Bodies of 30 Taliban found in Pakistan's Swat valley (Roundup)

Aug 31, 2009, 14:07 GMT

   Islamabad - The bodies of 30 Taliban were found on Monday in Pakistan's restive Swat valley, a day after a suicide bomber killed 16 police recruits in the same region.

   A spokesman for the Pakistan Army said the militants were killed during clashes with the security forces.

   But the locals suspected they were summarily executed by the troops who have been fighting with Islamist militants in Swat, located some 140 kilometres north-west of the capital Islamabad, for three months.

   The locals found the bullet-ridden bodies lying along the streets in Banjot and two nearby areas in Charbagh sub-district on Monday morning, said local journalist Fayyaz Zafar.

   'Our troops launched an operation after the suicide bombing and exchanged fire with the militants in these areas,' Colonel Akhtar Abbas, an army spokesman in Swat, told reporters. 'The clashes left 30 Taliban dead and one soldier was martyred.'

   But a resident from Banjot said at least three of the bodies he saw bore signs of torture. 'There were no weapons near the corpses which clearly show that they did not die in a fight,' said the local who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisal from the authorities.

   Human rights activists have expressed concern over the alleged extra-judicial killings of suspected militants and their collaborators who are in the custody of either the police or military. The autonomous Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded an independent inquiry into the accusations.

   According to the media reports, the locals have discovered more than 150 bodies of suspected militants dumped in various areas of Swat since July 13 when nearly two million people displaced by the military operation started returning home.

   On July 16, some 20 bodies of Taliban were discovered in various areas of Swat, a day after a suicide bombing killed four soldiers in Mingora, the main town in Swat. Ten days later, 29 more bodies were dumped in a similar fashion in Charbagh sub-district.

   The fresh discovery of bodies came a day after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a police station parade ground where the recruits were busy drilling. Sixteen trainees died and around two dozen were injured.

   Thousands of military and paramilitary troops launched an operation in Swat and three neighbouring districts to expel militants.

   The military has gained control over much of the area after bloody battle which left more than 1,800 militants dead, according to the government claims. Fleeing rebels continue to carry out occasional raids on the military.

   Separately more than 25 oil tankers and trucks carrying supplies to US and NATO forces were destroyed in an overnight attack in the remote town of Chaman on the Afghan border.

   Hundreds of lorries were stranded at the Chaman border crossing in Pakistan's south-western Balochistan province after Afghan truckers blocked the road link on Friday to protest strict checks of inbound vehicles by Pakistani security forces.

   Suspected Islamist insurgents attacked the vehicles, mostly loaded with armoured vehicles for the Western troops, Sunday evening shortly after the Muslim truckers broke their Ramadan fast, local police officer Abdul Basheer said.

   A gunfight between the paramilitary forces and the attackers ensued.

   A charred body believed to be that of a driver was found in one of the gutted oil tankers, while at least one soldier was wounded in the clash.

   Traffic on the overland route was restored early Monday morning.

   The highway running through Chaman is one of the two main supply routes used by contractors to ferry fuel and military supplies from Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi to the US and NATO troops in landlocked Afghanistan.

   Militants have staged fewer attacks on the Chaman road link than on the main Khyber Pass route in Pakistan's north-western tribal region.