Pakistan army chief confirms death sentences for 9 militants

ISLAMABAD:  Pakistan's military says the country's army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, has confirmed nine death sentences awarded by military courts over a series of attacks that killed dozens of security officials and civilians in recent years.

In a statement Friday, the military described the nine condemned men as "hardcore terrorists." It says the men include an al-Qaida activist and member of the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistan has executed nearly 330 people in less than a year, since lifting a 2008 moratorium on the death penalty. The lifting of the moratorium was meant to be part of a crackdown on Islamic militants, but most of those executed have been convicted of criminal offenses.