KHYBER: At least 15 suspected militants were injured in a quadcopter strike on their positions in Tirah valley of Khyber district on Monday.

Local sources said that the quadcopter strike was carried out in the hilly terrain of Peer Mela locality, where militants affiliated with proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-i-Islam had recently established their hideouts.

The sources said that though there was no official word about the exact number of injuries to the militants, they heard from their own contacts that about 15 militants, including a local commander, were injured in the strike.

They said that the security forces had intensified patrolling of the areas where militants had earlier shared videos of their infiltration.

The security forces have initiated intelligence-based operations in these areas since the third week of August when local residents complained about presence of a large number of militants in areas, mostly bordering Orakzai district.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024