BANNU, Pakistan – Pakistani Taliban killed 11 pro-government militiamen yesterday in a fresh outburst of violence in the northwest, security officials said.
The Pakistani military has made gains against Islamist militant fighters in recent months after Taliban advances raised fears for the nuclear-armed country’s stability.
Militant attacks have tapered off following the death of the Pakistani Taliban chief in a US drone missile attack last month and after military gains in an offensive in the Swat region in April.
But security officials say the Pakistani Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies still pose a serious threat. Militants attacked members of a pro-government militia on their way to the town of Bannu, 240km (150 miles) southwest of Islamabad, killing seven, including three ethnic Pashtun tribal chiefs, residents and security officials said.
“The militants then fired on tribesmen who were collecting the bodies and killed another two, while two more were killed in clashes with militants later,” said an intelligence agency official in the region, who declined to be identified. The military has encouraged Pashtun tribes to form militias, known as lashkars, to fight the militants. Residents said five militants were later killed in clashes with security forces.
The government launched an offensive in the area, which borders the North Waziristan militant stronghold on the Afghan border, in June with the support of pro-government tribesmen.
In Swat, 120km (80 miles) northwest of Islamabad, militants killed two members of a lashkar while eight militants were killed in a clash to the west of the former tourist valley, military officials said. – (Reuters)