Air strikes kill 15 militants in Shawal Valley
Air strikes come a week after security forces moved in on Taliban strongholds there
PHOTO: AFP
PARACHINAR:
Air strikes killed at least 15 suspected militants in Shawal Valley on Thursday, intelligence officials said, a week after security forces moved in on Taliban strongholds there.
The deeply forested ravines of the valley are a key smuggling route between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and are dotted with Taliban bases used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.
In the latest air strikes, a local security commander and two intelligence officials said that 15 or 16 suspected militants were killed in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
Read: Operation Zarb-e-Azb: 13 militants killed in military air raids
The Taliban used to control all of North Waziristan, a mountainous region that includes the Shawal Valley and runs along the Afghan border.
Pakistan Army launched an operation there last June and has recaptured most of it.
There have been a number of air strikes in the Shawal Valley over the past week and two drone attacks, but no sign of a large ground offensive.
Most phone lines to the area have been cut and military roadblocks curtail civilian movement.
Air strikes killed at least 15 suspected militants in Shawal Valley on Thursday, intelligence officials said, a week after security forces moved in on Taliban strongholds there.
The deeply forested ravines of the valley are a key smuggling route between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and are dotted with Taliban bases used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.
In the latest air strikes, a local security commander and two intelligence officials said that 15 or 16 suspected militants were killed in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
Read: Operation Zarb-e-Azb: 13 militants killed in military air raids
The Taliban used to control all of North Waziristan, a mountainous region that includes the Shawal Valley and runs along the Afghan border.
Pakistan Army launched an operation there last June and has recaptured most of it.
There have been a number of air strikes in the Shawal Valley over the past week and two drone attacks, but no sign of a large ground offensive.
Most phone lines to the area have been cut and military roadblocks curtail civilian movement.