ISLAMABAD (AP) — Troops sent to repel a Taliban advance toward the Pakistani capital killed 14 suspected militants, the army said Thursday, and accused insurgents of holding an entire town hostage. In another development that sent a shudder through Pakistan, officials said gun attacks in the mega-city of Karachi killed at least 34 people and threatened to ignite ethnic tension. President Barack Obama said he was “gravely concerned” about the nuclear-armed country’s stability, while Pakistan’s president urged the public to support the army offensive so that the Islamic nation would remain under “a moderate, modern and democratic state.”- – – -Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]