Pakistani Authorities Discover 20 Bodies

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities have found 20 bodies in a restive northwestern tribal region.

Local officials told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that the bodies were found in three different villages in the Bara region of the northwestern Khyber tribal district, which borders Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military's media branch identified the dead as militants who were killed during an army operation earlier this month.

That information could not be independently verified.

Officials buried the bodies late on July 25, saying no one turned up to claim them.

Earlier this year, the discovery of several bodies in Bara sparked protests.

Locals accused the army of killing innocent people during raids.

The region has been the scene of sporadic fighting between Islamist radicals and military for the past several years.

With reporting by AFP