By DPA
Islamabad : Armed supporters of a pro-Taliban cleric gained control of another town in Pakistan’s northwest Swat Valley as up to seven troopers were feared dead in a blast in the nearby Malakand area, media reports said Wednesday.
About 400 militants travelling in 16 trucks entered Alpuri, the main town in Shangla district, Tuesday night and seized its government buildings and police headquarters, the daily News reported.
A military spokesman confirmed the advance but refused to give details of the fighting.
Alpuri is the third major city in the Swat Valley that has fallen to the Islamic militia organised by the firebrand cleric Maulana Fazlullah since late October when Pakistani troops were sent to restrain him from enforcing Taliban rule in the area.
Meanwhile, up to seven soldiers were killed in a militant attack on a security convoy in the neighbouring Malakand agency, apparently by supporters of Fazlullah.
The militants targeted an Army convoy with an explosive device in the Aman Darra area, and there were reports of five to seven soldiers being killed, the Dawn news channel reported.
The attack came a day after helicopter gunships destroyed four bunkers occupied by militants in the Swat Valley, killing four rebels.