The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Peshawar

Pakistani Taliban militants shot dead three intelligence officials in the northwestern Swat Valley, undermining a peace treaty in the troubled former tourist region, officials said Tuesday.

The incident happened on Monday night near Mingora, the main town in Swat, where the Pakistan army launched a major offensive in October to clear the area of militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah, a radical pro-Taliban cleric.

"The Taliban intercepted the officials near Mingora town and opened fire after they resisted the militants' attempt to kidnap them," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A spokesman for the militants in Swat, Haji Muslim Khan, said that the officials were shot dead after they refused to go with the Taliban.

"We had to react in this way in protest against physical torture of our people in the government custody," he told reporters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The government signed a peace deal with the militants of Swat in May and agreed to gradually pull out troops and introduce an Islamic justice system. In exchange, the rebels said they would halt attacks and surrender their arms.

But violence has erupted again in Swat in recent weeks, adding to US concerns about Islamabad's efforts to negotiate with hardliners based near the Afghan border.