At least 30 people were killed Monday in sectarian violence and military operations, while pro-Taliban militants abducted eight government officers in north-west Pakistan, officials and media reports said, according to DPA. Twelve insurgents died and eight were injured when army helicopters pounded positions of heavily armed supporters of pro- Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah in the restive Swat valley, Geo news channel reported. Shells also hit residential areas, killing six people and wounding 20, local sources told the channel.
