20 more militants killed in Tirah shelling

BARA: Twenty suspected militants were killed and five others sustained injuries when the Pakistan Army helicopters targeted their hideouts in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Thursday, sources said.
The sources said gunship helicopters targeted the hideouts of the proscribed militant organisations, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Sandapal, Takhtakai and Nari Baba areas of Tirah Valley.
They said at least 20 suspected militants were killed and five others sustained injuries in the action. Also, the sources added that several hideouts of militants were destroyed in the bombardment.
The sources said security forces continued advancement to the Upper Tirah Valley and occupied the main Markaz of the militants in Shalobar and Zakhakhel areas.The sources added that security forces had also taken the control of Kamarkhel and Kukikhel areas.
Our correspondent adds: Three soldiers sustained injuries when their convoy was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Tirah Valley, official sources said.The sources said that one of the vehicles in the convoy of security forces was attacked in the Nangrosa area with an IED. Three security forces personnel were wounded in the blast, they added.
Following the incident, security forces cordoned off the area and carried out a search operation against the militants.The injured soldiers were brought to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Peshawar in a helicopter.
Some television channels had reported that 10 soldiers were injured in the attack.However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Col Nadeem said that only three soldiers were injured in the attack and were shifted to the CMH in Peshawar.Meanwhile, an outlawed militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam, headed by Mangal Bagh, claimed responsibility for the attack through its spokesman Salahuddin Ayubi.