Islamabad, July 15: Violence has flared in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat valley amidst the return of thousands of people displaced by recent military operations, with eight militants killed in an exchange of fire with security forces.
The militants were killed during a gun battle that erupted last night while troops were conducting a search operation in Kabal, a former stronghold of the Taliban, TV news channels reported on Wednesday.
The military had said yesterday that nine militants were killed in two separate skirmishes during search and clearance operations in Swat. The violence has increased after a lull of several days.
Security forces also demolished the home of a militant commander in Barikot, one of the areas where hundreds of displaced people have returned over the past two days.
The government has arranged hundreds of buses and trucks to ferry the displaced people back to their homes. The convoys are being protected by troops and gunship helicopters as they move from relief camps to Swat valley.
–PTI