August 31, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 28, 1429

KOHAT, Aug 30: Two persons were killed and four others sustained injuries when rockets hit two houses in Meri Khel and Tandi Kalay areas of Darra Adamkhel during exchange of fire between militants and security forces on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Iqbal, 45, son of Kamal, and Ahmed, 12, son of Aftab Alam. The names of the injured persons could not be ascertained.

Sporadic clashes continued in the populated areas since morning. The fighting intensified in the evening when security forces targeted the residential areas suspecting that militants were hiding there.

Helicopter gunships targeted the headquarters and training camp of militants in Tora China area.

“The holy month of Ramazan is around and we do not want to intensify and extend battle against security forces which may cause harm to the local population. But if the security forces continue action we will be compelled to give tit for tat response,” a spokesman for Taliban in Darra Adamkhel told Dawn on Saturday.

The officials confirmed that so far very little number of tribesmen had migrated to Peshawar and most of them wanted to remain in their homes during Ramazan. It is worth mentioning that people are not allowed to pass through tunnel or the hilly track to reach Kohat due to security reasons.

The security forces continued sporadic artillery firing at different places without any report of casualties or major damage on Friday night and Saturday morning.

The Taliban sources said that they were safe and had not been affected by the firing. The helicopters returned to Kohat base and no further air strikes were made during rest of the day.

Meanwhile, militants blew up the remaining part of the bridge in Rosiano Kalay on the old Indus Highway which connected the villages with Darra Adam Khel bazaar. It was damaged in a bomb blast on late Friday night but small vehicles were using it but the militants also blew that part of the bridge to cut all communication links.

On Saturday militants also attacked an army checkpost in the mountains of Mazid Khel area but missed the target.

Fear and panic gripped the local people when five artillery shells exploded in Shani Kalley and Babzi Kalay which caused no loss of life but damaged the walls of a hujra and a house. The inmates remained unhurt.

Two rockets fired by the militants from Darra Adam Khel also hit an open ground in the OTS in Kohat away from the populated areas, officials said.

The biggest problem faced by the people and the government during the last and present operations was the closure and safety of the strategic Kohat Tunnel which completely halted communication between North of the country to Karachi on the Indus Highway. Hundreds of trucks have been parked in roadside hotels and on the road for the last two days. The tunnel was badly damaged during February last military operation in Darra Adamkhel and had remained closed for repairs for more than two months.