Militant killed in Pakistani operation near Peshawar

PESHAWAR- Pakistani forces shot dead a Islamist militant Saturday after launching an offensive against rebels threatening the northwestern city of Peshawar, a security official said. Hundreds of troops backed by tanks moved into the volatile Khyber district which lies between Peshawar and the Afghan border on Saturday to take on rebels loyal to Mangal Bagh, a local Islamist leader trying to enforce religious law.
"A militant fired at a paramilitary Frontier Corps patrol, fire was returned and he was killed. This is the only known casualty in the operation so far," a senior security official told AFP."The operation is against criminals and it will continue until it meets a success," the official said."The objective is to establish the writ of the government and stop these gangsters, criminals from using the territory to harass the local population and the neighbouring areas," he added.Officials say Mangal Bagh's group is independent from the Taleban movement opposing security forces across northwestern Pakistan, although its goals of imposing Islamic Sharia law are similar.