20 militants held in Swat; 12 villagers die in attack
By Hameedullah Khan
MINGORA, Nov 29: At least 12 people were killed when helicopter gunships pounded the Allahabad area on Thursday and officials claimed to have arrested 20 militants, including a brother of Maulana Fazlullah.
The district administration and police have started functioning in Alpuri, the headquarters of Shangla district, whereas security forces have been pounding some areas in the district to flush out militants.
The road connecting Swat with Shangla is yet to be opened. And the administration has not started functioning in several areas in Upper Swat vacated by militiants.
It is learnt that Frontier Corps personnel arrested Fazal Ahad, the brother of Maulana Fazlullah, at the Ghaligai checkpost, outside Mingora on the Peshawar-Swat road.
Among the other 19 militants who were detained near Fizzagut, there is one Daud who is said to be a nephew of Sirajuddin, the militants’ spokesman here.
Official sources said that one of the detained militants was a would-be suicide bomber and he possessed a jacket meant for such attacks.
Some people of Charbagh said that several houses in the Allahabad village came under helicopter gunship attacks and 12 people were killed and 11 others were injured.
They said that the villagers protested against the attack and took the bodies in a truck towards Swat. At the Sangota checkpost security forces stopped them from proceeding further.
When the government media centre in Mingora was asked about the incident, spokesman Major Amjad Iqbal said that security forces had came under fire from the area. “The forces will definitely retaliate and target the areas from where they come under fire,” he added.
It is learnt that the security forces have turned down a request of a local jirga to extend general amnesty to militants and withdraw from Swat Valley.
Official sources said that a jirga from Upper Swat met senior officials supervising the operation with the message that Maulana Fazlullah and his supporters wanted a peace deal with the forces on three conditions: Shariah should be enforced in the region, forces should pull out of Swat, and a general amnesty should be announced for the militants.
