KHAR: Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the troubled Bajaur tribal region on Sunday where fifteen militants were killed and several others wounded in the ongoing conflict between the security forces and miscreants, sources said.

Troops backed by gunship helicopters and jet fighters targeted the suspected militant hideouts in Rashakai, Tang Khatta, Bicheena, Delay, Nisarabad, Niag Banda, and Charmang areas north of the regional headquarter Khar in the last 24 hours, FC sources and residents said.

There were no immediate reports of any military casualties, the sources said. Heavy bombardment and artillery rocked the area. Officials claimed 15 militants were killed in the ensuing gun battle.

Security officials have claimed 500 to 1,000 militants, including some top Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders, had been killed in the month-long conflict in Bajaur. But the claim has not been confirmed from independent sources in the region.

Intense gun fight had been reported from Charmang, Bicheena and Delay areas where hundreds of militants regrouped and attacked different military posts on Saturday night, but the troops repulsed them with artillery and mortar fire, the sources added.

Early Sunday, the militants again attacked the positions of security forces but the troops frustrated the attack. Gunship helicopters and jets shelled militant hideouts till 10 a.m. Sunday destroying their key positions, they claimed.

Meanwhile, the COAS, soon after returning from his China visit, visited the Bajaur tribal region to meet the commanders and troops engaged in the ongoing military operations there.

The COAS also met a 30-member jirga of Tarkhani and Utmankhel tribal elders at the Bajaur Scouts Headquarter in Khar, an ISPR release said.

General Kayani, on the occasion, hailed the role of tribal elders in raising a tribal force (Lashkar) against miscreants, reminding that the tribal people always fight on each front shoulder by shoulder with the Pakistan Army to safeguard the country's borders.

Addressing the jirga, the COAS expressed satisfaction over the tribesmen’s support to the troops in the ongoing military operation to root out militancy and banish their nurseries in the tribal belt. He reiterated that the ongoing operation would continue till its logical end. He assured that very soon the government's writ will be established after clearing the tribal areas of the foreign militants and their local collaborators.

The COAS said the militants could not be anybody's friends, saying they are the enemies of Islam, Pakistan, its people and even the area's economic development.

The militants, he said, were not only targeting security forces and government installations but also torching and blowing up girls’ schools and health centers in the tribal areas. 

The jirga of the elders extended all out support to the government and security forces in the fight against militants, adding they would not let the militants sabotage the area's peaceful atmosphere. They welcomed the visit of the army chief to the area which they said would further raise their moral.

According to an ISPR press release, the COAS was given detailed briefing by Major General Tariq, Inspector General Frontier Corps, on the progress so far made during the operation.

General Kayani remained with troops for a considerable period of time and had informal interaction with local commanders. He appreciated the high morale of officers and jawans alike.

The curfew is still in force in the area for a 27th straight day due to which local residents are facing many problems.