Militant commander arrested, 14 others killed

Security forces have intensified operations against militants after Friday's attack on paramilitary soldiers.

HANGU/ ORAKZAI: Security forces on Saturday arrested a key militant commander, Rehmatullah, from Hangu tehsil in Orakzai Agency.

According to Express 24/7 reporter Iftikhar Firdous , Rehmatullah was arrested after a raid was conducted in a number of villages. Sources state that Rehmatullah was a key commander and one of the most important guards of Hakeemullah Mehsud, chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Rehmatullah was not only wanted for militancy, but was also involved in drug trafficking and the target killings of a number of tribal elders in the area.

14 militants killed

Earlier today, ten militants were killed in Upper Orakzai Agency by security forces while four were killed in Kurram Agency.

Sources said security forces pounded militant hideouts in the Khadezai area of the Upper Orakzai Agency. Two militant hideouts were destroyed while eight militants were injured.

In central Kurram Agency , security forces conducted aerial operations in several areas. Gunship helicopters pounded militant hideouts in Kurrat and Brandee areas of the agency.

The fight against militancy in Orakzai has intensified since yesterday (Friday) when six paramilitary soldiers, including a senior officer were killed in a roadside bomb attack on a convoy of security forces in the restive tribal region. The convoy of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) was attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Yakh Kandaw area of Upper Orakzai Agency.

Meanwhile, a bomb attack outside a mosque also on Friday in the Pishtakhara neighbourhood of Peshawar killed five people, among them two minors, and wounded another 24, police and rescuers said. Pishtakhara is located on the border with Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency.

The operation in Orakzai agency had ended officially but the area has seen some militant activities aimed as sabotaging the peace of the region.