Pakistan

Pakistani security forces killed 60 insurgents in 24 hours near the border with Afghanistan in an offensive that coincided with a visit to Islamabad by US General David Petraeus for talks on regional security. Troops backed by aircraft battled "hardcore militants" in the Mohmand region, killing 38 on Jan. 20 and 22 the day before, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Suspected militant hideouts in Habibzai and Mulakhel, both Taliban strongholds, were destroyed, it said. (Bloomberg)