ORAKZAI AGENCY - Militants stormed a security chekpost in Orakzai on Saturday, sparking a clash which left 20 attackers and eight soldiers dead. Another 11 militants and five soldiers were injured in the fighting that came in the wee hours and lasted for around three hours.
Around 3am, a group of around 50 militants armed with sophisticated weapons attacked the Zwan checkpost at Shireen Dara area of Orakzai Agency, which is situated adjacent to Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency – where Pakistani forces are already carrying out operation against Taliban and their associates.
The martyred soldiers included Hawaldar Saiful Islam, Lance Naik Ihsanullah, Sepoy Arif Khan and Sepoy Sadat Khan while names of the other martyred soldiers could not be ascertained. The soldiers who sustained injuries were airlifted from Kalaya via helicopter and shifted to CMH Kohat. Two more soldiers succumbed to their injuries as they were being evacuated to CMH Kohat.
Orakzai Agency borders Khyber Agency where the military has launched a massive operation, Khyber-One, against the militants, focusing Aka Khel and Adam Khel areas. These areas are close to the Orakzai Agency border and due to which security forces personnel are often targeted. There has been a spike in such attacks recently.
So far more than 50 militants had been killed in Khyber-One military action, which was launched on October 17.
Levies man killed in Bajaur blast: Yet another militant attack occurred in the Qamar Sar area of Bajaur tribal district, on the border with Afghanistan, when a vehicle carrying security forces was hit by an IED blast. "One person belonging to the security forces embraced martyrdom and another sustained injuries when their vehicle was blown up with an IED device," local administration official Abdul Haseeb Khan said.
According to details, personnel of Levies Force were on routine patrolling at Qamar Sar locality, tehsil Mamond when an IED planted by unknown miscreants exploded and as a resultant a soldier of the Levies force was killed on the spot while another got injured.
The injured soldier was rushed to agency headquarters hospital in Khar, who is stated to be in critical condition. Soon after the bomb attack, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation in the area. During the operation, at least 25 suspects were detained under territorial responsibilities. No militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Four TROOPS INJURED IN KHYBER ATTACK: Staff Reporter from Khyber Agency adds: Four troops, including a captain, got injured when a shell fired by militants hit a security check post at Speen Qabra area of Tehsil Bara, Khyber Agency, official sources said on Saturday.
They said a shell fired from unknown location by militants hit a check post of security forces, leaving four of them injured. They said that all injured troops were shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar for treatment.
The injured troops were identified as Captain Ibrar, Sepoy Ramazan, Hawaldar Shabaz and Naik Hayat.
Pakistan has been battling militant groups in its semi-autonomous tribal belt since 2004, after its army entered the region to search for Al-Qaeda fighters who had fled across the border following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
In June the army began a long-awaited offensive against militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal area, after a bloody raid on Karachi Airport ended faltering peace talks between the government and the Taliban. Pakistan's army says it has killed more than 1,000 militants and lost 86 soldiers since the start of the operation.
To check regrouping and reemergence of militants fleeing North Waziristan military operation, the army on October 17 lunched Operation Khyber-I in Aka Khel and Adam Khel areas of Khyber Agency. Since these areas are close to Orakzai Agency, therefore attacks by militants on troops have increased recently in this area. So far more than 50 militants have been killed in Khyber-I operation.