Ground battles flare in Shawal as army pushes new offensive against militants

Residents seek to flee as jets pound militant positions and start a ground sweep

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Troops pushed deeper into militant-held areas of Shawal in North Waziristan on Friday, launching a ground offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and other militants in what are believed to be their last strongholds near the Afghan border.

Since May, the military has stepped up operations in the deeply forested ravines of the Shawal valley, which straddles the regions of North and South Waziristan along the frontier with Afghanistan, and is dotted with militant bases.

Troops began pushing deeper into Shawal after days of aerial bombing that the army said killed dozens of militants.

"Ground operation in Shawal, North Waziristan begins," the army's chief spokesperson Major General Asim Bajwa had announced on Twitter late on Thursday night.

Remaining residents of Shawal said many were desperately looking for a way to flee. "In the last (few) days, there has been heavy bombardment in the area. I'm worried for my children," said Shamal Khan, speaking by telephone from the remote area.

This week's thrust by the armed forces is described as a final clearing of the militants' last hideouts in the valley.

The army claims to have recaptured most of North Waziristan in an offensive started in June 2014. Before the operation began, the army ordered most civilians to leave. Those in the Shawal valley, however, were permitted to stay.

Another resident, Mir Alam, said local officials didn't tell them to go before this week's bombardment. "Now we are in a hurry to get out, but I have hundreds of goats and more than a dozen family members here," he said.

Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Muhammed Kurassani, however, disputed government figures. "The government does not know where we are."