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| Troops enter Makeen amid little resistance |
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Saturday, November 07, 2009
By Irfan Burki & Daud Khattak
PESHAWAR: Security forces entered the Taliban stronghold of Makeen where clashes and search operation resulted in the killing of 13 militants on Friday, the 21st day of the operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency.
Three more militants were killed in a separate clash in Srarogha, another key bastion of the Taliban where security forces are busy consolidating their positions and conducting search operations.
Security officials said the troops did not face resistance as expected while entering Makeen. Sources said the troops had now secured almost all the key locations in their three-pronged advance on the Taliban positions from Razmak, Wana and Jandola. Only eight-kilometre area was not in the control of security forces while all other important roads from Srarogha and Wana to Makeen were now held by the military.
The political administration officials said security forces had reached Ladha from Wana and the road links on that direction had been blocked to stop the supplies and plug escape routes of the Taliban.
Security forces were conducting search operations in the villages of Gadwai, Shamerai, Maidan, Siga, Kot Langarkhel and Patwelai. From the Razmak side, the troops successfully entered Makeen besides blocking the junction of roads coming from Ladha and Srarogha. The step had been taken to get complete control over the movement of vehicles in the area, the sources added.
“This will jam the traffic system of the militants and they can only use mountainous and uninhabited routes to escape the area or get fresh supplies,” said a security official, who did not want to be named.
Officials said the troops would move towards Makeen after completing search operations in Ladha, while those already in Makeen after advancing from the Razmak side would move forward towards Ladha to ensure their presence in the area.
In Srarogha area, the troops would advance to Janta and Piazha after clearing Srarogha, which is located around 30 kilometres from Makeen. The troops will be in control of 80 per cent area of South Waziristan once they spread into all the areas between Makeen and Srarogha.
A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the troops had cleared a large part of the town of Makeen where the house of slain Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud was also destroyed. Mehsud died in a drone attack along with some of his family members on August 5 this year.
The military statement said the key junctions of roads had been blocked. It said fighting was also taking place but militants were fleeing the area, leaving behind arms and ammunition. A search and clearance operation was under way in Srarogha, where three militants were killed during a clash, said the statement. The fighting erupted after the militants fired four rockets on security forces in Srarogha.
From the Shakai side, security forces continued consolidating their positions in and around Ladha. Search operation was also under way in the area, said the official statement. According to the Army claims, around 450 militants had been killed so far. However, the Taliban dispute the claim, admitting the death of only 11 of their men.
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