Pakistan forces move in to try to rescue hostages from militants, sources say

Pakistani security forces on Tuesday launched an operation to try to free hostages from Taliban militants at a highly fortified counter-terrorism interrogation centre, three sources told Reuters.

Six security officials and several detainees were inside the centre, said the sources who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Militants took over the centre on Sunday.

Security forces had surrounded the military cantonment that houses the centre in the northwestern town of town of Bannu, where around 20 fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of Islamist and sectarian groups, were holed up.

"All options failed and the terrorists refused to free innocent people, so we decided to use force," a senior security official told Reuters on anonymity, adding that an operation was not launched earlier because of the safety of the hostages.

He said minimum force would be used to ensure the hostages' safe release.

Residents said they heard explosions coming from the vicinity of the centre on Tuesday. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pakistani authorities on Monday opened talks to try to resolve a stand-off with the militants.

The TTP, which has stepped up attacks since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the government last month, has long used violence in a bid to take over the country and enforce its own harsh brand of Islam.

According to a provincial government spokesman, the militants were demanding safe passage to Afghanistan.