MIRAMSHAH, July 26: Security forces moved into the Miramshah bazaar and took control of the main telephone exchange on Thursday as army and paramilitary forces continued to blockade the main Miramshah-Bannu Road in the North Waziristan Agency on the third consecutive day.

Telephones in the area were out of order in various parts of the restive region due to some technical problem in the telecommunication network and the main telephone exchange in the Boya area, sources said.

Witnesses said that army and paramilitary soldiers, deployed in the Miramshah bazaar, had taken control of the telephone exchange. The area wore a deserted look with all shops, markets, banks and offices closed.

In a related development, the Dawar tribe raised a lashkar in the Eidak area of the Mirali tehsil on Thursday to prevent militants from attacking members of security forces. The lashkar, comprising over 250 armed volunteers, would operate in the area to halt night attacks on members of security forces.

Meanwhile, militants made announcements on loudspeakers from mosques, warning that those found indulging in robberies would be shot dead.

The militants also accused security forces of barricading all major roads and routes leading to Mirali and Miramshah. They also claimed that people were not being allowed to walk on the road for routine chores.

Army spokesman Gen Waheed Arshad, however, denied these reports and told Dawn by telephone that troops usually blocked roads in those areas where they came under attack.

SERWAKAI: A soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a rocket attack on an army checkpoint in the Serwakai area of South Waziristan on Thursday, sources said.