Pakistan officials say security forces killed more than 60 insurgents

Security forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery have killed more than 60 insurgents in Pakistan’s northwest tribal regions in offensives aimed at denying al-Qaida and Taliban militants safe havens, officials said Tuesday.

The attacks come amid intense U.S. pressure on Pakistan to crack down on militants blamed for attacks both at home and on coalition forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

A truck bombing this weekend at the luxury Marriott hotel in the capital Islamabad that killed 53 people underscored the threat extremists pose to the nuclear-armed nation.

More than 50 of the alleged insurgents, along with one soldier, were killed in clashes since Monday in the Kohat region bordering Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas, army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan said.
He said the military had retaken control of a key mountain tunnel from the insurgents.
In the nearby Bajur tribal region, security forces killed at least 10 militants during an ongoing offensive there, government official Iqbal Khattak said.