Pakistani troops kill 35 militant in clash
Pakistani troops killed 35 militants in fighting in the Swat Valley northwest of Islamabad on Saturday after the militants ambushed a patrol, a military official said.
Thousands flee Chad capitalFour soldiers were also killed, said the official. The fighting erupted shortly after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a police station in another part of the valley, killing eight policemen.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan is on the front line of the U.S.-led war against terrorism and al Qaeda-linked militants have unleashed a wave of violence across the country over the past year against the security forces.
The violence, combined with uncertainty over the future of a fractious coalition government, has helped undermine investor confidence and send the country's financial markets on a downward spiral.
"Four of our soldiers have been martyred while we killed 35 militants and damaged several of their hideouts," said Major Nasir Ali, from the military's information department.
Earlier, a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a police station in the valley, killing at least eight policemen and wounding 10, police said.
"A lot of people are still under the rubble. We have recovered eight bodies," said Subhan Khan, a senior police officer in the valley.
A spokesman for Taliban militants in the valley claimed responsibility for the blast and vowed to carry out more strikes if the government did not stop military operations in the region.
VIOLENCE PICKS UP
Separately, militants killed two civilians and wounded three children in a bomb attack near a security checkpost in Barikot, to the west of Mingora, the valley's main town.
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