Up to 30 militants killed in latest Pakistan offensive: army
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Up to 30 more militants loyal to a pro-Taliban cleric were killed in clashes with Pakistani security forces in a remote northwest tourist valley, the army said Tuesday.
The latest deaths take the toll reported by the army from a week of fighting in the scenic Swat Valley to around 150.
"Our offensive against militants has been continuing since last night and there are reports that 20 to 30 more militants have been killed," chief military spokesman major general Waheed Arshad told AFP.
The army said at the weekend that it would imminently launch a major offensive to retake Swat from followers of radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who runs his own jihadi radio station.
Arshad said that troops were now controlling a key road in Swat's Shangla district, which leads to the militant-held main town of Alpuri.
Residents in different areas of Swat valley said that gunfire continued and helicopters hovered in the sky as scores of people abandoned their homes in Dagai and Akhund Kalai areas.
The military had asked the residents to vacate the area on Monday so that during operations against militants there would be no civilian casualties.
Witnesses said that people were moving towards safer areas with their belongings packed in cars, pick-up vans and even in rickshaws.
