March, 14 2005	Monday	03 Safar 1426

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MIRAMSHAH, March 13: Hundreds of army and paramilitary troops backed by helicopter gunships raided suspected residential compounds in the Shawal area of North Waziristan in pursuit of militants, sources said.

They said commandos from the Special Services Group and army troops swooped on fortress-like mud-houses in Manra in the Shawal area, and conducted house-to-house search.

About 10 helicopter gunships and paramilitary forces took part in the five-hour operation, the sources said, adding that residential compounds of two tribesmen were searched. The tribesmen were identified as Khair Mohammad and Azal Jan.

According to some sources, two SSG personnel, Amanullah and Allah Ditta, received bullet injuries during a brief encounter with suspected militants.

The injured soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital in Bannu.

Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan confirmed the military operation in Manra, but denied any armed clash with militants.

“Certainly two soldiers sustained injuries, but the incident was not linked with the operation,” he said.

Maj-Gen Sultan also said that 10 people had been taken into custody and they were being interrogated. He said that security forces had cordoned off the area and carried out the search operation with the help of local authorities in which the 10 were captured.

The sources said that a large number of regular and paramilitary troops had raided houses in the forest-covered Shawal area near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at about 11am.

Eyewitnesses said that 10 helicopters gunship took off from the under-construction Wana airport in South Waziristan while troops were airlifted from Miramshah to Shawal.

The hilly Shawal area, close to Afghanistan’s Paktika province, is inhabited by the Ahmadzai-Wazir tribe.

The sources said that before the search operation a few gunshots were heard.

Political Agent Dr Fakhr-i-Alam and Commandant Touchi Scout Col Mohammad Naeem flew from Miramshah, the headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency, to Manra to assist the troops in carrying out the search operation.

The sources said that all the 10 arrested persons, who belonged to the Ahmadzai-Wazir tribe, had been shifted to a military base in Bannu.

TALKS: In a related development, a senior military officer on Sunday held talks with militant commander Baitullah Mehsud who had recently entered into a peace deal with the government, Dilawar Khan Wazir adds from Wana in South Waziristan.

Well-placed sources said Maj-Gen Niaz Khattak, who led the army operation in South Waziristan, flew to Tiarza from Kohat and held an hour-long meeting with Baitullah Mehsud at a paramilitary fort. However, no details of the meeting were available.