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PESHAWAR, Oct 3: Security forces have killed six members of a militant group that launched a pre-dawn attack on a military post in Zara Mela in the North Waziristan Agency, officials said on Monday.
Troops and paramilitary personnel retaliated and engaged the militants in a gunbattle near the military post on Mirali-Thal Road.
Soldiers retrieved the body of one militant following the clash, according to an official. However, he said, the attackers managed to take away the other five bodies.
On Monday, security forces also demolished the residential compound of Maulana Sadiq Noor, the principal facilitator of Al Qaeda in the North Waziristan Agency.
Officials claimed that soldiers had busted the hideouts of the militants in Khatti Killi and cleared the locality of miscreants.
CHECHEN MILITANT: A top Chechen commander was among 35 foreigners killed during an army operation in Khatti Killi on Oct 1, according to military officials.
The Chechen militant was stated to be a close associate of Qari Tahir Yuldesheve, head of the Islamic Movement of Turkistan and his code name was “Chamak”.
Sources said that Commander Chamak had received multiple bullet injuries during the operation in Khatti Killi. His accomplices reportedly shifted him to the compound of Haji Malik Muhammad Alam in Machi Khel area, some 12 kilometres north-east of Mirali town where he died.
“Militants have buried the body,” the source said. But independent sources in the area could not confirm the military claim.
Viewed as a senior Al Qaeda figure, Chamak headed a Central Asian cell that is believed to be operating in the volatile tribal region along the Afghan border.
JIRGA: A tribal jirga has appealed to the government to halt an army-led offensive against militants in the Fata during the holy month of Ramadan.
Officials said that Political Agent Zaheerul Islam convened a jirga in Miramshah on Monday to discuss the prevailing situation in the agency.
A large number of Ulema and tribal elders, including MNA Maulvi Nek Zaman and JUI (F) president in North Waziristan, Maulana Dindar, attended the jirga.
The jirga members asked the government to halt its operation during the holy month and take tribesmen into confidence before launching any military action against wanted persons.
The political agent said that miscreants had created a law and order situation in the agency and urged the tribesmen to fulfil their responsibilities and expel miscreants from the area.
