PESHAWAR: The dead bodies of Frontier Constabulary (FC) paramilitary troops were recovered from upper Orakzai Agency, DawnNews reported on Monday.
The bullet-riddled bodies of the missing 10 were found dumped in Dabori town of the tribal area.
One security official said 23 soldiers were attacked in the late-night attack by up to 100 heavily armed militants.
“They killed 13 soldiers and took away 10. The bodies (of the 10) were found in Dabori today,” said another source on condition of anonymity.
An official of the military's media wing said they had been missing since December 21 when militants attacked a checkpost.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killings.
Exchange of bodies
However, Reuters adds that Pakistani military and the Taliban sources say the bodies of 10 Pakistani soldiers and 10 Taliban fighters killed in the clash were exchanged through negotiation.
“The Taliban killed them (the 10 troops) and had taken away their bodies. We killed some of their people and were in possession of their bodies,” a senior military official, requesting anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media, told Reuters.
“Now, through negotiation, we have exchanged bodies.”
Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gave a similar account.
“We take responsibility for killing the 10 soldiers whose bodies have been recovered from Orakzai”, Ehsanullah told Reuters from an undisclosed location.
“This is an exchange of bodies with them, as they killed 10 of our people and we have responded with killing 10 of their men,” he said.
Five of the Taliban bodies were given back last week in the Khyber agency and five were handed over on Monday in Orakzai.
Dead bodies of fifteen other security officers were also discovered from Tank district earlier last week.
PESHAWAR: Pakistan authorities have recovered the bodies of 10 soldiers who were taken away after a clash with militants in a northwestern tribal region, security officials said Monday.
One security official said 23 soldiers were attacked in the late-night attack by up to 100 heavily armed militants. The bullet-riddled bodies of the missing 10 were found dumped in Dabori town of the tribal area.
“They killed 13 soldiers and took away 10. The bodies (of the 10) were found in Dabori today,” said another source on condition of anonymity.
An official of the military’s media wing said they had been missing since December 21 when militants attacked a checkpost.
However, Reuters adds that Pakistani military and the Taliban sources say the bodies of 10 Pakistani soldiers and 10 Taliban fighters killed in the clash were exchanged through negotiation.
“The Taliban killed them (the 10 troops) and had taken away their bodies. We killed some of their people and were in possession of their bodies,” a senior military official, requesting anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media, told Reuters.
“Now, through negotiation, we have exchanged bodies.”
Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gave a similar account.
“We take responsibility for killing the 10 soldiers whose bodies have been recovered from Orakzai”, Ehsanullah told Reuters from an undisclosed location.
“This is an exchange of bodies with them, as they killed 10 of our people and we have responded with killing 10 of their men,” he said.
Five of the Taliban bodies were given back last week in the Khyber agency and five were handed over on Monday in Orakzai.
Dead bodies of fifteen other security officers were also discovered from Tank district earlier last week.
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