Militants kidnap about 60 in Pakistan tribal area

[May 15, 2010]  PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Militants armed with assault rifles kidnapped about 60 people in a troubled tribal region in northwest Pakistan on Saturday after ambushing their vehicles, police said.

The hostages in the Kurram region included women and children, though it was not clear how many, area police chief Chaman Mir said. The group was headed to the northwestern city of Peshawar in 10 vehicles when they were ambushed.

Details of the kidnapping were sketchy and Mir said police were trying to trace and recover the hostages, who were all believed to be Pakistanis.

Robberies and kidnapping for ransom are common in the militant stronghold of Kurram, which borders Afghanistan and is next to Pakistan's Orakzai tribal region, where army troops have launched offensives to root out local Taliban. So far, troops have killed hundreds of insurgents in Orakzai, where insurgents are on the run.

Kurram has also witnessed clashes between the majority Sunni Muslims and the minority Shiite.

[Associated Press]

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