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| 20 militants, 10 others killed in Pak tribal area | | | Islamabad | Oct 7
At least 20 militants and 10 others were killed as Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships launched a major offensive against the local Taliban in the restive North Waziristan tribal region.
Six soldiers and four civilians, including three women, were also killed in the crackdown prompted by a wave of militant attacks on military convoys.
"The raid was launched today after militants ambushed our forces last evening. We have reports that 20 militants were killed and 15 wounded," military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said.
Helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant hideouts in the mountainous Mirali area of North Waziristan. Local residents said four civilians were also killed in the clashes.
The militants yesterday ambushed two military convoys using improvised explosive devices near Mirali town, killing two soldiers and injuring 30 more.
Arshad dismissed reports that the militants had kidnapped some soldiers in the area yesterday, describing them as "false propaganda" by the rebels to cover reverses suffered by them.
Reports had said that the pro-Taliban militants kidnapped at least 28 soldiers in the Spin Wam area of North Waziristan after attacking a military position with rockets and missiles.
Nearly 300 soldiers and paramilitary troopers have been abducted by militants in North and South Waziristan in recent months.
The militants gunned down three of the kidnapped soldiers in South Waziristan on Thursday and threatened to kill more of them if the military did not withdraw from the area.
The region has witnessed an upsurge of violence since the militants scrapped a peace deal with the government in July after troops were deployed in the area.
Reports from North Waziristan said security forces have imposed an undeclared night curfew in Miranshah, the headquarters of the region, and other towns.
Meanwhile, the bodies of 10 Pakistanis killed in Afghanistan while fighting against US-led forces were brought to North Waziristan yesterday.
Officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who brought the bodies to the tribal region, were briefly detained by Pakistani authorities. |
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