At least 10 Taliban were killed in a clash with troops in Sarsanai village of Matta tehsil in Swat on Monday. "A firefight began after Taliban refused to lay down arms and leave the area. Resultantly, 10 Taliban were killed," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.Three Taliban were arrested in a search operation in the same village, a spokesman told Daily Times. The Sarsanai operation was conducted 'as a last resort', he said, after Taliban attacked two separate troop convoys. A relief camp has been set up in the Balogram area for the displaced villagers, he added.
Separately, a soldier was killed when Taliban attacked a Frontier Corps checkpost in Tutano Bandai area in Matta. The spokesman also said helicopter gunships destroyed a Taliban ammunition depot in the Aghal Parao area of Matta. "Scores of miscreants" were killed in the strike, he said, but did not give an exact number. In the Aghal area of Kabal tehsil, Taliban killed three of the 72 people they had taken hostage on Sunday. In Mohmand Agency, the political administration closed the Peshawar-Bajaur highway on Monday, as two helicopter gunships pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in Qandaro.