Pakistan kills Peshawar attack 'facilitator'

Pakistani soldiers in fighting late Thursday night killed a Taliban commander who authorities believe was behind the attack on a school in the country's northwestern city, Peshawar, a few weeks ago.

"Commander Saddam was a dreaded terrorist, who was killed in an exchange of fire with the security forces in Jamrud town of Khyber tribal region," local official Shahab Ali Shah told journalists in a press conference in Peshawar on Friday.

Six of Saddam's accomplices were arrested and were being interrogated, Shah added, describing the deceased militant as an important commander of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban. Saddam had masterminded several terror attacks on security forces, in which many were killed.

On December 16, six militants took siege of a school in Peshawar, killing 150 pupils and staff in what was Pakistan's worst terror strike ever.

Crackdown on militants

Elsewhere, seven alleged militants were also killed on Friday in military strikes in North Waziristan, on the border to Afghanistan. The Pakistan army has been waging an offensive in this area since June this year in an attempt to wipe out hideouts of Islamist terrorists.

The military maneuver, which involves US drone strikes, has managed to kill 1,700 militants so far.

mg/sb (AP, AFP)