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50 militants held in Waziristan: Army

* Military spokesman says Chaghmalai area completely cleared of militants

WANA: Troops captured 50 Islamist militants in an operation in South Waziristan, a day after killing dozens of rebels in the area, the military said on Saturday.

Troops also recovered 10 bodies of the rebels from the Chaghmalai area in South Waziristan, which was scene of a major clash on Friday in which an estimated 30 militants were killed, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.

“Security forces launched an operation in the Chaghmalai area last night and captured 40 militants,” he told AFP.

“The village has been completely cleared of the militants,” he said.

Security forces also launched a search operation in Ladah town and arrested 10 militants, including some of their local commanders, the spokesman said.

The clash in Chaghmalai erupted after militants ambushed a convoy of security forces with rockets and small arms. The military said an hour-long firefight in the area left 20 to 30 fighters dead and four soldiers wounded.

Troops fought off a “large number” of insurgents who surrounded and attacked Ladah Fort on Friday, killing 50 to 60 of the attackers, the army said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the army also pounded a suspected hideout in neighbouring North Waziristan with artillery killing a man and wounding two people after a rocket attack on their base overnight.

Suspected Islamic militants launched a barrage of 14 rockets on a military base in Razmak town in the lawless tribal region late Friday, a security official told AFP on Saturday.

Troops retaliated and several houses were hit in Makeen town killing a man and wounding a girl and another local man, the official, asking not to be named, said.

Residents said several families began shifting to Miranshah, the main town in the rugged terrain, amid tensions in the region. afp

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