Six dead in Swat suicide attack

The government offensive has reportedly involved 20,000 troopsSix people including a policeman and two children have died in a suicide attack on a
checkpoint in north-west Pakistan, security officials say.





The Swat valley attack comes a day after the army said it had almost cleared the area of militants loyal to pro-Taleban cleric Maulana Fazlullah.
Troops were chasing a few hundred militants in the mountains, it said.
Nearly 300 Islamists are reported to have been killed since the offensive was launched two weeks ago.

Officials said Sunday's attack saw a car crash into the police post.
"The bomber hit the check post barricades with the car and then blew himself up," provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal told AFP.
The fighting in Swat is the first serious insurgent threat from pro-Taleban forces in what is considered a settled area of Pakistan.
Until now the army has focused on fighting militants mainly on the largely autonomous Waziristan tribal areas along the Afghan border.
Forces loyal to Maulana Fazlullah, including some foreign fighters, had taken control of a series of small towns and villages, and tried to implement strict Islamic law.
Previously, only five troops and six civilians have been reported killed and 20 civilians wounded.