| Troops backed by helicopter gunships killed 17 militants in the Kooza Bandai area of Swat on Thursday, officials said. Three key commanders of rebel cleric Fazlullah were among the dead. Military spokesman Maj Nasir Ali identified them as Ziaur Rehman, Muhammad Younas and Saifur Rehman. Local sources said the military had full control of the area after the operation that began on Tuesday. Wife of a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and his three children were killed when a mortar shell hit their house during the operation. Security forces and helicopter gunships also pounded suspected Taliban positions in the Dherai and Saigram areas of Kabal tehsil. |