Taking the war to the terrorists.. the war continues..
Foreigners among 20 killed in Shakai
* ISPR says ‘a few casualties’ among security forces
* Nek accepts responsibility for attacks
* 3 civilians and khasadar also killed
By Iqbal Khattak
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Army and paramilitary personnel on Wednesday killed 20 militants, some believed to be foreigners, and arrested one when Nek Muhammad and his group attacked them just before dawn in a Mehsud-populated area of South Waziristan Agency.
FATA security chief Brig (r) Mehmood Shah told Daily Times that more than 20 militants were killed and one was arrested, while the Army had found six bodies. He said one khasadar (a paramilitary soldier) was killed and three civilians including a woman died in the crossfire, while three children were injured. Brig Shah said tribesmen had buried seven militants and bodies of up to eight were still lying in the open.
Military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times that the army had taken the bodies of six of the dead militants into custody while the rest were lying on the battleground. They looked like foreigners, he added. One of the militants was captured alive, he said.
He said there were “a few casualties” among the army and paramilitary personnel, but did not give any figures. However, a source told Daily Times that around a dozen paramilitary and army personnel had been killed in the attack. But no official confirmation was available.
Nek Muhammad, who fought the army in March and was later pardoned on April 24 in the Shakai deal, accepted responsibility for the attacks. “Who else can attack the army but me,” he told Daily Times by satellite phone from an undisclosed location in South Waziristan Agency.
Militants attacked a fort occupied by paramilitaries and a government school occupied by army personnel in Tiarzeh and a bridge 20 miles west of Wana at about 4:30am, taking the security forces by surprise.
A fierce battle ensued and went on till late afternoon. One resident in Wana said a group of foreigners and local tribesmen were holed up in four fortress-like houses and were trading fire with soldiers.
The army used its artillery based at Zarinoor and targeted the militants’ positions and the nearby Shakai area. Local tribesmen were seen moving to safer locations.
The Ahmedzai Wazir-led lashkar (army) called off its three-day-old search operation in Shakai moments after the shooting began. Tribal elder Malik Behram Khan said the 36-member advisory committee would meet the political administration to discuss a future course of action.
He said since the attacks took place in Mehsud-populated areas, the government should make the Mehsuds accountable under the Frontier Crimes Regulation laws. But he feared that the militants’ move might be an attempt to divert the government’s attention from the current search operation against foreign militants.
Maj Gen Sultan said the army “views the attacks as a total breach of trust, tribal code of life and Islamic principles” and the Shakai deal was proof of the government’s seriousness to peacefully resolve the problem.
Brig Shah said many of the dead militants were foreigners, but some locals were also with them. “The militants are heavily armed. They have occupied these houses with force.”
“Both sides are using mortars and heavy weapons. A heavy exchange of fire is going on,” he said, adding that, “According to our information, eight people have been killed.”
Security forces had surrounded a 10-mile stretch between two military checkpoints that had come under fire from the militants. |
