By DPA
Islamabad : Two days after the Lal Masjid operation here, the Pakistan army Friday surrounded a town near the border with Afghanistan following a string of militant attacks.
Troops sealed off approaches to Hangu in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) where several members of the security forces were killed and injured in bombings the previous day, the Dawn news channel reported.
Suspected members of a banned extremist Islamic organisation, Nifaze Shariat-i-Mohammed, targeted police and military officials in the area after the siege and storming operation began at the Lal Masjid on July 3.
At least 108 people died before the Lal Masjid complex was captured from militants, sparking an angry backlash in many parts of Pakistan, particularly in the restive north-west.
The military activity around Hangu was also thought to be linked with local radio broadcasts by an Islamic cleric who called upon people to retaliate for the events in the capital.