Islamabad/KHYBER AGENCY - The military on Tuesday launched another operation in the Khyber Agency in which at least 14 militants were killed in air strikes and ground assault.
The army action took place in the mountainous terrain of Rajgal in Khyber Agency. The operation was aimed at limiting the movement of the militants in the all-weather mountainous passes.
According to ISPR, the number of Pakistani forces deployed along the Pak-Afghan border will also be raised. “The operation was conducted in areas close to Afghan border in which 11 terrorists were also injured,” the military said in a statement.
It may be mentioned here that after Khyber I and II this is the third military operation in the Khyber Agency. The last operation ended in the middle of the previous year. The army also launched the “Zarb-e-Azb” operation in June 2014 in a bid to wipe out militant bases in North Waziristan and so bring an end to the bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives.
In Tuesday’s action, the army destroyed nine terrorists’ hideouts in Rajgal Valley and killed 14 militants and injured more than a dozen in the air strikes carried out by the jet fighters.
Sources in the security forces said the jet fighters pounded sanctuaries of suspected militants in Sattar Kalley, Kharaiba and Rajgal, the remote areas of Koki Khel, Tirah.
After the clean-up operation launched by the troops in the tribal belt, most of the militants, including volunteers of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Bara-based defunct Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and other outfits, left their areas and took refuge in Tirah.
As per local sources, Rajgal shares its border with Afghan district Nazyaan where LI head Mangal Bagh had established his base centre and was running an anti-Pakistan FM radio station from there. It is also an easy way to cross into Afghanistan after carrying out terror actions in the country, locals said.
Staff Reporter from Islamabad adds: According to ISPR, the operation is aimed at reinforcing troops’ deployment in Rajgal Valley to effectively check terrorists’ movement along high mountains and all-weather passes in Khyber Agency. The destroyed hideouts being used by the terrorists and located in treacherous terrain of the Rajgal Valley were hit through air strikes and ground operations.
The operation was launched after Army Chief Raheel Sharif said all efforts would be made to ensure peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border.
Gen Raheel also said stability along the border remained the army’s priority and all efforts would be made for this purpose.
Earlier this month, Pakistan constructed a gate at the Torkham border which Afghanistan termed an inappropriate and a violation of previous agreements.
Both sides later declared ceasefire and agreed on the formation of a bilateral mechanism to discuss all issues related to border security.
The operation came a day after the government decided to form a special committee under PM’s National Security Adviser Lt Gen(r) Nasser Khan Janjua to monitor the NAP implementation and raise 29 wings of civil armed forces.
The national security adviser would be the head while interior secretary, National Counter Terrorism Authority DG, provincial secretaries, IGPs, home secretaries and an additional secretary of PM office would be the members of the implementation committee.
The committee will also be assisted by a representative from each of the intelligence agencies while the military will be represented by Director General Military Operations (DGMO).
On Friday last, Levies and Khasadar forces personnel had arrested four suicide bombers from Khyber Agency’s Jamrud Tehsil. In the search operation by the security forces in the Shaks area, five suicide jackets were also recovered from the suspects’ possession.