By Xinhua
Islamabad : The militants in Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal area freed 15 abducted paramilitary soldiers on Tuesday, a local TV channel DAWN NEWS reported on Tuesday.
The militants freed 15 hostages and four others were still in captivity, the DAWN NEWS report said, adding that they would also be released soon.
A tribal jirga made efforts to secure the release of abducted security forces soldiers by negotiating with the militants who eventually agreed to release the hostages on Monday. However, the jirga of tribal elders preferred Tuesday morning for security reasons, a newspaper DAWN reported on Tuesday.
The jirga of tribal elders would take all the released soldiers to Wana, a major town in South Waziristan and hand them over to the political administration, DAWN NEWS reported.
As many as 16 paramilitary soldiers were kidnapped by four armed militants in South Waziristan on Aug. 9. One of them was later killed by the captors.
The militants last Thursday captured another three paramilitary soldiers and a government official who were sent by the political administration to discuss with militants on security issues.
The security situation in the Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan deteriorated since local militants in North Waziristanon July 15 scrapped a peace deal signed with the government in September last year.
The militants continually launched attacks on security forces and triggered clashes that left more than 250 militants and 60 security men dead since early July.