April 05
PAKISTANI troops backed by helicopter gunships and jets killed at least 18 militants in a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said Sunday.
The strikes launched on Saturday continued overnight in Mohmand, one of seven lawless tribal districts in northwestern Pakistan, where Taliban militants are active.
"At least 18 militants were killed and 20 others wounded in a fullfledged military operation in Mohmand,'' a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity and another security official also confirmed the toll.
The militant death toll could not be confirmed independently as the area is sealed off under military operations.
"We have also arrested two suspected militants and recovered five paramilitary soldiers who had been kidnapped by militants few days ago,'' the official said.
The official said troops had taken a compound used by Taliban militants as their centre, forcing them to flee the area, and had also occupied the key heights on the hills ringing Anbar village.
The tribal areas have been wracked by violence since Afghanistan's Taliban regime was toppled by the 2001 US-led invasion, prompting hundreds of fighters to flood the region.
Source: The Australian
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