Security forces kill 33 suspected militants in North Waziristan clashes

The violence in the tribal district came a day after a suicide bombing killed five soldiers and wounded 34 others.

MIRANSHAH: At least 33 suspected militants and three civilians were killed in raids and shelling by the armed forces in North Waziristan, officials said Thursday.

On Thursday in the afternoon, army units acting on intelligence reports of militants preparing another car bomb in a nearby hideout in Mir Ali, security forces launched a pre-emptive strike where 10 militants were killed.

In a statement from the Inter-services public relations, most of the militants killed were reportedly Uzbek.

The violence in the tribal district came a day after a suicide bombing at a military checkpoint killed five soldiers and wounded 34 others.

Ansarul Mujahideen, a little-known militant group linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

A senior military official said 23 militants were killed overnight in fighting with security forces in North Waziristan.

Clashes erupted after the insurgents attacked a convoy of security forces which was returning after rescuing soldiers wounded in Wednesday’s bombing, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The death toll could not be verified independently because of an ongoing search operation and curfew in the area.

Earlier, local security officials said six of the suspected militants were killed during raids on two hotels.

"Security forces raided two hotels in the area close to the site of the suicide bombing and intense gunbattles left six suspected militants dead and 12 others wounded," a local security official told AFP.

Separately, shells fired by security forces hit a house in Moski village and killed a woman and her two daughters, the local official said.

Military officials did not confirm the civilian deaths.