MIRAMSHAH, Sept 28: Security forces arrested eight tribesmen and seized weapons during two search operations in Datakhel and Mirali tehsils of the North Waziristan Agency on Wednesday.

Sources said that army and paramilitary troops laid siege to the residential compounds in Mirali, east of here, on late Tuesday late night. A house-to-house search was launched with the help of the tribal elders early in the morning.

An official said eight tribesmen were picked up and taken to an undisclosed location in helicopters.

Those arrested were identified as Haji Rasool Mohammad, Gul Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Ali, Hameedullah, Salahuddin, Khadimullah and Mohammad Akram.

However, an Inter Services Public Relations official told Dawn in Peshawar that only five tribesmen had been arrested.

He said that the security forces met with no resistance and ammunition recovered from the houses included hand grenades, rocket launchers and rockets.

Another operation was underway in Dattakhel, 25 km west of the agency’s headquarters, where houses were searched following intelligence reports about the presence of some suspects.

Meanwhile, Tochi Scouts of the Frontier Corps recovered three missiles in the Ghulam Khan area near the Afghan border.

Officials said that miscreants had planned to fire missiles from a hilltop to target military installations in the area.