabbed in NW Pakistan

At least 31 Taliban were killed and 28 more arrested in Pakistan`s troubled northwest, as the authorities on Monday opened investigations into alleged links between arrested radical cleric Maulana Sufi Mohammad.

Islamabad: At least 31 Taliban were killed
and 28 more arrested in Pakistan`s troubled northwest, as the
authorities on Monday opened investigations into alleged links
between arrested radical cleric Maulana Sufi Mohammad and
militants active in the lawless region.

A `lashkar` or tribal militia killed 10 militants and
apprehended six more during a search operation at several
places in Dir district, which is part of the restive Malakand
division. Security forces captured six suspects during an
operation at Awishah in Dir, the military said.

Officials of the paramilitary Frontier Corps told TV news
channels that 20 militants were killed in an operation
conducted in the Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region.

Four rebel hideouts and 12 vehicles were also destroyed
during the operation.

In the Mohmand tribal region, seven militants surrendered
to the civil administration, the military statement said.

The federal government today formed an investigation team
to probe whether Sufi, who had brokered a now-defunct peace
deal between the militants and authorities in the Swat valley,
aided the Taliban. Sufi was arrested along with his three sons
from the outskirts of the provincial capital of Peshawar
yesterday after he chaired a meeting of his banned group.

Bureau Report

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