Troops kill Kashmir 'militants'

15 July 2011 Last updated at 11:10 GMT The level of violence in Indian-administered Kashmir has diminished in recent months Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed three militants in a clash in Kupwara district.

Up to five militants entered a house in Maidanpora village and large numbers of soldiers and policemen surrounded the house, an army spokesman said.

Lt-Col JS Brar said three soldiers had been injured in the violence, which was ongoing.

Fighting began after a woman who was being held hostage there sneaked out.

Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, has recently seen a drop in violence.

Thousands of people have been killed in the region since an armed rebellion against Indian rule erupted in 1989.

The operation in Kupwara was launched early on Friday after the army received information that some militants were holding a meeting in the house, Lt-Col Brar said.

Security forces began firing after the woman emerged from the house, officials said.

Residents had been asked to leave the area, reports said.

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Militants killed in Pakistan raid

22 June 2011 Last updated at 06:32 GMT At least five militants were killed when insurgents attacked a police checkpoint in north-west Pakistan.

The attack took place at the Sarband checkpoint near Peshawar city and involved more than 50 militants.

An official told the BBC that they were tipped off about the attack and hence did not suffer any major casualties.

In another attack, a blast at a police checkpoint in Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal area killed a policeman and wounded three others, officials said.

The number of attacks by militants in Pakistan has risen sharply since al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US commando raid last month.

At least 34 people were killed and 90 wounded after two explosions ripped through a market in the city of Peshawar about 10 days ago.

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Militants raid anti-Taliban group

20 June 2011 Last updated at 09:23 GMT Dozens of militants have attacked the homes of two prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders close to the Afghan border, officials say.

At least four were killed and four others, including one of the elders, injured in the tribal area of Mohmand.

Meanwhile, two US drone strikes killed at least six suspected militants in Kurram agency, further along the volatile border, officials say.

Analysts say militants fleeing army offensives have a presence in the area.

The tribal district of Kurram is an area rarely targeted by drone missiles, with some officials saying this is only the third such attack in the region. Other stretches of the border, notably the militant stronghold of Waziristan, have been targeted on scores of occasions in recent years.

Elders attacked

The raid on the homes of anti-Taliban elders happened in the Ziarat Masood village of Mohmand district, another area where the Taliban have been attempting to establish themselves.

A group of militants stormed the village and attacked the houses of Malik Ghazi Khan and Malikh Ghulab Khan, members of a local peace committee, which oppose the Taliban, a local official told the AFP news agency.

There have been frequent military operations in the area in an effort to combat the insurgents infiltrating the district. Establishing "peace committees", tribal groups opposed to insurgents, is a key part of the security strategy, correspondents say.

The attack comes just one day after Pakistani war planes bombed a militant stronghold in the region and also launched ground attacks against insurgents there.

Four soldiers and 20 militants were killed in the clashes, officials say, adding that Sunday's assault was a response to the latest attack by the Taliban on checkpoints in north-western Pakistan. A Taliban spokesman said 19 security personnel had been killed.

Cross-border incursions

In recent weeks there have been a number of cross-border militant attacks in the north-west. Pakistan has lodged official protests with Afghanistan over the incursions.

Afghanistan and Nato have long complained that Pakistan could do more to curb militant raids launched from its soil.

Last week more than 200 militants, armed with mortars, rockets and machine guns, stormed a Pakistani village in Bajaur tribal region, wounding at least two women.

A similar attack earlier this month in Pakistan's Upper Dir area led to a prolonged clash and left at least 25 Pakistani troops dead.

Securing the long, porous border that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a major challenge for the two countries as they try to battle insurgents, correspondents say.

Many of the various militant groups along the frontier are closely linked.

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