IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Pakistani strike kills about 30 militants

Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships killed about 30 militants in an attack on their hideout near the Afghan border, a military spokesman said Saturday.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships killed about 30 militants in an attack on their hideout near the Afghan border, a military spokesman said Saturday.

The spokesman, Gen. Shaulat Sultan, would not reveal the identities or nationalities of those killed late Friday near the town of Miran Shah, the scene of repeated clashes between security forces and militants in the past week.

He told The Associated Press the attack was launched using “authentic intelligence, and according to our information about 30 miscreants, who included foreigners, were killed.”

No security forces were hurt and all those present at the hideout were killed, he said, adding the raid blew up a large cache of weapons.

An intelligence official in the region said the targeted compound belonged to a pro-Taliban cleric, Maulvi Sadiq Noor, although it was not clear whether he was there at the time. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said security forces were looking for more foreigners believed to be hiding in North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous border region that includes Miran Shah.

More than 100 killed in fighting
Noor and other pro-Taliban tribesmen have been targeted since earlier this week when their armed men captured government buildings following a military attack on an al-Qaida hideout near Miran Shah. Over 100 suspects and eight soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Days later, authorities slapped a curfew in Miran Shah after regaining control of government buildings from militants, who are believed to have retreated to nearby mountains.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States and has asked tribal elders to evict foreign militants and their supporters from their areas or prepare for military action.

The recent clashes in North Waziristan were the worst in Pakistan’s tribal regions since 2004 when scores of al-Qaida militants, troops and local fighters died during fighting in the neighboring region of South Waziristan.

Officials say members of Afghanistan’s toppled Taliban regime and al-Qaida militants continue to hide in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions near the Afghan border.

The recent unrest has compelled thousands of residents to flee to safer areas, but on Friday, some shops reopened and several families began returning home.

Farid Ullah, 34, who had fled to the nearby town of Mir Ali with his wife and five children, told The Associated Press that he had returned to Miran Shah after hearing that fighting had ended.

“We pray for peace, and we ask the government to avoid the use of force and to try to resolve all issues through peaceful means,” he said as his family walked to the town.

Sher Nawaz, 38, a tribesman, said he had also returned after living with his relatives in a nearby village for three days.

Pakistan has deployed 80,000 troops and mounted a series of military operations in tribal regions to flush out militants. Pro-Taliban tribesmen insist that most of the people killed in the army raids were innocent civilians, a charge the military denies.