PESHAWAR: Pakistani troops overran two militant hideouts and killed 16 insurgents after heavy overnight fighting at a flashpoint near the Afghan border in which two soldiers also died, the military said on Sunday.
The fighting took place in the wake of a fresh military push in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber district, where the military has been targeting Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam militia who threaten the nearby northwestern city of Peshawar.
Khyber straddles the NATO supply line into Afghanistan, used by US-led troops to evacuate military equipment ahead of their 2014 withdrawal, and officials say it is key to protecting security in Peshawar for historic elections next week.
