An army helicopter overflies Pakistani soldiers in Ghar-I-Hira camp, in the upper Swat Valley, Pakistan, Saturday, June 20, 2009. 2009. The military took a small media group to view the camp built into a remote hillside at the northern end of the valley, citing its design, purpose and the cache of weapons seized as examples of the equipment, facilities and tactics insurgents are using in Pakistan. Acces to battlegrounds in the northwest is strictly controlled, and no independent confirmation of details given by the military was available.
The military has stepped up strikes in the past week on suspected militant bases in Bajaur, where violence has spiked again almost five months after the military declared victory after a months-long offensive.
Two local government officials, Iqbal Khan and Nawaz Khan, said bombs dropped from planes on targets in Salarzai town killed 13 militants. In nearby Charmang, shelling killed 14 militants, the officials said.
Military planes bombed Dara and Banda in Salarzai, some 33 kilometres from Khar.
Officials said the area was a Taliban stronghold and had a training camp, arms depot and bunkers.
An arms depot and four bunkers were destroyed by the bombing, they said.
Fourteen militants, including a key commander, were killed in the attacks.
The commander, officials said, was an Afghan national and an explosives expert.
Several militants were killed when security forces pounded their hideouts in Babra, Charmang, Hashim and Cheenar areas of Nawagai sub-division.
Sources said Taliban commander Qari Zaiur Rehman complained of indifferent attitude of TTP vice-chief Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and accused him of not helping them.
They said Maulvi Faqir hesitated in sending reinforcements because he was trying to enter into a peace deal with the government with the help of tribal elders.
Troops, meanwhile, advanced to Charmang and took control of Tangi and Kotki areas and set up check posts. An ISPR press release said five soldiers were injured on Saturday and Sunday in Malakand.
It said that 15 small machineguns, one sniper rifle, one 8-MM rifle, communication equipment and grenades were recovered.
Troops secured areas around Peochar, Kharkai, Kharkarai and Biha.
A heavy exchange of fire took place between security forces and terrorists in Biha valley south of Chuprial.
Troops seized 20 small machineguns, a G-3 rifle, two launchers with seven rockets, rifles, two grenades and 6,000 rounds of SMG and two MM rifles.
Some foreign currency has also been found in terrorists’ hideouts in Biha.
Security forces secured areas around Barko Sar, Roringar, Nalkot, Wainai towards Biha, Bartana and Pushtunat.
Troops are now trying to clear Tirang, Thana, Allahdand and Batkhela.
Separately, in nearby Upper Dir, a citizens' militia engaged in a two-hour clash with militants that killed seven and wounded one more, police said.
Ejaz Ahmed, police chief in the Upper Dir region, said the fighting occurred late Saturday night near the village of Patrak, about four miles east of Dir Khas, the region's main town and district headquarters.
Locals said 10 militants were arrested earlier by Chitral police had been handed over to the lashkar.
Two of those killed were identified as Fatehzar and his son Dilaram. One militant was injured and another ran away.
The shootout triggered a controversy and police denied having received 10 militants. DPO Ijaz Ahmad said the militants were killed in a clash between Taliban militants and armed villagers.
He denied reports that the militants were those arrested in Chitral.
‘The 10 militants arrested in Chitral were not handed over to us so there is no question of killing them,’ he said.
After the incident, 20 militants came out in Bar Doog area and set on fire 130 logs owned by local people. They torched a house and kidnapped a man identified as Faqir Gul Mulla.
Several civilian militias, known as lashkars, have emerged in Upper Dir since a suicide bombing on a mosque two weeks ago blamed on the Taliban killed at least 33 people. The militias carry out patrols and have been pursuing remnants of Taliban who had tried to expand their influence into the area.
Ahmed said scores of militants have been trapped and killed by the militias in several villages, with police cutting off escape routes. The Taliban who were killed Saturday had been trying to flee when they came across the militiamen and opened fire, he said.
‘Due to heavy losses, militants have been attempting to escape the area under cover of dark, and last night's incident was one such attempt,’ Ahmed said. He said no civilians were killed in the fighting.
The report could not immediately be confirmed due to military restrictions on media access to the area.
In the most striking example of growing anti-Taliban sentiment, up to 1,600 tribesmen in Upper Dir cleared three villages of Taliban fighters two weeks ago, killing at least six militants.
Monday, June 22, 2009
DTN News: Pakistan Army Killed At least 34 Militants in Bajaur, Upper Dir
DTN News: Pakistan Army Killed At least 34 Militants in Bajaur, Upper Dir
*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - June 22, 2009: Military jets and artillery pounded suspected militant hide-outs in two towns in Pakistan's northwest, killing 27 fighters, officials said. Elsewhere in the region, a citizens' militia killed seven suspected militants. An army helicopter overflies Pakistani soldiers in Ghar-I-Hira camp, in the upper Swat Valley, Pakistan, Saturday, June 20, 2009. 2009. The military took a small media group to view the camp built into a remote hillside at the northern end of the valley, citing its design, purpose and the cache of weapons seized as examples of the equipment, facilities and tactics insurgents are using in Pakistan. Acces to battlegrounds in the northwest is strictly controlled, and no independent confirmation of details given by the military was available.
The military has stepped up strikes in the past week on suspected militant bases in Bajaur, where violence has spiked again almost five months after the military declared victory after a months-long offensive.
Two local government officials, Iqbal Khan and Nawaz Khan, said bombs dropped from planes on targets in Salarzai town killed 13 militants. In nearby Charmang, shelling killed 14 militants, the officials said.
Military planes bombed Dara and Banda in Salarzai, some 33 kilometres from Khar.
Officials said the area was a Taliban stronghold and had a training camp, arms depot and bunkers.
An arms depot and four bunkers were destroyed by the bombing, they said.
Fourteen militants, including a key commander, were killed in the attacks.
The commander, officials said, was an Afghan national and an explosives expert.
Several militants were killed when security forces pounded their hideouts in Babra, Charmang, Hashim and Cheenar areas of Nawagai sub-division.
Sources said Taliban commander Qari Zaiur Rehman complained of indifferent attitude of TTP vice-chief Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and accused him of not helping them.
They said Maulvi Faqir hesitated in sending reinforcements because he was trying to enter into a peace deal with the government with the help of tribal elders.
Troops, meanwhile, advanced to Charmang and took control of Tangi and Kotki areas and set up check posts. An ISPR press release said five soldiers were injured on Saturday and Sunday in Malakand.
It said that 15 small machineguns, one sniper rifle, one 8-MM rifle, communication equipment and grenades were recovered.
Troops secured areas around Peochar, Kharkai, Kharkarai and Biha.
A heavy exchange of fire took place between security forces and terrorists in Biha valley south of Chuprial.
Troops seized 20 small machineguns, a G-3 rifle, two launchers with seven rockets, rifles, two grenades and 6,000 rounds of SMG and two MM rifles.
Some foreign currency has also been found in terrorists’ hideouts in Biha.
Security forces secured areas around Barko Sar, Roringar, Nalkot, Wainai towards Biha, Bartana and Pushtunat.
Troops are now trying to clear Tirang, Thana, Allahdand and Batkhela.
Separately, in nearby Upper Dir, a citizens' militia engaged in a two-hour clash with militants that killed seven and wounded one more, police said.
Ejaz Ahmed, police chief in the Upper Dir region, said the fighting occurred late Saturday night near the village of Patrak, about four miles east of Dir Khas, the region's main town and district headquarters.
Locals said 10 militants were arrested earlier by Chitral police had been handed over to the lashkar.
Two of those killed were identified as Fatehzar and his son Dilaram. One militant was injured and another ran away.
The shootout triggered a controversy and police denied having received 10 militants. DPO Ijaz Ahmad said the militants were killed in a clash between Taliban militants and armed villagers.
He denied reports that the militants were those arrested in Chitral.
‘The 10 militants arrested in Chitral were not handed over to us so there is no question of killing them,’ he said.
After the incident, 20 militants came out in Bar Doog area and set on fire 130 logs owned by local people. They torched a house and kidnapped a man identified as Faqir Gul Mulla.
Several civilian militias, known as lashkars, have emerged in Upper Dir since a suicide bombing on a mosque two weeks ago blamed on the Taliban killed at least 33 people. The militias carry out patrols and have been pursuing remnants of Taliban who had tried to expand their influence into the area.
Ahmed said scores of militants have been trapped and killed by the militias in several villages, with police cutting off escape routes. The Taliban who were killed Saturday had been trying to flee when they came across the militiamen and opened fire, he said.
‘Due to heavy losses, militants have been attempting to escape the area under cover of dark, and last night's incident was one such attempt,’ Ahmed said. He said no civilians were killed in the fighting.
The report could not immediately be confirmed due to military restrictions on media access to the area.
In the most striking example of growing anti-Taliban sentiment, up to 1,600 tribesmen in Upper Dir cleared three villages of Taliban fighters two weeks ago, killing at least six militants.
An army helicopter overflies Pakistani soldiers in Ghar-I-Hira camp, in the upper Swat Valley, Pakistan, Saturday, June 20, 2009. 2009. The military took a small media group to view the camp built into a remote hillside at the northern end of the valley, citing its design, purpose and the cache of weapons seized as examples of the equipment, facilities and tactics insurgents are using in Pakistan. Acces to battlegrounds in the northwest is strictly controlled, and no independent confirmation of details given by the military was available.
The military has stepped up strikes in the past week on suspected militant bases in Bajaur, where violence has spiked again almost five months after the military declared victory after a months-long offensive.
Two local government officials, Iqbal Khan and Nawaz Khan, said bombs dropped from planes on targets in Salarzai town killed 13 militants. In nearby Charmang, shelling killed 14 militants, the officials said.
Military planes bombed Dara and Banda in Salarzai, some 33 kilometres from Khar.
Officials said the area was a Taliban stronghold and had a training camp, arms depot and bunkers.
An arms depot and four bunkers were destroyed by the bombing, they said.
Fourteen militants, including a key commander, were killed in the attacks.
The commander, officials said, was an Afghan national and an explosives expert.
Several militants were killed when security forces pounded their hideouts in Babra, Charmang, Hashim and Cheenar areas of Nawagai sub-division.
Sources said Taliban commander Qari Zaiur Rehman complained of indifferent attitude of TTP vice-chief Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and accused him of not helping them.
They said Maulvi Faqir hesitated in sending reinforcements because he was trying to enter into a peace deal with the government with the help of tribal elders.
Troops, meanwhile, advanced to Charmang and took control of Tangi and Kotki areas and set up check posts. An ISPR press release said five soldiers were injured on Saturday and Sunday in Malakand.
It said that 15 small machineguns, one sniper rifle, one 8-MM rifle, communication equipment and grenades were recovered.
Troops secured areas around Peochar, Kharkai, Kharkarai and Biha.
A heavy exchange of fire took place between security forces and terrorists in Biha valley south of Chuprial.
Troops seized 20 small machineguns, a G-3 rifle, two launchers with seven rockets, rifles, two grenades and 6,000 rounds of SMG and two MM rifles.
Some foreign currency has also been found in terrorists’ hideouts in Biha.
Security forces secured areas around Barko Sar, Roringar, Nalkot, Wainai towards Biha, Bartana and Pushtunat.
Troops are now trying to clear Tirang, Thana, Allahdand and Batkhela.
Separately, in nearby Upper Dir, a citizens' militia engaged in a two-hour clash with militants that killed seven and wounded one more, police said.
Ejaz Ahmed, police chief in the Upper Dir region, said the fighting occurred late Saturday night near the village of Patrak, about four miles east of Dir Khas, the region's main town and district headquarters.
Locals said 10 militants were arrested earlier by Chitral police had been handed over to the lashkar.
Two of those killed were identified as Fatehzar and his son Dilaram. One militant was injured and another ran away.
The shootout triggered a controversy and police denied having received 10 militants. DPO Ijaz Ahmad said the militants were killed in a clash between Taliban militants and armed villagers.
He denied reports that the militants were those arrested in Chitral.
‘The 10 militants arrested in Chitral were not handed over to us so there is no question of killing them,’ he said.
After the incident, 20 militants came out in Bar Doog area and set on fire 130 logs owned by local people. They torched a house and kidnapped a man identified as Faqir Gul Mulla.
Several civilian militias, known as lashkars, have emerged in Upper Dir since a suicide bombing on a mosque two weeks ago blamed on the Taliban killed at least 33 people. The militias carry out patrols and have been pursuing remnants of Taliban who had tried to expand their influence into the area.
Ahmed said scores of militants have been trapped and killed by the militias in several villages, with police cutting off escape routes. The Taliban who were killed Saturday had been trying to flee when they came across the militiamen and opened fire, he said.
‘Due to heavy losses, militants have been attempting to escape the area under cover of dark, and last night's incident was one such attempt,’ Ahmed said. He said no civilians were killed in the fighting.
The report could not immediately be confirmed due to military restrictions on media access to the area.
In the most striking example of growing anti-Taliban sentiment, up to 1,600 tribesmen in Upper Dir cleared three villages of Taliban fighters two weeks ago, killing at least six militants.
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