Pakistani forces launch offensive against militants
Updated
Pakistani troops backed by tanks have launched an offensive against militants near the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Soldiers killed one militant and demolished a house belonging to the leader of an Islamist movement which has effectively taken control of the Khyber tribal district bordering Afghanistan.
The operation is the first by the new government since it began talks with Taliban militants after winning elections in February.
It followed a series of attacks on police and local tribesmen by the militants vowing to establish Taliban-style rule in the area and the kidnapping of more than a dozen Christians from Peshawar last week.
Earlier, a top Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud suspended peace talks with the government over the security forces' continued use of force against tribesmen.
