Troops kill 25 militants, retake tunnel

Security forces retook control of a major road tunnel in the north-west late Sunday after a day of fighting in which at least 24 militants were killed, the army said. Militants had occupied the Japanese-built tunnel in the lawless town of Darra Adam Khel on Friday, blocking traffic between the main city of Peshawar in North West Frontier Province and the city of Kohat.

Residents said hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the tunnel, as the militants had erected barricades on the road to the tunnel. “The security forces have cleared the Kohat tunnel and taken its control after fighting which killed 24 people,” an army official said, requesting anonymity.

Earlier, artillery backed by gunship helicopters pounded militant positions to dislodge them from their bunkers on hills overlooking the tunnel, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

The unrest started after militants seized four military trucks loaded with ammunition on Thursday. Abbas said 25 militants were killed in the operation on Saturday. On Friday troops said they killed 30 rebels and lost two soldiers in Darra Adam Khel, which is known for its weapons bazaar and illegal arms manufacturing factories. Security officials said Darra Adam Khel had recently become a stronghold of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which is said to have links to al Qaeda.

Unrest is spreading along border with Afghanistan. Troops were also engaged in a major operation in the tribal South Waziristan stronghold of al Qaeda-linked militant Baitullah Mehsud, accused of the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. More than 200 militants and 30 soldiers are said to have died during three weeks of fighting in South Waziristan.