Pakistani troops discover five headless corpses

TROOPS secured footholds yesterday in a Pakistani valley overrun by the Taliban, killing 11 militants and discovering five headless corpses near the region’s main town, the army said.

Elsewhere in the turbulent northwest, police said dozens of assailants stormed a transport depot handling supplies for Nato troops in neighbouring Afghanistan and torched eight trucks.

Rising violence, including a string of attacks on Nato and US supplies, have fed concern that more of Pakistan’s border region is slipping from government control and into the hands of the Taliban and al-Qaida.