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| 17 militants killed in Bajaur attack |
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Monday, November 23, 2009
By our correspondents
KHAR/KALAYA: Seventeen militants, including two commanders and two foreigners, were killed and eight others injured in bombing by fighter planes and clashes between security forces and insurgents in different areas of Bajaur Agency on Sunday.
Official sources said jet fighters of the Pakistan Air Force carried out intensive bombing on militantsí positions in Saparay, Kharkay, Gotki and Sewai areas in Mamond subdivision, killing four militants, including two foreigners, and injuring five others. Four bunkers, they added, were also destroyed in the attacks.
In another action, security forces killed 10 militants and an important commander Rafiullah and wounded three others when fierce clashes broke out between the two in Lois am, Inzari and Rashakai areas.
Reports said the militants had attacked security checkpoints with automatic weapons, which was retaliated instantly. A local militant commander, whose identity could not be established, was among the dead. The sources said security forces also seized huge quantity of weapons after the clashes.
Security forces had prior information about the attacks on check-posts by the militants and the forces were ready to give a tit-for-tat response. Meanwhile, a militant commander was killed when security forces shelled his house with artillery guns in the Tarkho area in Mamond Tehsil. The house was completely destroyed in the shelling, the sources added.
Separately, security forces on Sunday claimed to have killed 13 militants and conceded one casualty and injuries to five soldiers during a battle in the Shahukhel area of the Orakzai Agency.
Military sources said the Frontier Corps (FC) launched a ground assault in the Shahukhel area bordering Hangu district early in the morning. During the battle, the sources said 13 militants were killed while one junior commissioned officer lost his life and five others sustained injuries.
However, some reports suggested that the number of injured was high and several of them were stated to be in precarious condition. The injured soldiers were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Kohat.
Tribal sources said the action was carried out in the Shahukhel area of Orakzai, not in Hangu district. Shahukhel straddles the border of Hangu district and Orakzai. Locals said the militants had already vacated their positions in parts of Shahukhel, situated in Hangu.
The tribal sources also said the hideouts and compounds of the militants in the Shahukhel area were bombarded by fighter jets, gunship helicopters and artillery. The use of jet fighters, however, could not be confirmed officially.Later, the forces launched a search operation in the area and apprehended 14 militants, but no confirmation of the arrests was available at the official level.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters by phone from an undisclosed location, the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Orakzai chapter spokesman Ziaur Rehman claimed that no fighter was killed in the fighting.
Meanwhile, in the South Waziristan Agency, five militants were killed and nine others sustained injuries in the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat. Officials said the troops came under attack from the militants during their advance towards Pash Ziarat and Shawal areas. Security forces returned the fire, killing two of the attackers and injuring five others. The troops got control of the Pash Ziarat area after pushing back the militants, the officials added. They were now advancing towards Shawal, they said, adding a security official also sustained injury in the clashes. A clash was also reported from the Asman Manza area of Kaniguram.
Officials said the militants attacked security forces camp from the Murdar Algad area. Retaliatory fire from the troops resulted in the killing of three militants. One soldier suffered injuries in the exchange of fire.
Security forces said that they had secured the Ladha-Makeen Road and started patrolling the Wana-Kaniguram route. The troops said that they were in full control of the Jandola-Wana Road. Electricity supply has been restored in Wana.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
