September 11, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 10, 1429

KHAR, Sept 10: More that 20 militants were killed in Bajaur on Wednesday as the army claimed to have destroyed their ‘command and control system’.

A military spokesman said in Peshawar that four soldiers were killed in clashes in Rashakai and Lowi Sam. He said both the areas had been recaptured.

Local people said indiscriminate use of force had caused massive damage in Lowi Sam and other areas.

“The forces have destroyed the command and control system in Rashakai, seized a huge quantity of ammunition and improvised explosive devices and hit several hideouts,” the spokesman said.

“This is not an operation. The Frontier Corps, backed by army troops, moved in on the request of local people to clear the road from Toor Ghundai to Khar,” the spokesman said.

He said the forces had encountered militants in Rashakai, which was considered to be their stronghold. He claimed that Lowi Sam and Rashakai had been fully secured and militants had suffered heavy casualties.

According to sources, security forces, backed by artillery, tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and helicopter gunships, bombed Lowi Sam and Rashakai in the afternoon after confronting militant groups from different directions.

The forces and militants fought pitched battles, they added.

The sources said intense bombing since Monday had caused extensive damage in residential areas. The law-enforcement agencies had lost control of the Lowi Sam checkpoint last year.

Last month, security forces failed in a bid to recapture the town after suffering heavy losses.

The sources said a group of militants disguised in women’s clothes attacked security forces in Tang Khatta, eight kilometres from Khar. The attack was repulsed and the militants fled, leaving eight bodies.

Locals said the forces bombed suspected militant positions in the area till late in the evening.

Military sources said several militants had been injured and arrested after the clash.

Two people were killed when helicopters shelled Banda and Kausar areas.

The security forces also pounded Bai Cheena, Mulla Said, Jar, Mullah Kalley, Dabbar, Badan and Damadola, destroying hideouts of militants.

Troops advanced to Charmang Tangi after consolidating their position in Lowi Sam and urban areas of Khar.

They also set up bunkers in abandoned houses in Lowi Sam.

The troops faced stiff resistance from militants in Tang Khatta and Rashakai for several hours. They also pounded suspected militant hideouts in the areas. Stray bullets also fell in civilian area.

A curfew remained in place for a sixth day in different areas of Khar. The political administration arrested 12 people for violating the curfew.

A Taliban spokesman claimed that 15 to 20 security personnel had been killed over the past 24 hours in fighting in different areas of Bajaur.

Meanwhile, a grand jirga of Salarzai tribe held in Haji Lawang Kalley extended all-out support to the security forces for military action against militants.

The jirga decided to impose a fine of Rs1 million on anyone found harbouring Taliban, expel him from the tribal region and set his house on fire.

The jirga was attended by elders of all the Salarzai clans.