Five militants surrender in Swat

PESHAWAR: Five Taliban militants surrendered to authorities in Swat valley on Monday, on the day when security forces claim to have killed a militant in a clash.

Authorities said that the five Taliban militants laid down their arms and surrendered to security forces in the Minglawar area of the valley where radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah and his band of fighters once held sway. Official sources said that security forces, acting on a tipoff, raided a safe house of the Taliban in the Rasha Gatta area. The militants started firing and in the ensuing fire from security forces one militant was killed. Troops also demolished houses of two militant commanders – Sher Rum and Daud in the Shakardara area.

Over in the south, a bomb went off close to a police checkpoint in the limits of Town Ship police station in Dera Ismail Khan district. No casualties were however reported. The bomb, weighing three to four kilos, was a remote controlled device. In Hangu, police claim to have arrested two most wanted terrorists involved in an attack on security forces. Sabir Rehman and Muhammd Rashad alias Talib were wanted by police on charges of attacking a police station and a convoy of security forces. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP)

Published in the Express Tribune, May 25th, 2010.