North Waziristan: 23 militants killed in Shawal air strikes

Militants kill three policemen in Buner district of K-P

PESHAWAR/ BUNER: The military claims to have killed at least 23 terrorists in fresh air raids in North Waziristan Agency Wednesday evening.

PAF fighter jets targeted bases of militants located in the remote Shawal valley of North Waziristan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “As a result of these precise aerial strikes, at least 23 terrorists were killed,” it added. “Four hideouts and bases of terrorists were also destroyed.”

According to the statement, the bases and hideouts of militants in Shawal valley were constantly bombarded and a large portion of North Waziristan has been cleared of insurgents.

Meanwhile, at least three policemen were killed by militants in the mountainous Elum region of Buner district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa late Tuesday evening.

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of militants in Elum, the SHO of Jawar police station, Anwar Khan, along with three others, travelled to the region Tuesday morning. However, they didn’t return and were believed to have come under siege of militants.

Reinforcements were rushed to the area but the missing policemen could not be located due to darkness and bad visibility. However, on Wednesday morning, the bodies of the three policemen were found, while SHO Anwar Khan was found seriously wounded. The dead policemen have been identified as ASI Waris Khan and constables Taj Muhammad Khan and Ghani Ur Rahman.

Provincial Minister for Religious Affairs Haji Habib Ur Rahman Khan and Awami National Party parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly Sardar Hussain Babak showed serious concern over the killing of the policemen. Babak blamed the provincial government for

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2015.