[ADN Kronos] Jets shelled Taliban hideouts and killed at least five militants in Pakistan's troubled northwestern Swat region late Monday, officials said. The aircraft raided the town of Dok Darra after intelligence reports said that a large number of militants had gathered in the area, military spokesman Major Nasir Ali Khan said.The air raids were the latest sign that Taliban militants have not given up their fight to impose strict Islamic law in the Swat district and surrounding areas, despite the army's claim it had defeated them.
"The bombing destroyed three Taliban bases and killed five militants," Khan said.
The army said it had arrested a total 17 suspected terrorists in the Swat region, demolished several suspected militant hideouts, seized arms and ammunition and recovered an explosive device.
Security forces demolished the houses of the district chief of the hardline Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Muhammadi group, Maulana Salar, and other militants during an operation in Chamla tehsil, DAWN's correspondent in Buner adds.
Frontier Corps and police personnel entered the Buner villages of Koga and Sora, stopped all traffic and advised people to stay indoors.
The Pakistani military claims it has completed a three-month-long offensive against the Taliban in the troubled northwestern Swat Valley and surrounding areas that began in late April.
The military has claimed it has killed over 2,000 militants and defeated the Taliban in the conflict, which drove an estimated two million people from their homes.