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| 80 killed in Dir Lower fighting |
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Saturday, May 09, 2009
By our correspondent
TIMERGARA: Eighty people, including civilians and militants, were reportedly killed and scores injured in fierce fighting between security forces and the Taliban in several villages of Maidan and other areas of Lower Dir on Friday.
Sources said about 80 people were killed during clashes between security forces and the militants in Zamdara, Lal Qilla, Kumbar, Akkakhel, Kaladag and Hayaserai. Several houses were reported to have been damaged in action.
The sources said four militants at Akkakhel bridge, five in Hayaserai graveyard, 37 in a house in Kumbar and 17 more in Kumbar Bazaar were killed during the intensified military action. Two soldiers were also reportedly killed and five more injured in the clashes. One was killed in Kaladag.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that security forces on Friday attacked the militants hiding in a compound in the Maidan area, killing 15 militants, including two important commanders.
The sources said security forces used artillery guns from 9 pm on Thursday to 5 am on Friday to pound the suspected positions of the militants. It was reported that the militants torched the Ouch Police Station in Lower Dir after the policemen were asked to vacate the building.
Gunship helicopters pounded the Government Degree College, Gulabad, being used by the militants for their activities. A flour mill was also hit by the gunship helicopters but there was no word on casualties.
Eyewitnesses said the flour mill and the college were damaged in the air strikes. The militants were seen on roadside in Gulabad and Chakdara towns on the main Timergara-Peshawar road just after shelling by helicopters. They appeared in the two towns and checked vehicles. They destroyed the Levies headquarters in Chakdara on Friday.
The militants snatched a pickup from Nazim of Union Council Hayaserai, Ziaul Haq, when he was shifting his household items from the troubled area. The military action has forced the people of the Maidan area to seek shelter in Timergara, Mardan, Peshawar and Islamabad.
People displaced by the conflict were staying on roadsides under the open sky with no proper arrangements for shelter and food. Meanwhile, Timergara Peace Jirga President Muhammad Rasool announced to stage a protest against the operation in the Maidan area on May 10.
Rasool Khan appealed to the people to join the protest by hoisting black flags atop their houses, and wearing black armbands. Due to the curfew, the educational institutions were closed. The main roads, linking Timergara with Malakand, Shergarh, Batkhela, Mingora and Bajaur, were closed by security forces due to which a great logjam was witnessed on roads. Patients, children and women were among the IDPs who suffered more.
Daily use commodities were also not supplied to the district due to the curfew and closure of markets. According to the ISPR, curfew would remain in force in Lower Dir, including Timergara from 8 pm on Friday to 6 am on Saturday. Curfew for an indefinite period was imposed in Swat and the Malakand Agency.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
