Any progress on the operation?
Monday, October 27, 2014 - Peshawar—As the second leg of Operation Zarb-e-Azb initiated in the restive Khyber agency codenamed Operation Khyber 1 advanced to 10th day on Sunday, the Pakistan Air force planes heavily pounded insurgents positions in Tiraah valley and adjoining areas leaving at least 18 alleged terrorists including an important militant commander dead. While a huge cache of arms and ammunition was destroyed as a result of incessant bombings, five militant’s were also reportedly flattened in the action.
The military and local sources said the PAF jets and the gunship helicopters struck hard on the hideouts of militants in various areas of tehsil Bara of the tribal agency on the night between Saturday and Sunday mowing down 18 trouble makers.
Sources maintained that a key militant commander of banned Lashker-e-Islam was among those killed in the air strikes, while five hideouts of the terrorists were also wiped out in the strikes carried out Kooki Khel and the Tiraah valley.
“In precise aerial strikes conducted Saturday night in Khyber agency eighteen terrorists were killed and huge cache of their arms and ammunition was also destroyed”. The Inter Services communiqué issued to media on Sunday said.
The strikes, as the military sources put, are part of the ongoing military operation named Zarb-i-Azb. The Pakistan Army led security forces, it may be recalled, had kicked off major surgery in North Waziristan agency on June 15 last after the peace talks between the government and the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fizzled out and months long efforts to find out negotiated settlement of the militancy issue eventually exhausted.
The PAF birds since then have been pounding the militants hideouts in the agency sometimes with a pause of day or so and have so far killed more than 1200 miscreants besides destroying more than 150 hide outs.
Likewise the ground operation was also started on June 30th and the Pak Army lead security forces have seized scores of bomb and other explosives manufacturing factories of the terrorists in various parts of the agencies as they successfully continued their advancements against the trouble makers.
Majority of the trouble makers have either been killed or flushed out from the NWA headquarters Miran Shah. The security forces also declared to have cleared Miranshah, Mirali and the operation titled Zarb-e-Azb, initiated against the militants challenging the writ of government almost four months back, the military sources said was advancing successfully.
Datta Khel, Boya and Degan, which were considered strong holds of militants, have mostly been cleared while the forces are making substantial advancements to ensure the clearance of rest of the trouble spots.
Besides, the security forces also expanded the operation to the restive Khyber agency with particular reference to the troubled Tiraah valley that has been the hub of insurgency for the last many years and infighting between the rival militant’s groups have claimed hundreds of lives so for.
The Operation codenamed Khyber 1 was initiated in the Khyber agency on October 17 and till date according to military sources more than eighty insurgents have been killed in security forces ground and air offensives that the military sources said would continue till the time all the miscreants are flushed out of the region.
God bless PAK Army
