Crackdown: At least 12 militants killed in aerial raids

Militant hideouts in Oblana, Arghanjo and Adam Khel areas of Mamozai bombed.

HANGU:

At least 12 suspected militants were killed and several others injured when fighter jets pounded their hideouts in upper Orakzai Agency on Monday.

At around 3:30pm, jets bombed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Oblana, Arghanjo and Adam Khel areas of Mamozai, said a security official, adding that five hideouts were destroyed and more than a dozen suspected militants were also injured besides the 12 killed.

The exact number of injured could not be ascertained because the militants shifted their wounded accomplices to an undisclosed location in the mountainous region, he said.

Mamozai is the strong hold of TTP’s Orakzai commander Mullah Gul Zaman and his deputy Mullah Toufan.

A TTP commander told journalists that nine of their fighters were killed in the bombings, while those injured are being treated at an undisclosed location. He vowed to continue their fight against security forces.

Another security official said TTP militants in Tirah valley, Khyber Agency are trying to infiltrate the Dabori area of Orakzai Agency following fatal clashes with Ansarul Islam, another banned outfit. Security forces are deployed in Dabori, an area of Orakzai adjacent to Tirah valley, and are targeting militants on the run, the official added.

Security forces launched an operation in March 2010 after Orakzai Agency fell into the hands of militants. Officials claim they have cleared 97% of the militant-infested areas.

The operation in the Mamozai area of upper Orakzai is, however, ongoing and securing it has been a challenging task because Orakzai borders the restive Kurram and Khyber agencies.

Militants from the two agencies cross over into Momozai, Khadizai and Ali Khel areas, where they constantly target security forces and then escape back to their hideouts.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2013.