Islamabad- Pakistani troops killed up to 34 militants on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced a full-scale military operation in the north-western district of Swat and adjoining areas to eliminate the Islamic militants.

Government forces employed helicopter gunships and heavy artillery against the militants' hideouts in various parts of Swat and Lower Dir, as an exodus of hundreds of thousands of civilians continued from the battle zones to the safer places.

Security forces killed 14 militants, including their commander, Akbar Ali, in the Kabal area of Swat, a scenic valley where government forces launched a military operation after a February peace deal with the Taliban collapsed, said a local military official.

Separately, militants attacked a security convoy in the Kala Dak area of Lower Dir, which neighbours Swat and is also experiencing a security offensive.

On soldier was killed in the attack which triggered a gunfight that left 10 militants dead, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps said.

Ten more militants died when the security forces hit militants' positions with artillery fire in the Maidan area of the district.

The military came into action as pressure increased from both within and outside the country to take decisive steps to turn the tide of the advancing Taliban, who exploited the February 16 peace deal to spread their influence into districts bordering Swat.

In a late-night televised address Gilani on Thursday formally ordered the country's troops to "eliminate" the militants in the areas.

"In order to restore the honour and dignity of our homeland and protect our people, the armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists," Gilani said, promising to force the Taliban to lay down their arms.

However, the Taliban still hold control of much of Mingora, the main town of Swat district.

They looted a private commercial bank in the town and blew up a girls school in the Kanju area, raising the numbers of destroyed educational institutions since the start of their offensive in later half of 2007 to 202 schools, Sama television reported.

Civilians continued running away from Swat and Dir. The United Nations refugee agency said Friday that half a million people have been left homeless by fighting in north-western Pakistan in the past few days, bringing the total displaced in recent months to 1 million.

The agency's spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva that up to 200,000 people had reached safe areas in the past few days and another 300,000 are on the move or are about to flee. (dpa)