Pakistan - Swat violence

Villagers claim to have killed 167 Taliban

Article published on the 2009-08-06 Latest update 2009-08-07 07:55 TU

Explosions and suicide attacks have killed 2,000 in Pakistan in the past two years.
(Photo : Reuters)

Angry villagers in north-western Pakistan, who are allied to Pakistani soldiers, claim to have killed at least 167 members of the Taliban in vigilante attacks. More than 1,000 people from Upper Dir formed a militia after the Hayagai Sharqai village mosque was bombed, killing 38 people in June.

 The chief of the militia, Malik Moatbir Khan, told the AFP news agency that they have since killed 167 Taliban with help from the army and that 97 of his volunteers have also died.

Pakistan’s Frontier Corps confirm they have been co-operating closely with local tribal leaders. One of Pakistan’s tactics to protect local communities in the face of Taliban insurgency has been to arm them.

Suicide attacks and bombs have killed around 2,000 people in the country in the past two years. Although officials claim that extremists have been driven out of the three north-west districts, there are fears that the Taliban have not been completely defeated but have merely disappeared into the mountains.