The bullet-riddled bodies of 11 more suspected Taleban rebels believed killed by avenging residents have been found in Pakistan's northwest Swat valley, officials said Tuesday. Pakistan's military claims to have cleared Swat of extremists in an offensive launched earlier this year after militants extended their grip into the valley, terrorizing residents with public beheadings and other violence. “The bodies of 11 people, mostly militants, have been found in three different areas of Swat Monday,” a senior security official siad. “The bodies had bullet wounds and some had signs of violence.” Atif-ur-Rehman, administrative chief of Swat district, said that 192 bodies had been found, but gave no further details. Pakistan says more than 1,930 militants and over 170 security personnel have been killed in the offensive since late April, but the death tolls are impossible to verify independently. Relatives accuse Pak forces This time, the victims are suspected militants and the killers are alleged to be security forces. The army and the police deny the accusations, which the leading Pakistani human rights watchdog says are credible. The killings are a sign of the troubles still facing the valley, even as US officials cite the offensive - which is now winding down - as a success in Islamabad's campaign against Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants threatening both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The bloodshed comes as many of the two million people who fled the fighting are now returning to rebuild their lives.
