International Herald Tribune
Army kills 4 suspected militants; blast at internet cafe kills 1
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Army helicopters attacked suspected militant hideouts in northwest Pakistan Tuesday, killing four men and wounding several others, the military said.

The aircraft struck in Sambat, a stronghold of pro-Taliban militants in the Swat valley who have been battling security forces since July, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad.

Arshad said the attack killed four militants and destroyed their ammunition dump.

Arshad said security forces captured another five militants, including one Afghan, as they tried to flee Chakdara, a village in Swat. Five militants were wounded in another air strike, he said.

Followers of a pro-Taliban cleric have seized control of much of Swat, a former tourist destination about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Islamabad, saying they are trying to impose Islamic law.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf sent the army into the valley in July and has cited the deteriorating situation to justify the nationwide state of emergency he imposed on Nov. 3. Scores of militants and troops have died in recent fighting.

Tuesday's raids came hours before a bomb killed a boy inside an Internet cafe in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, where militants are also waging a Taliban-style anti-vice campaign.

Islamic extremists regularly bomb music and video shops, and sometimes Internet cafes, in the region in what they say is a drive against obscenity.

Tahir Khan, Peshawar's police chief, said the boy was alone in the cafe when the blast occurred. No one claimed responsibility.


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