WANA, Nov 21: An army captain suffered serious injuries in a landmine blast inside a mud- house in the South Waziristan tribal region on Sunday, officials said.
Military officials said the incident occurred in the remote Kachae Langerkhel area of the Laddah sub-division when army and paramilitary forces were conducting a joint search operation.
The injured officer was identified as Captain Mohammad Bilal. He was rushed to a military hospital in Bannu. The officials said the landmine went off when security forces were searching the empty house of a tribesman, Janat Khan Mehsud, for weapons and ammunition.
Eyewitnesses said the owner had put up a warning that landmines has been laid in the house. An official of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in Peshawar confirmed the landmine explosion, saying that the military officer had lost a leg.
He told Dawn that the security forces had seized a huge quantity of explosives from the Mehsud dominated area. The seized explosives had been loaded on seven trucks. Residents said that after the explosion the troops started firing to disperse a mob. But no casualty was reported. They said the security forces searched about 50 houses and recovered weapons.
The Mehsud tribesmen have opposed the search operation in the area and a grand jirga would take place in Tank on Monday in this regard. The political authorities, meanwhile, released 35 prisoners, most of them children, from the Wana jail on Sunday. The release of the prisoners, belonging to the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe is part of a deal reached between the government and five militants in Wana last week.
Our staff reporter from Islamabad adds: Security forces on Sunday recovered a huge quantity of arms, ammunitions and explosives from South Waziristan Agency, it is officially announced. According to the ISPR, the arms and explosives were recovered during an on-going search operation which commenced on Nov 8.
The recovered cache include over 1,700 kg of explosives and accessories, 1,000 grenades, 74 anti-tank mines, 256 mines anti-personnel, 101 rockets of 107 mm calibre, 647 rockets of 82 mm mortar, 580 rounds of 75mm recoilless rifle, 500 AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher, 174 rounds of RPG-7 rocket launcher and over 200,000 bullets.
The arms recovered include 36 Klashnikov rifles, 6 heavy machine guns of 12.7 mm calibre, 5 heavy machine guns, 9 light machine guns, 4 mortar of 82 mm calibre, 2 recoiling rifles of 75mm, 1 AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher, 4 rocket launchers RPG-7 and 500 arms of different types.
Military authorities said security forces have also recovered a car which was reportedly under the use of Abdullah Mehsud involved in a recent abduction of two Chinese engineers.
The forces have dismantled a firing range and other training facilities which were used for bomb making and use of firearms. A printing press being used for publications of an alleged propaganda material has also been dismantled in Dilla area of South Waziristan Agency.
