MIRAMSHAH, Sept 26: Political authorities have released on bail the 10 suspects who had been held in the Lawara Mandi area near Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan last week, sources said on Monday.

The suspects were released from the Miramshah jail on Sunday, and now a 10-member committee of tribal elders would investigate whether they had any links with the Taliban, said the sources.

The suspects were held after United States helicopters intruded into the tribal areas in the wake of clashes between Taliban militants and allied forces across the border on September 20.

The sources said that the committee would carry out investigations in order to establish whether the suspects had sneaked into the Lawara Mandi area of the agency after encountering allied forces in Afghanistan.

Under the peace agreement, the committee is responsible to oversee smooth implementation of the accord and to suggest action against those found involved in militant activities in the tribal area or across the border.