Clashes in a northwestern region covered by an increasingly fragile peace pact killed seven militants and one soldier Monday, authorities said, adding to strains on an agreement seen in the West as a capitulation to extremists.

Taliban militants attacked an army convoy Monday in a northwestern region covered by an increasingly fragile peace pact, killing one soldier and dealing another blow to an agreement seen in the West as a capitulation to extremists.

A Pakistani government official says Taliban fighters are resuming armed patrols in the main city in the Swat Valley.

Pakistan has announced the creation of an Islamic appellate court for a segment of its northwest as part of a peace deal aimed at ending fighting between security forces and Taliban militants.

Scores of militants attacked a Pakistani security post near the Afghan border on Saturday, triggering a battle that left 16 assailants and two troops dead, the military said.

A Pakistani official says that 13 militants and two troops have been killed after insurgents attacked a security post near the Afghan border.

An escalating battle between security forces and Taliban militants left more than 50 dead in a district near the capital even as Pakistan’s government pressed on Friday with a much-criticized peace plan in the region, officials said.

Troops sent to repel a Taliban advance toward the Pakistani capital killed 14 suspected militants, the army said Thursday, and accused insurgents holding an entire town hostage.

Pakistan’s offensive to push Taliban militants from a district near the capital drew little criticism from local politicians and clerics _ a sign that insurgents may have gone too far in trying to expand their reign in the region.

Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens of Taliban fighters in a fierce struggle to drive them from a district near the capital, while the militants took over police stations and kidnapped more than 50 security forces, the army said Wednesday.