North Waziristan: Curfew imposed after rocket attack near Esha checkpoint

MIRANSHAH: A curfew was imposed in North Waziristan after a rocket landed near Esha check post early Thursday morning.

An official of the security forces said around 2.30am, a rocket fired from nearby mountains landed near the barracks. No loss of life was reported.

After the incident, security forces blocked all routes leading to and from the agency and imposed a curfew till late morning.

The curfew was lifted in surrounding areas but Miranshah-Mir Ali and Miranshah-Ramzak roads remained closed till afternoon.



Security measures were also tightened around the checkpoint as it is the main post between the agency and the settled area of Bannu.

On March 23, an attacker rammed an explosives-laden oil tanker at the same check post, killing 18 personnel and injuring 40 others.

Missiles defused
The Bannu police thwarted a terror bid on Thursday by defusing five missiles in Jehangir Khel area on the outskirts of the city.

Miryan police official Gul Nawaz Khan said an informer told the district police at 10am about some suspicious activity in Jehangir Khel area. Heavy contingents of police were dispatched to the area along with bomb disposal squad (BDS) in-charge, Wasal Khan, following which a search operation was launched.

After about 45 minutes, police successfully recovered five missiles connected to wires in a field. Wasal reported each missile was nine-feet long with a 16-inch radius. The missiles were planted by unidentified militants to target government installations, said the police official, adding the devices had a range of 15 to 20 kilometres and were of Russian make.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2013.