Islamabad, Wednesday 22 Oct 2008: At least 19 people, including three soldiers and 14 militants, were killed Tuesday in fresh clashes in northwest Pakistan, security officials said.

A roadside bomb targeted a security convoy in Kabal area of Swat valley in the North West Frontier Province, killing three security forces members and injuring several, official said.

The residents said the government forces pounded suspected militants’ position following the incident and some stray rounds hit a residential area killing at least two civilians and injuring five.

Pakistani forces are carrying our offensive since October 2007 in Swat valley, formerly a popular tourist destination, against a radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, whose heavily armed followers have waged an armed campaign to enforce Taliban rule in the area.