Taliban militants kidnapped 11 Pakistani policemen today in an attack on a security post in the Khyber region on the Afghan border, a government spokesman said.
The kidnapping comes two days after a suicide bomber killed 37 people in an attack on a mosque in the region, through which vital supplies for US and other Western forces in Afghanistan are channelled.
"Militants came to the Shin Qamar checkpost before dawn and disarmed our policemen and then bundled them into vehicles," said Rahat Gul, a spokesman for the Khyber administration.
Mr Gul said the militants had not issued any demands: "We've launched a search but there's been no progress."
Militant violence has surged in Pakistan since mid-2007, with numerous attacks on the security forces and on government and Western targets.
Khyber was largely free of violence, but last year militants stepped up attacks on supplies travelling through the Kyber Pass bound for Western forces battling the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Pakistan sees the violence in Khyber and across the northwest as a result its support for the US mission in Afghanistan.
US President Barack Obama announced a review of policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday, vowing to tackle militants in Pakistan's ungoverned border areas.
Reuters