Islamabad, September 13: Pakistan Army in a major operation killed 34 militants in the restive north-western region as they launched a new big manhunt to nab the Taliban top commander in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, who is reported to be badly injured.
Continuing their sweep in the Swat region, troops also captured 18 militants while 12 more surrendered, a statement issued by the military said.
It said a soldier had been killed in fresh fighting which erupted in the scenic valley which has been under a military campaign for the past five months.
Maintaining an intensity in their operations, troops surrounded Manglor and Malam Jabba areas in Swat in their search for Fazlullah, who has been on the run since the army launched operations against the Taliban in May.
The manhunt for Fazlullah known also as Mullah FM was started by the Army apparently buoyed by their success in capturing two top Taliban commanders on Friday including the outfits spokesman Muslim Khan.
After the capture of number of Taliban commanders, Army claimed that total rout was facing the terrorists, even as militants acknowledged that their outfit had been weakened.
Giving details of the fresh engagements, Army spokesman said 22 militants were killed in clashes with paramilitary troops in Tirah Valley of the Khyber tribal region, the Frontier Corps said.
Thirteen vehicles and three hideouts were also destroyed by the security forces.
—Agencies