ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani Army helicopter killed five Taleban militants yesterday in a restive northwestern town, taking the death toll in three days of fighting to 13 as the military operation against the militant hide-outs continues, government and military officials said.
Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said security forces backed by helicopter gunships were continuing “mopping up” operations in the suburbs of Zargari after clearing the town of militants.
An offensive was launched late on Wednesday in the Hangu district after militants killed 15 soldiers in an ambush last weekend and threatened to kill some 49 troops and officials being held hostage.
Early yesterday morning the army helicopter spotted a vehicle filled with fighters in an area close to the Orakzai tribal region, previously one of the most peaceful of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal lands.
“The helicopter fired at a vehicle in Zargari area, killing five militants and wounding six,” a government official in the region said. After the attack, militants managed to take away their wounded comrades, while the dead were shifted to Hangu, according to officials.
However, security forces comprising police, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary took control of Zargari area in Hangu whereas operation against extremists is under way in Shanawari and Shamsuddin Banda areas. According to sources, security forces started operation on Wednesday after attacks on the vehicles of security forces in Doaba area and they now took the control of Zargari area.
Camps for the displaced local residents have been established in Hangu stadium and Bagtu who migrated due to tension in these areas. Hundreds of villagers fled the combat zone yesterday, after officials relaxed a curfew on a main road leading to Kohat, a garrison town about 40 km northeast of Hangu.
But Doaba and Hangu are still under curfew and Kohat tunnel remained closed for traffic since one week. In Khyber Agency, six people were killed and 13 wounded as clashes continued between the two groups in Tera valley in Khyber Agency.
