Pakistan's military says 29 militants and at least six
soldiers have been killed in fighting in the northwestern Swat Valley over the
past 24 hours.
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Tuesday that Pakistani forces
are now in control of three villages near the Kabal area of Swat.
The army launched an offensive earlier this month after militants violated a
peace deal and advanced within 100 kilometers of the capital, Islamabad.
The Pakistani army says about 1,100 militants and at least 63 soldiers have
been killed in the offensive. However, government reports can not be
independently verified.
Elsewhere, intelligence officials say Pakistani troops backed by helicopter
gunships killed six militants in attacks on suspected Taliban hideouts Tuesday
in the northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan.