At least 41 militants were arrested on Saturday in northwest Pakistan's restive Swat valley, hours after the ultras carried out two pre-dawn attacks on security forces.

The army said the militants were apprehended during a search and cordon operation at Kuza Bandai in Swat, where troops have been conducting a major operation since mid-November 2007 to quell the activities of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah and his followers.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the arrested militants, the army said in a statement.

Nearly 300 militants have been killed in the Swat valley, just 160 kms from Islamabad, since the security forces launched their operation in November.

President Pervez Musharraf [Images] has accused Fazlullah and another Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, from South Waziristan, of masterminding a series of suicide bombings across the country, including the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. Both militant leaders have denied their involvement in Bhutto's killing.

Local residents and police demolished the homes of three militant leaders at Koza Bama Khela in Swat. "These houses were owned by Khan Khitab, Farman and Anwar Ullah, who were involved in various militant activities," the army statement said.

The police at Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP also seized three rockets, but the militants who were transporting them managed to escape.