30 militants killed in continued Pak offensive

Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 4:09 am

In an intensified military campaign in the strategic areas in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan army killed 30 militants in an offensive that also left three soldiers dead, officials said.

Security forces cleared militant camps near Bajaur’s Loisam and Rashakai areas of Pakistan’s troubled NWFP in overnight battle which spilled over today.

Five militants were killed in clashes today while 25 died yesterday. Two army officers were among the security personnel who died, the officials said.

More than 1,000 militants, including five top Al Qaida and Taliban commanders, and 62 troops have died since the Pakistan Army launched a drive against militants in Bajaur last month.

Troops backed by artillery and gunship helicopters today pounded rebel strongholds in the area, an army spokesman Maj Murad Khan told reporters that troops were closer to capturing more strategic areas.

Meanwhile, four militants including senior commander Ahsanullah were captured by security forces during a search operation at Matani near Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.

The security forces launched the search operation following an increase in militant activities in the strategic town of Darra Adam Khel. Curfew was clamped in Matani and Badabher on the outskirts of Peshawar for the operation.

Pakistan’s new civilian government is under mounting US pressure to crack down on militants, especially those sheltering in the tribal areas from where they launch attacks on coalition troops in Afghanistan.

Bajaur is now the most troubled of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal areas along the Afghan border. America has described the tribal belt as a safe haven for Al Qaida and Taliban fighters and US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan have carried out a flurry of missile strikes and a ground assault on militant positions in the region.

Islamabad has angrily protested against the attacks by the US-led forces and said only its forces had the right to carry out operations on Pakistani soil. The Pakistan Army had given its troops orders to retaliate against cross-border attacks by foreign forces.

Pakistani and coalition forces exchanged fire on Thursday. Earlier this week, tribesmen claimed they had shot down a US drone along with Pakistani troops. The Pakistan Army said the drone crash landed due to a malfunction.

The Pakistan Army has alleged that there is an influx of heavy weapons and armed militants into Bajaur Agency from Afghanistan. Army officials have also said that there is no effort across the border to stop the movement of militants.

(Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

30 militants killed in continued Pak offensive

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