• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

7 Pakistani soldiers, dozens militants die in clashes

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, March 25,IRNA -- At least seven Pakistani soldiers and dozens of militants have been killed in clashes in the country’s volatile tribal regions, security officials said on Sunday.

Four soldiers and 12 Taliban militants were killed in South Waziristan tribal region on Sunday, they said.

The security forces conducted operation against the militants at Sheen Warsak area, some seven kilometers west of Wana, center of South Waziristan, an official in the region said.

He said that the security forces killed 12 militants while four soldiers were also killed in fighting. He said the militants belonged to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, which has been active in some parts of South Waziristan.

Pakistani forces had carried out major air and ground operation against the TTP members in 2009 and had cleared most of the areas but they are still hiding in remote areas.

Officials said that a large number of Taliban fighters have arrived in Wana in recent months and launch attacks on security forces from their hideouts.

On Friday, officials said they had found beheaded bodies of two soldiers, who had been kidnapped earlier. The TTP had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier, three security personnel were killed and five sustained injuries in an attack by militants on a check post in Orakzai tribal Agency, said officials.

Several armed militants attacked a security post in the Khadezai area of Orakzai Agency last night, and killed three security personnel and five others were injured, an official said.

The security forces retaliated and there were casualties from the militants also but “the exact numbers were not known so far.”

The upper region of Orakzai Agency has been consistently bombarded by the security forces in the past year and several militants were claimed to have been killed. However, as violence between warring faction grip the neighbouring Tirah Valley of Khyber, bordering Orakzai, officials believe that the inter-tribal movement of militants need to be halted.

The route is considered to be an important one and security officials have been previously attacked on many occasions.

On Friday, a suicide bomber that targeted a mosque in the bordering Tirah Valley killed at least 13 people, most of whom were identified as members of the banned Lashkar-e-Islam. The TTP had claimed responsibility for the attack.

**1412
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 80051086