TANK: Security forces have arrested nine suspected militants and seized weapons and ammunition, including vests used by suicide bombers, during a raid on the house of a cleric and a seminary.

Officials said on Friday that army and paramilitary personnel had launched a search operation in the city suburbs near the Jandola Frontier Region on Thursday. Besides three suicide vests, four hand-grenades, two assault rifles and other material were found in the house of Hafiz Ashraf Ali and the seminary in the Manji area.The forces also carried out a search operation in Kari Wam areas of Jandola which had been recently attacked by militants. The assailants had demolished houses were searched to determine the extent of losses. Militants had killed about 40 people, including members of the local peace committee, and set on fire 35 houses of tribesmen on June 25-26.

Sources said that during a search operation in the Khaichai village in Jandola, the house of a local militant ‘commander’ Asmatullah Shaheen was also raided.