At least 12 militants, including two key commanders, have been gunned down and 180 suspects arrested by troops in Pakistan's restive Swat valley, where a fresh crackdown was launched against insurgents following the killing of an North West Frontier Province legislator in a suicide blast two days ago.
Two militants were killed in a gun-battle with security forces at Matta town on Thursday morning, the army-run media centre in Swat said in a statement. Ten militants, including commanders Muhammad Nasim alias Abu Faraj and Zahid Khan, were killed and a soldier was injured when troops raided a Taliban hideout in Kabal area late on Wednesday night. About 180 suspects were also arrested by security forces, officials said on Thursday. Troops launched a fresh crackdown on the Taliban after a suicide bomber killed provincial legislator Shamsher Ali Khan while he was meeting people to exchange Eid greetings on Tuesday.
Khan was the second lawmaker from the Awami National Party, which rules the NWFP, to be killed in a militant attack this year. NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, also a senior ANP leader, said Swat and nearby areas had not yet been fully cleared of militants and more has to be done to eliminate the Taliban.
The army, which launched an operation against the Taliban in Swat in May, claimed several months ago that it had evicted militants from most parts of the valley. People displaced by the fighting were allowed to return home in July but Swat has witnessed a spurt in violence in recent weeks. Militants led by local Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah established a parallel government in Swat two years ago.
Taking advantage of a peace deal brokered early this year by Fazlullah's father-in-law, radical cleric Maulana Sufi Muhammad, militants extended their influence to two districts located about 100 kms from Islamabad. It was then that the army decided to crack down on the Taliban, who were waging a violent campaign to enforce Shariah or Islamic law in Swat. The army claims that over 2,000 militants were killed in Swat but the figure cannot be independently verified.
