MINGORA, Dec 22: Fifteen militants and two security personnel were killed in clashes and bombings in Shakar Darra area of Swat on Monday.

According to the Swat Media Centre, security forces cordoned off the Shakar Darra valley, a stronghold of Taliban, and launched an offensive after a militant attack on a checkpost.

Local people were asked to leave the area before the operation was started. Later a curfew was imposed. Fierce clashes continued for several hours in which both sides used heavy weapons.

The security personnel who died were identified as Ashaq Hussain and Saeed Uddin. Six security men were injured.

According to a press release issued by the Swat Media Centre, the command and control system of the militants has been destroyed.

Two women, Zenat and Bakht Rana, were killed and four people were injured when a shell fell on their house. They were taken to the DHQ hospital in Saidu Sharif.

Meanwhile, two beggars, a woman and her daughter, were gunned down at the busy Nishat Chowk in Mingora on Monday night. The bodies were taken to the Saidu hospital for autopsy.

Three bodies were found in different areas of Swat late on Sunday night.