57 militants killed in Khyber attack

PESHAWAR (APP/AFP/Reuters) - Forces on Saturday killed at least 57 militants and destroyed their headquarters in the Khyber tribal area bordering Afghanistan, a government official said.
The Khyber Pass is a main route for supplies being trucked from Karachi to Western forces battling al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
Helicopter gunships, paramilitary troops and artillery units carried out the attack on a Lashkar-i-Islam headquarters in the Tirah valley, a security official in Peshawar told AFP.
At least 57 militants were killed and 107 others arrested during the operation, Political Agent of Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat Khan told the media persons at Shakas Fort in Bara.
A spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps said that dozens of militants were killed, but the toll could not be confirmed through independent sources as the area is under military control.
Forces have been fighting an offensive in the area after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a police barracks near the Torkham border crossing between the two countries on August 28, killing 22 security personnel.
“Today (Saturday) the security forces destroyed the hideouts and a training centre of the Lashkar-i-Islam in Tirah valley, heavy casualties of militants are expected,” said an earlier Frontier Corps statement.
Security forces on Thursday destroyed the vacated house of Mangal Bagh, the hardline chief of the group. He had already escaped to the mountains, officials said.
Bagh is accused by officials of running torture centres and private jails and running a Taliban-style system in some parts of Khyber tribal district.
The operation would continue until the militants are completely eliminated, Political Agent Tariq added.
He informed that curfew, imposed due to operation, will be regularly relaxed from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Earlier, Maj Abid of Frontier Corps informed newsmen that huge quantity of explosive was seized during the operation.