A Pakistani official says a military operation is under way against Taliban militants who have been threatening the main city in the country’s volatile northwest region.

Local government official Muhammad Siddiq Khan says the paramilitary Frontier Corps. began the operation Saturday afternoon in the Khyber tribal region near Peshawar.

He says the troops are firing mortar shells at suspected militant hideouts in the mountains.

Khyber is a key route for moving U.S. military supplies into neighboring Afghanistan.

There has been growing concern about the threat posed by Islamic militants with a burgeoning Taliban movement thriving in the region.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistan is preparing a military operation against Taliban militants who have been threatening the main city in the country’s volatile northwest, the army’s spokesman said Saturday.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that the army is readying the paramilitary Frontier Corps to target militants in the Khyber tribal region, next to Peshawar. Khyber is also a key route for moving U.S. military supplies into neighboring Afghanistan.

“The operation is imminent,” he said.

There has been growing concern about the threat posed by Islamic militants to the city with a burgeoning Taliban movement thriving in the region.

Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in Pakistan’s tribal regions, said the Taliban control the country’s entire tribal belt and “everyone now is waiting for some action from the federal government.”

“The situation is such that (the Taliban) are all around Peshawar. They are on our doorstep,” Shah said. “The situation is like water flowing into a field and until you have some obstruction to stop it you will drown. We are drowning.”

In a sign of expected resistance, a Taliban-linked group said an offensive in the area would only create more problems.

“If the government thinks there is any issue to address, that should be resolved through talks, not by the use of force,” said Munsif Khan, spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Movement. “We are ready for talks with the government.”

Vice and Virtue, led by militant leader Haji Namdar, is suspected of carrying out operations against coalition soldiers across the border in Afghanistan. Namdar has sought to impose his own strict brand of Islamic law in the region. However, he is at odds with Baitullah Mehsud, who is seen as the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan.

Menghal Bagh’s fighters have waged attacks in Peshawar in what provincial officials say was an attempt to intimidate the population and show the group’s ability to wield influence outside the tribal regions. Bagh’s followers have also been blamed for threatening convoys of supplies bound for coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Two weeks ago, a Taliban force from Khyber sent its militants into Peshawar and kidnapped 16 Christians who were later released.

A round-the-clock curfew has been imposed in the Bara area, which starts on the outskirts of Peshawar, and heavy contingents of troops have been deployed, blocking the main road into Khyber, said Mujeeb Khan, a senior local official.

“All bazaars are shut and residents have been asked not to come out of their homes,” he said.

Abbas declined to give further details of the military deployment, citing operational security.

Provincial officials said the operation will be launched within 48 hours, but the deployment of troops suggested it was effectively under way. Local newspapers reported that hospitals in Peshawar have been put on alert.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because military operations in the tribal regions are decided by the federal government and the military.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was in Peshawar on Saturday on a trip he said was unrelated to any impending operation.

One senior official said the Pakistan military has made contingency plans to protect the provincial capital from insurgents that might try to retaliate with attacks in Peshawar, where more than 1 million people live.

February elections brought a new civilian government to power, eclipsing former army strongman and staunch U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf. In a shift in policy, the new administration has supported peace efforts with Taliban militants to try to curb an explosion in violence in the northwest over the past year.

But Pakistan’s Western allies are increasingly concerned that easing up military pressure on the militants has given them more space to operate _ letting them strengthen their position in Pakistan’s border regions and giving them more freedom to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

In a brazen show of force Friday, a group of militants in the Bajur region executed two men accused of spying for U.S. forces in front of 5,000 residents.

The body of a third accused spy was discovered riddled with bullets at the side of a road in Bajur, said Fazal Rabbi, a security official in the area. A note attached to his body said anyone else involved in spying would meet the same fate, he said.

At meetings in Peshawar on Friday, federal and provincial representatives hammered out the details of the Khyber operation. They also discussed the situation in the restive Swat area, where the provincial government has signed a peace deal with a radical pro-Taliban cleric, provincial officials said.

Afrasiab Khattak, chief negotiator for the provincial government, told the AP that the province is considering seeking another military operation in Swat, where militants forced out by an army offensive last year are now regaining a foothold. There have been arson attacks on girls schools and an upscale hotel in recent days.

Khattak said the military last year drove the insurgents into surrounding mountains but left their leadership intact. He said the provincial government’s negotiations have been with militants who have disavowed any connection with recent attacks.

“We want the army to go in and attack the leadership and not to leave them in a position to return to the towns and villages and again attack,” he said. “This is what we will be discussing for Swat.”

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Associated Press writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar and Habibullah Khan reported from Khar.