30 killed in pakistan

By RIAZ KHAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Pakistani police officers sit in a bunker at a check post in Kabal, a troubled area of Swat valley in northern Pakistan on Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Pakistan imposed a round-the-clock curfew in the restive mountain valley in the northwest on Wednesday as the army claimed more than 20 militants died in clashes with security forces.(AP Photo/Sherin Zada) PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani troops battled Islamic militants in a valley near the Afghan border Wednesday, killing 25 insurgents and losing five soldiers as escalating combat threatened the new government's policy of offering peace to pro-Taliban groups.

Authorities said security forces also chased off another band of extremists from a town elsewhere in the Swat Valley, a day after militants captured at least 25 police officers and paramilitary troops and clashes killed two soldiers and two militants.

The military, meanwhile, rejected new claims that Pakistan's main intelligence service has ties with Islamic hard-liners allied with the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Under U.S. pressure to crack down on militant sanctuaries along the border, Pakistan's 4-month-old government has sought to reach peace deals with fundamentalist Islamic groups in the northwestern tribal areas but increasing violence is raising questions about that approach.

Wednesday's clash in Swat began when militants attacked a security post about 12 miles from Mingora, the valley's main town, the army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said. He said troops repelled the attack, killing 25 militants and wounding many more, while five soldiers, including two officers, also died.

Another group of about 70 militants tried to seize the market area of the town of Matta, but fled when reinforcements reached the police station, Abbas said.

"The situation in Swat is that curfew has been imposed and security forces have been given orders to take strict action wherever militants or miscreants are involved in such actions," he said.

It was not possible to independently confirm the casualty toll because the army refused to let journalists travel to the area.

An aide to Muslim cleric Mullah Fazlullah, Swat's main militant leader, disputed the army's version. Muslim Khan told The Associated Press that only five pro-Taliban militants died in the battle and claimed the insurgents killed more than 30 soldiers.

"The morale of our Taliban is high and security forces are retreating in several areas," Khan said.
An around-the-clock curfew was imposed in the Swat Valley after Tuesday's fighting.
Civilians scurried to buy food Wednesday when the curfew was lifted for an hour during the afternoon. Some people headed to safer areas.

Qazi Shaukat, a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Mingora, said the escalation in violence had killed his business and made life hard for his family.

"We are thinking about leaving this place permanently. But what can I do? My children go to school and college here. How would I get them admitted to some other place?" he said.

Followers of Fazlullah, who rallies support using a pirate FM radio station, seized parts of the valley last year before an army offensive drove them back.

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