PESHAWAR: A major, two other army personnel and 34 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight and air strikes in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, the army personnel and seven militants were killed during a search operation and four soldiers were injured in a clash.

Maj Wasif, Subedar Jahangir Sadique and Sepoy Nazir lost their lives in the gunbattle.

The incident took place a day after Maj Gen Zafarullah Khan, the officer in charge of North Waziristan, claimed that the ongoing Zarb-i-Azb military operation had reduced the militants’ ability to carry out attacks.

Another 27 suspected militants were killed when military planes and helicopter gunships attacked their hideouts and compounds.

A press release issued by ISPR said two local militant leaders and foreigners were among the dead. The air strikes followed a militant attack on security personnel at Spera Ghar at about 4am.

Major among army personnel killed in clash

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban’s Gul Bahadar group claimed responsibility for the attack carried out in an area about 45km from the agency headquarters, Miramshah.

Talking to reporters by phone, the group’s spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi claimed that 16 soldiers had been killed and six military bunkers taken over by militants.

“We will respond to the military operation through ‘Zarb-i-Moneen’,” he said.

According to Reuters, military sources said eight soldiers were missing after militants attacked a checkpost with rockets and grenades.

A curfew was imposed in Dattakhel and soldiers were combing the area around the Spera Ghar checkpoint for their missing colleagues, they said.

The area is closed to journalists unless they travel with the military and most of the civilian residents — around a million people — were ordered to leave their homes till the offensive continued.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2014