260 soldiers are reportedly freed

Pro-Taliban militants today freed more than 260 Pakistani troops who were captured nearly two weeks ago in a restive tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, security officials and a militant said.

The soldiers were handed over to members of a tribal council in Ladha, in the South Waziristan tribal area, where they had been captured by militants Aug. 30, a local intelligence official said. Pakistan’s army spokesman said he could not immediately confirm the releases.

It was not clear whether there were any conditions to the soldiers’ release. Militants had earlier demanded that authorities withdraw the military from the area and free more than a dozen of their comrades.