Insurgents, police clash amid Pakistan flooding

ISLAMABAD - Militants exploiting the flooding chaos in Pakistan clashed with police overnight, authorities said yesterday, as desperately needed international donations for the millions of victims picked up pace three weeks after the deluge began.

Meteorologist Arif Mahmood said floodwaters won't fully recede until the end of the month, and river torrents were still heading toward Hyderabad and Sukkur in the south. But no heavy rains were forecast this week.

The floods have submerged tens of thousands of villages, killed around 1,500 people and affected 20 million others, authorities say. They hit first in the northwest, wiping out much of its infrastructure. Then the bloated rivers gushed south and east, displacing millions more people. About a fifth of Pakistani territory has been affected.

The northwest is the epicenter of Pakistan's fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Militants killed two members of an anti-Taliban militia in the Adezai area of Peshawar. Then, several militants were killed as they attacked police posts in Peshawar's Sarband area. - AP