Pakistan: Dozens Killed In Latest Bajaur Fighting

A large number of people mostly women and children have been killed in the latest fighting in Bajaur Agency, tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border. All the roads leading to Bajaur Agency has been closed by the security forces and curfew has been clamped in the areas. There are reports of widespread deaths and destruction. Getting exact information is very difficult as the whole agency has been sealed by the security forces. Security forces have also occupied the Bajaur Press Club and journalists have been barred from entering the areas. Thousands of women and children have been seen running for their life. Tribal elders have urged the human right organisations and international media to come to their rescue.

Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships killed 11 rebels and pounded suspected militant hideouts in a tribal town on the Afghan border, the military said on Tuesday.

The operation was launched Monday in Inayat Killi town in the Bajaur region, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants, after a rebel rocket attack, local military official Mustaqim Shah told AFP.

 

The rocket attack gutted a shop but caused no casualties, he said.

'Troops backed by helicopters retaliated with artillery and mortar fire, and destroyed several suspected locations today. At least seven militants were killed,' the official said.

Residents and security officials said exchanges of fire continued overnight and into Tuesday.

 

In a gunbattle, troops killed a further four militants firing from a fortress-like house in Inayat Killi, the official said.

 

A curfew has been imposed from Khar, the main town in Bajaur, to Inayat Killi 10 kilometres north and authorities have issued a three-day ultimatum to residents to expel any militant in hiding, an AFP reporter said.

 

Residents of Khar were left without electricity after a rocket attack cut off the main power cable, the reporter said.

 

Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar, in telephone calls to journalists Monday, said militants killed five security officials in a multi-pronged attack on Inayat Killi. One tank was also destroyed in the attack, he said.

 

Security officials denied the claims. Pakistani forces launched a massive, two-month operation in Bajaur last August. Military officials said the offensive left more than 1,500 Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants dead and that more than 70 troops were also killed.

 

Source: dawn.com

 

According to another report, women and children are being killed in the fighting in other parts of tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border.

 

A soldier and 25 persons, including 11 children, were killed while 38 others sustained injuries when mortar shells hit some houses during ongoing clashes between security forces and militants in Qasimkhel area of Darra Adamkhel on Monday.

Sources said militants fired three rockets at the Babozai checkpost, killing a soldier, Mirdad, and injuring two others, who were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital, Peshawar.

Security forces also retaliated and an exchange of fire continued for sometime, during which heavy weapons were used.

Reports said several shells fell at the main gate of the Government Girls Primary School Qasimkhel and nearby houses on the outskirts of Darra Adamkhel, killing at least 13 persons including 11 children and injuring about 38 others. Four of the injured died at a hospital in Peshawar.

In a statement issued here, the ISPR said the militants fired mortar shells which killed 13 civilians and injured several others when they hit some houses in Darra Adamkhel. Eyewitnesses said the death toll was more than 25 as some of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. Body parts were found scattered at the explosion site, which were buried soon after the incident.

The minors killed in the incident were identified as Wadood, Aftab, Mujeeb, Inamullah, Roaid, Ishfaq, Waleed, Rahimullah, Hasnain, Waqar and Hanif while Muhammad Sadiq, Javed, Muhammad Ayub, Hamza and Fazal Amin were among the other killed.

Some of the injured were identified as Saifur, Majid, Shakoor, Zahoor, Naveed and Shah Hafiz. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Darra Adamkhel, Kohat and Peshawar. Kohat Tunnel and Kotal Pass were closed for all kinds of traffic soon after the incident which added to the miseries of the injured.

Meanwhile, the enraged residents decided to come out against the so-called war on terror, in which innocent people were being killed.

Talking to The News, Haji Muhammad, a local elder, said, “The government should stop bloodshed of the innocent citizens. The security forces and Taliban should fight each other, and not the people.”

AFP adds: Security forces denied involvement. “No military operation is currently underway in the area,” a security official said, requesting anonymity.

An angry mob of around 200 people protesting against the killings blocked a highway linking the town with Peshawar and other southern districts.

The town, known for its weapons market, has become a stronghold of Taliban extremists. A Polish engineer, who was beheaded at the weekend, was kidnapped by a Taliban group in the area last September.

Source: thenews.com.pk