Paramilitary soldiers patrol near Bara, a town in the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border June 28, 2008. Pakistani security forces on Saturday began an offensive against Taliban militants in Khyber tribal region who were threatening the main northwestern city of Peshawar.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    ISLAMABAD, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces on Saturday launched a major operation against a militant group in a tribal region in northwestern Pakistan and destroyed several of its centers, officials said.

    "We are conducting operation on the public demand and with the government instructions," Muhammad Alam Khattak, who is in charge of the operation, told a news conference in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province.

    Khattak, Inspector General of the paramilitary "Frontier Corps", said the purpose of the operation was to establish the writ of the government.

    He said the operation was launched by the paramilitary force and the police and the regular army were not involved. But he added that the army was on standby and could be called.

    "I have not seen any resistance. The people welcomed the operation," he said. The operation could continue for three to four days, he said and added that the operation could be extended.

    "We are trying to use maximum force and will avoid collateral damage," Khatatk said.

    Meanwhile, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said that the operation was aimed at purging the area from terrorists and criminal gangs.

    He said that gangs of criminals in the Khyber agency had been fighting for a long time and the forces would expel them.

    The army spokesman dismissed the reports as exaggerated that Taliban were knocking at the doors of Peshawar, saying that "there is no such thing."

    "We will soon clean the area of terrorists," he said.

    Local authorities in the region said that the forces fired artillery shells to destroy bunkers and centers of Lashkar-e-Islamat Bara, a major town in Khyber agency.

    The Lashkar-e-Islam group has been active in the tribal Khyber agency, a few kilometers away from Peshawar.

    The group's fighters, who control some roads and small villages, have recently involved in fierce battle with its rival "Ansar-ul-Islam".

    Armed men of the group kidnapped 17 Christians from Peshawar on June 21 who were freed unharmed after 10 hours but the incident raised questions about the government's failure to check the group's activities.

    They said that armed militants had fled the area and vacated their bunkers and centers.

    Authorities said that around 5,000 security men were taking part in the operation and curfew was imposed in Bara and adjoining areas, asking the people to stay indoors.

    The government has sent tanks and armored vehicles to the region to support the ground forces.

    Locals said that all markets in the region were closed and roads to the area were blocked for traffic.

    Also on Saturday, Taliban militants in Pakistan suspended the dialogue process with the government, blaming it for launching military operation in several parts, the group leader said.

    Baitullah Mehsood said that the security forces had launched "unjustified" operations against the Taliban, saying that the operations were negation of the government's pledges to resolve problems through dialogue, according to the private Aaj TV.