Nine terrorists killed in Rajgal Valley raids

Six terrorist hideouts including an ammunition dump were destroyed in the aerial and ground raids

At least nine terrorists were killed on Saturday in aerial and ground operations in Khyber Agency's Rajgal Valley.

According to a statement issued by the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), six terrorist hideouts including an ammunition dump were destroyed in the valley's high mountains.



Most terrorist-infested regions of Khyber Agency – including the strategic Tirah Valley – were cleansed in two previous operations, codenamed Khyber-I & II.  Officials say Operation Khyber-III, launched on August 16, targets terrorists holed up in the area beyond Tirah Valley, right on the Pak-Afghan border.

The operation was launched in Rajgal Valley tucked deep in high mountains with all-weather passes in Khyber Agency, the ISPR said in a statement. Large dumps of arms and ammunition and terrorist hideouts were precisely targeted in air raids and ground operations in the treacherous terrain, it added. Nine dens of terrorists were decimated.



Tuesday’s strikes, the military said, had left 14 terrorists dead and 11 wounded. However, it would not say which groups the terrorists belonged to. The Mangal Bagh Afridi-led Lashkar-e-Islam religious extremist group and some factions of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had a strong presence in the region before the previous operations were launched.

The toll from three days of the military operation so far stands at 27 dead and 18 injured. This includes two soldiers who were killed and three others who were wounded when their patrol vehicle hit a landmine planted by terrorists early on Wednesday.