Pakistani forces kill all militants at anti-terrorism centre, hostages freed

Reuters:   Pakistani security forces on Wednesday killed all militants who had taken over a counter-terrorism centre two days after they had held security officers and detainees hostages at the northwestern facility, defence minister said.

Khawaja Asif told parliament that all the hostages had been rescued by the Pakistani army, who also lost two elite services commandos in the operation.

Security forces had earlier launched the operation to free the hostages from the Pakistani Taliban who snatched interrogators' weapons and took them captive on Sunday.

Six security officials and several detainees had been inside the centre, multiple sources told Reuters. They declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Several army soldiers were also wounded in the operation, Asif said.

Security forces had surrounded the military district in which the centre is located, where about 20 fighters from the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were holed up.

Pakistani authorities on Monday opened talks to try to resolve the stand-off.