Targeting terrorism : 18 militants killed in fresh airstrikes

Military campaign has been intensified following Punjab home minister’s assassination.

ISLAMABAD: The army on Tuesday claimed to have killed 18 suspected terrorists in latest air strikes targeting the militant hideouts in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that precise aerial strikes took place in Shawal, which is one of the few remaining pockets where militants are still holding up.

At least 65 suspected militants were killed in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency when fighter jets pounded their hideouts on Monday.

The air strikes have been intensified following the assassination of Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada in a suicide attack in his hometown Attock on Sunday.



The deeply forested ravines of Shawal Valley and Datta Khel are popular smuggling routes between Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, and are dotted with militant bases used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.

Banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan used to control all of mountainous North Waziristan, which includes the Shawal Valley and Datta Khel, and runs along the Afghan border.

But Pakistan Army recaptured most of the region in a major armed operation launched last June.

Since May, the military has stepped up operations in Shawal Valley, where the Taliban still operate freely.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2015.