Five soldiers, 25 militants killed in Pakistan fighting

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Five Pakistani troops and at least 25 Islamic militants were killed on Wednesday in fighting in the northwestern Swat valley, the military said.

A military statement said that up to 70 militants tried to storm the security post in the Matta area of Swat, where a two-month peace deal between the government and the rebels is under threat.

"The attack was successfully repulsed resulting into the death of 25 miscreants and many injured," the military statement said.

Two Pakistani army officers and three soldiers were "martyred" in the fighting, it added.

A security source said that one of the dead militants was Tor Mullah, a senior Taliban commander loyal to pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the militants in Swat....