ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani military commander was lightly wounded Wednesday when his helicopter came under fire in the Swat Valley, where the military fought off a Taliban insurgency two years ago.
Major General Javed Iqbal, one of Pakistan's top commanders in the northwest, was airborne when gunfire from the ground hit his helicopter in the mountainous village of Nusrat Darra in the north of the valley.
“The helicopter is safe. The commander was slightly injured. There was no loss of life,” a senior security official told AFP.
Another senior security official in Swat said two bullets hit the helicopter but that it landed safely.
There was no claim of responsibility for Wednesday's incident.
In 2009, 30,000 Pakistani troops went into battle against Taliban fighters who for two years had terrorised people with a campaign of beheadings, violence and attacks on girls' schools in Swat and neighbouring districts.
The army declared the region back under control in July of that year and said the rebels had all been killed, captured or had fled.
