Pakistan's military says its soldiers have killed some 60 suspected
militants in two days of fighting in the northwest part of the country.
Officials say more than 50 insurgents and one soldier were killed in the fighting outside Peshawar in the Dara Adam Khel region Monday.
In a separate incident, security officials said Pakistani soldiers killed at least 10 suspected militants on Tuesday in the Bajaur area near the Afghan border.
Officials said the battle was part of the continuing military offensive
against suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in the region.
Since the operation began last month, the Pakistani military says its soldiers have killed more than 700 insurgents.
Also today, witnesses say police shot and killed at least five people
during protests in Mingora, the main town in Swat Valley. Police say
thousands of people set fire to banks during demonstrations against
civilian deaths in the military offensive against militants.
The United Nations refugee agency is appealing for 17-million dollars
in aid to help more than 250-thousand people displaced by the fighting
and floods.
The U.N. has already distributed relief items to some 84,000 affected
families, but says more donations are needed. U.N. officials say they
are supporting Pakistani authorities with shelter, registration, and
camp management.
Pakistan's government estimates nearly 90-thousand people have fled the
fighting in Swat and other areas of North West Frontier Province, along
the Afghan border.
Some analysts say the recent bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel,
which killed scores of people, was the militants' response to the
military's ongoing operation in the tribal regions.