Troops kill 14 militants in Northwest Pakistan: Military

Islamabad (ANTARA News/AFP) - Pakistani troops killed 14 militants and arrested another 29 during an ongoing offensive against Taliban insurgents in northwest Pakistan, the military said Saturday.

The military continued search and clearance operations across Malakand district and the former tourist resort of Swat, where the Taliban first rose up in 2007.

"During last 24 hours, search and clearance operations were conducted in Swat and Malakand division," it said in a daily update on the operation.

Ten militants were killed in Buner district and 29 were arrested elsewhere in the region, it said.

Troops killed four militants in Swat and destroyed a training camp and a militants` cave, recovering a huge cache of arms and ammunition, the statement said.

Pakistan launched the offensive in late April, under pressure from the United States to clamp down on militants who had advanced from Swat into the neighbouring district of Buner, further south towards Islamabad.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said earlier this month the military had "eliminated" extremists and government statistics show that 385,000 of 1.9 million civilians who were displaced by the fighting have returned.

But skirmishes have continued, raising fears that the Taliban escaped into the mountains and will return, a tactic militants adopted after similar military offensives in the past.

Pakistan says more than 1,800 militants and 166 security personnel have been killed since April but the death tolls are impossible to verify independently.
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sumber: antaranews