Pakistani troops have cut food supplies to pro-Taliban militants mounting an uprising in a northwestern valley, as they targeted rebel positions on Friday to flush them out of their strongholds, officials said. "All the checkposts set up on routes leading to militant (controlled) areas have been ordered not to allow any food items," said Major Amjad Iqbal, a military spokesman.
The food blockade comes as militants continued to put up fierce resistance with rockets and mortars against a fresh military push in the adjoining districts of Swat and Shangla. On Friday, police foiled a suspected suicide attack in Swat's Kabal town, firing on two militants heading towards a police station after they ignored signals to halt, the military said. "One individual got killed and the other, believed to be wearing a suicide belt, managed to escape from the scene," the military said in a statement posted on its official Web site. |