Dozens of Militants Killed in Pakistan in Wake of School Attack

Peshawar, Pakistan: The Pakistani military said Friday that it had killed 62 militants in clashes near the border with Afghanistan, stepping up operations against insurgents after an attack at a school that left 148 students and staff members dead.

The military said 12 insurgents had been killed in battles with security forces Thursday night in two locations in the Khyber tribal area.

Shahab Ali Shah, an administration official in the tribal region, said security forces had raided the area after receiving a tip from intelligence officials.

"There was an intense battle," he said. "Bodies of the militants are available with us. They are being identified."

In a separate battle in the Khyber region, military and civil administration officials said, security forces had beaten back an attack by militants late Thursday night.

"After an hourlong battle, the attack was repulsed," Shah said. "Eighteen militants were killed. Their bodies have been shifted to a local hospital for identification."

The military said an additional 32 militants were killed when security forces ambushed them at two places near the border. Three members of the security forces were also wounded in the exchange of fire, said a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations, the communications wing of the Pakistani military.

The increase in military operations in the Khyber region came after an attack on Tuesday on an army-run public school in Peshawar that killed 132 students and 16 teachers, staff members and soldiers.

The attack on the school has prompted a public outpouring of grief and calls for tougher action against militants. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the headquarters of the Pakistani army in Rawalpindi on Friday for a briefing on the security situation.

The government has also partly lifted a moratorium on capital punishment to allow for the execution of any convicted militants.