Security forces kill 40 militants in Mohmand

Security forces on Thursday claimed to have killed at least 40 militants in Mohmand Agency, close to the Afghan border, over the last three days, a spokesman for a paramilitary force said. Major Fazalur Rehman, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps, said an operation against militants was launched on Monday in three villages in Mohmand.
“They were attacking our soldiers from there but now we have cleared these villages (of militants),” he said. At least 40 militants and one soldier were killed in the fighting. There was no independent verification of the deaths. Rehman said the militants had fled to those villages to escape security crackdowns in other areas.
The military and security forces have been on the defensive since US Special Forces killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2. The Pakistani Taliban movement, a close al Qaeda ally, launched numerous attacks to avenge his death, including the siege of a naval base in Karachi.