Officials say Pakistan raid kills all Taliban hostage-takers

By RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Security officials say Pakistani special forces raided a police center in a remote northwestern district, killing all of the 33 Pakistani Taliban militants who had earlier overpowered guards at the facility, seized arms and taken hostages. The country’s defense minister said two hostages had been killed before the operation. It was not immediately clear how many officers had been held by the hostage-takers at the center in Bannu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, since the brazen takeover on Sunday. The officials declined to elaborate or provide details on the operation, which was launched after more than 40 hours of negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban failed.