Pak drive against militants continues

Islamabad, June 29: Pakistani troops continued their crackdown on militants in a tribal region near the northwestern city of Peshawar for the second day on Sunday as the Pakistani Taliban suspended a peace deal in the restive Swat valley where violence killed five people.

About 5,000 paramilitary Frontier Corps troops backed by tanks, artillery and gunship helicopters are involved in the drive launched against militants in Bara area of Khyber Agency on Saturday.

The operation was started in the wake of clashes between rival militant groups that have left 62 people dead.

An additional 400 troops on Sunday reached Bara and took control of strategic heights and set up check posts, said Frontier Corps inspector-general Muhammad Alam Khattak.

The forces have destroyed several militant bases in Khyber Agency, including the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Islam and its rival group, Ansar-ul-Islam.

The troops faced little resistance and no casualties were reported. An indefinite curfew has been clamped in Bara to facilitate the movement of troops.

However, Lashkar-e-Islam chief and his aides are believed to have fled to the remote Tirah Valley.

In the troubled Swat district, two soldiers were killed and five injured when their patrol was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb in Matta area.

It was reported that three other men were killed by unknown gunmen in the same area. The gunmen entered two homes and shot the men dead.

—PTI