MIRAMSHAH, May 16: Security forces killed at least 18 militants and blew up two vehicles near Miramshah in the North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday. According to officials, the action was taken after a soldier had been killed in an attack on a picket.
However, Reuters, quoting security officials, said that 11 militants were killed in the incident whereas AFP put the number of deaths at nine.
The gunbattle occurred near the Nariwala area on Razmak-Miramshah road when militants fired on the security picket of Mohmand Rifles, killing one soldier and wounding three, said a security official.
The deceased soldier was identified as Afsar Khan and the wounded soldiers as Kernal Khan, Nek Amal Khan and Noor Wali, who were taken to a hospital.
The official said that troops intercepted a car and a doublecabin pick-up, which they believed had been used in the attack. “The pick-up overturned and the speedy car was targeted.”
Helicopters gunships were called in from a military base and the entire area was searched.
Sources quoting local residents said a heavy gunfire erupted after security forces cordoned off the area and it continued for more than four hours.
They said that 18 militants were killed in the encounter and troops seized nine bodies, weapons and a set of mega phone.
They said that nine bodies were taken to the military base in Miramshah, the agency head- quarters, but their identity has not been established so far.
“Three of them were said to be Uzbek,” said a security official.
Clashes erupted after the government announced constitution of a grand tribal jirga to bring an end to militancy in the agency, where army said that 324 militants were killed over past nine months.
In another incident two tribal Khasadar, Habibullah and Shundi Gul, were shot dead in Miramshah bazaar on Monday night, witnesses said.
They said that unidentified persons opened fire on the guards and took away their guns after killing them.
Officials said that Shundi Gul died on the spot and Habibullah was taken to a local hospital where he died.
MUSIC BANNED: A wanted militant, Maulvi Sadiq Noor, has announced a ban on music and video shops and narcotic use in the Hamuzai area near Miramshah, residents said.
They said that announcement was made through loud speakers from mosques, asking men to grow beards and give up un-Islamic practices including listening to music and using narcotics.
“Violators will be punished according to Shariat”, the announcement said.
Maulana Noor is one of the most wanted militants and has gone underground after bloody clashes in Miramshah town in March. Security forces have demolished his seminary.
Reuters adds: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao told a news conference in Islamabad that security forces had arrested a militant after the deadly clash.
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