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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Fatal attack on Pakistan troops | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least 17 Pakistani soldiers are reported to have been killed in an attack on an army vehicle in the northern region of Swat. | |
| The attack comes one day after the army deployed 2,500 more troops in the area to combat rising militancy. | The attack comes one day after the army deployed 2,500 more troops in the area to combat rising militancy. |
| More than 15 people were also taken to hospital for treatment. | More than 15 people were also taken to hospital for treatment. |
| The Swat valley in North West Frontier Province has become a stronghold of an anti-government militant leader, Maulana Fazlullah. | The Swat valley in North West Frontier Province has become a stronghold of an anti-government militant leader, Maulana Fazlullah. |
| He has reportedly used radio broadcasts to call for jihad, or holy war, against the Pakistani authorities. | He has reportedly used radio broadcasts to call for jihad, or holy war, against the Pakistani authorities. |
| 'Restoring order' | 'Restoring order' |
| The army vehicle, carrying munitions, exploded in the attack in Mingora, the main town in the district of Swat, a senior police official there said, the Associated Press news agency reports. | The army vehicle, carrying munitions, exploded in the attack in Mingora, the main town in the district of Swat, a senior police official there said, the Associated Press news agency reports. |
| There are conflicting reports as to what caused the blast, although police have blamed a suicide bomber. | |
| Police also say that civilian bystanders have been killed or injured. | |
| The army said on Tuesday that the 2,500 soldiers deployed there as reinforcements were setting up checkpoints across Swat, a valley popular with tourists until an upsurge of violence earlier this year. | The army said on Tuesday that the 2,500 soldiers deployed there as reinforcements were setting up checkpoints across Swat, a valley popular with tourists until an upsurge of violence earlier this year. |
| "The deployment may cause inconvenience to local population, but it is necessary to restore law and order in Swat," the caretaker Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Shamsul Mulk, told the BBC. | "The deployment may cause inconvenience to local population, but it is necessary to restore law and order in Swat," the caretaker Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Shamsul Mulk, told the BBC. |
| In July at least 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in Swat. | In July at least 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in Swat. |
| It was part of a wave of attacks on the army in response to the security forces' storming of the radical Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad that left more than 100 people dead. | It was part of a wave of attacks on the army in response to the security forces' storming of the radical Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad that left more than 100 people dead. |