KHYBER (Reuters/AFP) - Khybers top government administrator, Tariq Hayat, said on Friday Bara had been almost cleared of militants. But he also said nearly 600 policemen recruited from ethnic Pashtun tribes in the region had quit after a commander, Mangal Bagh, had warned them over his illegal FM radio to give up their jobs. Some 600 khasadars abdicated their duties today, Tariq Hayat said. We have given them 24 hours notice, and if they fail to report by Saturday afternoon their services will be terminated, he added. There are about 2,500 people in the tribal police in Khyber district. Militant spokesman Zar Khan confirmed that Mangal Bagh issued the warning and charged that the military operation targeted innocent residents. Khasadars are locally recruited tribesmen who know their area well and are considered helpful in tracking down militant centres and hideouts. Militants from Tehreek-i-Taliban adopted similar tactics in the northwest Swat valley, where hundreds of police deserted. The military claims to have killed around 150 militants in Khyber but such tolls are impossible to confirm independently. Khyber is on the main land and supply route through Pakistan into Afghanistan, where international forces are battling a Taliban insurgency. Twenty-two border guards were killed last month in a suicide bomb attack in Khyber.