Islamabad, July 31 (Xinhua) Six militants were killed and several rebel commanders surrendered to the security forces during a search operation in northwest Pakistan, officials said Friday.

The operation was carried out in the Swat and Malakand divisions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The security forces were backed by local Lashkars, pro-government militias, the army said in a statement.

The militants were killed in the Charbagh and Allahabad areas of Swat. A huge cache of arms and ammunitions were also recovered from the militants' hideouts, the Inter Services Public Relations said.

In a separate development, the local authorities have distributed cash among the displaced people in the Malakand region, the statement added.

More than 1,600 militants have been killed since the security forces launched a military operation against the Taliban in April in northwest Pakistan.