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3 security personnel among 9 killed in Swat

* Helicopter gunships destroy ‘Taliban court building’ in Kabal
* 15 suspected terrorists arrested from Peshawar

Staff Report

MINGORA: Nine people, including three security personnel, were killed on Saturday in fresh incidents of violence in NWFP’s Swat district.

Locals said three people were killed in a clash between security personnel and the Taliban in the Dherai area of Kabal tehsil.

Those killed were identified as Bakht Buland, Mian Pirzada and Akbar Zada, they said, adding a Taliban was also killed in the clash.

In the Aligrama area of Kabal, the Taliban attacked a security forces’ convoy. Three security personnel were killed while another was injured in the attack.

Gunships: Three people were killed as helicopter gunships targeted Taliban positions in Kabal. The forces’ air attack also destroyed a self-proclaimed Taliban court building.

The district’s Kooza Bandai, Bar Bandai, Tangolai and Shakardara areas remained under curfew for the seventh day.

Arrests: Peshawar city police on Saturday arrested 15 people suspected of having links with the Taliban, during a crackdown in the Mathra police station precincts, police said.

Operations Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Ghafoor Afridi told reporters that the operation was launched in Badi Koroona, Bela Mohmandan and Qila Shah Baig.

He said the area had become a hideout for the terrorists, who were attacking Peshawar, Charsadda, Mohmand and Khyber Agency from there.

Afridi said the police raided these hideouts during the early hours on Saturday, adding that around 200 police personnel took part in the operation.

The SSP said the police have also arrested some men suspected to be senior commanders of the terrorists operating from the area. He said the operation in the area was continuing.

He said the terrorist put up resistance in some areas and exchanged fire with the police, however, there were no casualties among the security personnel.

Afridi said some of the arrested men were assisting the terrorists by providing them with routes, while some of them were key commanders and were involved in crimes. Commenting on the increase in kidnapping incidents in the city, Afridi admitted that abductions had recorded a rise.

However, he said the primary concern of the police was fighting extremism, adding the number of abductions would come down, as the police were making all efforts to counter terrorism in the area.

Meanwhile, Daily Times learnt that one of the arrested people was a Taliban commander, suspected of training suicide bombers.

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