PESHAWAR, Dec 12: Troops killed 20 militants in an ongoing offensive against supporters of a militant cleric in Swat, officials said on Wednesday.

Troops pounded suspected hideouts in the valley’s Puchaar and Loee Namal towns. The operation, which started on Tuesday night, continued into Wednesday morning, in which 20 militants were killed, a security official said.

Provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal said that the troops “extensively engaged militant locations, which resulted in a number of militant casualties.” Earlier, 20 supporters of Maulana Fazlullah were killed and up to 15 hurt in an artillery barrage.

According to government reports, around 330 militants have been killed in the area in recent weeks during an army campaign to clear the valley of militants. The military said on Saturday that almost all of the militants had been forced out.

In a separate incident, troops shot dead a man and wounded two others for violating curfew restrictions in the town of Fizaghat, residents said.

The valley remains under a dusk-to-dawn curfew since the troops launched the operation last month. –AFP