Nine militants killed as jets pound Tirah valley hideouts

ISPR says fighter jets also destroyed three militant hideouts in Koki Khel area of the valley

PESHAWAR: At least nine terrorists were killed when fighter jets pounded their hideouts in Koki Khel area of Tirah valley in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the ISPR said in a statement released on Friday.

Three militant hideouts were also destroyed during the aerial operation. The raid came nearly three weeks after the military secured key heights in the strategic Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region where they launched an operation to eliminate pockets of terrorists.

Operation Khyber-III was mounted in Rajgal area of Tirah valley, right on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan to “effectively check the movement of terrorists”. The area is tucked deep in high mountains with a treacherous terrain and all-weather passes. Most terrorist-infested regions of Khyber Agency – including the strategic Tirah valley – were cleansed in two previous operations, codenamed Khyber-I & II.



The operation will reduce cross-border movement of terrorists, according to the ISPR. The offensive is a part of Pakistan’s efforts to ensure effective border management to check infiltration of terrorists, who shuttle between Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.

The military has successfully routed terrorists from the tribal areas, including North Waziristan Agency, where local and foreign terrorists once held sway. But terrorists still maintain some hideouts close to the porous border. Security officials said the operation in Rajgal valley would squeeze the space available to fleeing terrorists in the border region.

Pakistan is keen on strengthening a border mechanism which it says is vital to take the ongoing fight against terrorism to a logical end. As part of the plan, Pakistan also enforced new border rules at Torkham, one of the busiest crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

However, the construction of a gate at Torkham border crossing sparked tensions between the two countries in June when Afghan forces resorted to unprovoked firing in an attempt to disrupt constructions. The border skirmishes left one Pakistan Army major dead and several others wounded.

But lately, the two neighbours decided to resolve the issue through dialogue and for this purpose set up a high-level bilateral coordination mechanism for border security. An expert-level meeting of the bilateral mechanism was held in Islamabad last month to work out modalities. Despite objections from Kabul, Islamabad said it would not compromise on new border rules as it plans to establish similar security gates on all nine border crossing points with Afghanistan.