PESHAWAR, September 3, 2008 (AFP) - As many as 30 suspected militants were killed in clashes with Pakistani troops in the troubled northwestern Swat valley on Wednesday, the army said.

'Up to 30 militants are confirmed dead and some 25 wounded in a ground and air offensive by the army troops,' spokesman Major Nasir Ali told AFP.

Ali said the operation targeted the central headquarters of radical pro-Taliban cleric Mullah Fazlullah, whose followers have been engaged in bloody clashes with Pakistani troops since late last year.