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52 Taliban killed in Khyber operation

* Ammo depot, eight vehicles destroyed as helicopter gunships pound Taliban hideouts
* Suicide bomber wounds 7 in Jamrud

BARA/JAMRUD: Army helicopter gunships killed 52 Taliban when they targeted hideouts in Chapri and Feroz Khel areas along the border of Orakzai and Khyber Agencies on Friday.

“Fifty-two militants were killed and a huge ammunition depot and eight vehicles were destroyed in an attack by army helicopters,” Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat told Reuters.

Separately, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven people in Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud tehsil. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when Khasadars signalled him to stop. They said that he rammed his car into the trailer instead of stopping.

Fida Bangash, a senior political administration official said the bomber’s likely target were the army engineers repairing a bridge in Landikotal that was blown up on February 2. Following the attack, security forces cordoned off the area and rushed the injured to Peshawar.

Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility for the attack. “It was our man who martyred himself in Jamrud,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Maulvi Omar told AFP. “We warned the government to stop military operations in Khyber, Swat and other tribal areas, otherwise we will completely shut down the NATO supply line,” he said, adding, “We have shown that we can do that.”

Earlier, on Thursday night, another suicide bomber rammed a car bomb into a police station in Mingora, injuring 11 security personnel. qazi rauf and sajid ali/agencies

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