PESHAWAR: Four suspected militants were killed and scores of others were injured as targeted action in the North Waziristan tribal region intensified on Friday with security forces entering the Machis Camp area on the outskirts of agency headquarters Miramshah which is considered a stronghold of foreign militants, most of them Uzbeks.

The four were killed in Machis Camp whereas five suspected militants were also arrested during the targeted action.

Moreover, security forces blew up militant bases in the area while artillery and jet fighters struck another insurgent base in Sokhel Wazir.

The death toll since action began with air strikes followed by targeted on ground action crossed 80, with over 75 suspected militants and four security personnel among those killed.

Photo provided by Zahir Shah Sherazi

Locals in and around Mir Ali and Miramshah have started moving to safety from the troubled areas but so far there has been no entry of the affected into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not even in the first bordering city of Bannu.

There is also no visible camp set up in Bannu or any other towns to accommodate the internally displaced persons in case of mass movement.

Local tribesmen say scores of families have shifted to neighbouring Afghanistan for safety in case the fighting between the militants and the security forces intensifies.

Photo provided by Zahir Shah Sherazi

Additionally, the curfew in North Waziristan’s volatile areas was relaxed from 9:30 am to 7 pm following which some roads were reopened. The road from Mir Ali towards Bannu was open for traffic but no movement was being permitted from Bannu towards Mir Ali and Miramshah. Traffic, however, was being allowed to ply on the Dattakhel Road which connects areas within the tribal region.

Furthermore, the KP government has directed special security measures to ward off the threat in the wake of targeted action against militants in North Waziristan.

A high-level security meeting chaired by KP Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan reviewed the law and order situation in the province. The meeting was also attended by the KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, IG KP Police, IG FC and other security officers.