Share this story!            

27 killed as fighter jets destroy Taliban den in Swat

* Arms dump also destroyed in airstrike
* Soldier, 3 Taliban and 4 civilians killed in attack on security convoy
* 10 Taliban killed in Bajaur

MINGORA: Fighter jets bombed a Taliban hideout in Swat on Sunday, killing two commanders and 25 other Taliban, officials said.

The two Taliban leaders killed in the airstrike in Matta tehsil were closely associated with pro-Taliban cleric Fazlullah, a security official said.

“An ammunition dump at their hideout also exploded,” the official told AFP. He said that intelligence reports had indicated a large Taliban gathering in the area.

Residents said nearby houses were also destroyed.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said 35 civilians had been killed and only two Taliban injured.

Dawn News put Taliban death toll at 25 but said locals also pulled out bodies of 22 civilians from the rubble.

Security convoy: Also on Sunday, three Taliban and a soldier were killed in an attack by the Taliban on a security forces convoy in Kabal tehsil, a spokesman for the Swat Media Information Centre said.

“A soldier was martyred and three Taliban were killed after a convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and a clash followed,” an official said.

Residents said that a total of four civilians were killed in the ambush and the airstrikes, but the military did not confirm any civilian deaths.

A report aired on ARY One World on Sunday said Taliban blew up Provincial Minister Ayub Khan’s resthouse in Ashari area of Swat.

In Orakzai Agency, Dawn News said four tribes joined hands to fight Taliban and Al Qaeda in their areas. The Ali Khel, Mullah Khel, Mushti and Shekhan tribes demolished Taliban hideouts and ‘asked them to leave’.

Citing officials, the channel said the Taliban left to take refuge in the Mamozai area where their headquarters are located. Elders of Mamozai tribe held a secret meeting, it said, to plan a strategy against them.

Bajaur: In nearby Bajaur, seven Taliban were killed when jets bombed suspected hideouts in Loyesam, Zorbandar, Sar Lara, and Enzara areas of Khar tehsil and Sawai, Tangai, Dabara and Zarnawoo areas in Mohaman tehsil.

Security official Fazl Rabi said three Taliban were killed in other parts of Bajaur when they tried to attack security posts.

Separately, a woman was killed and another injured in a bombing in Qambarkhel area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, it added.

The state-run APP news agency said security agencies arrested 32 illegal immigrants in the restive Darra Adam Khel town. The Uzbek and Afghan men were on their way to Quetta, it said. staff report/ agencies/daily times monitor

Home | Main

Share this story!