Army gunship helicopters continued to pound pro-Taliban militant hideouts in Swat and Shangla districts for the third successive day, killing 40 rebels on Thursday, including a Taliban commander. The operation raised the casualty toll to around 100 in the three days of clashes, officials said. “The military has not yet launched an operation on a larger scale, but still in the last three days of clashes around 100 militants have been killed,” regional spokesman for operations Amjad Iqbal told reporters at a briefing in Mingora on Friday.
| "Yeah. Once we get goin', they're really gonna get it!" |
Militant sources refuted the government casualty figures. A local resident did, however, confirm that Taliban commander Matiullah was killed in the strikes on Thursday. Maulana Fazlullah, the militant movementÂ’s fugitive frontman, led the dead commanderÂ’s funeral prayers, he added.
“We launched retaliatory fire. We intercepted militant communications which confirmed they had lost 40 men,” military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said, adding that he had no details of casualties for Friday’s fighting.
‘Certain areas cleared’: He confirmed that government forces continued to successfully strike militant positions in Swat and Shangla. “We cleared certain areas in Kuza Banda [Swat] and around Alpuri [Shangla district headquarters],” he told Daily Times.
At the same time as the operation in Swat, the army expanded operations in Shangla district, which the Taliban largely took control of a few days ago. Despite the heavy shelling on suspected militants hideouts, which include key government installations in Shangla, reports said the Taliban continued to advance their march into other areas of Shangla. “We have reports that the militants plan to open another front against the government and they have selected Buner district, which borders Swat, Shangla and Swabi,” security officials in Peshawar said. Reports said militants advanced towards Chugharzai and Gul Banda in Buner district. However, security forces are reinforcing their positions in the district.
Another military statement said militants had attacked a security forces convoy with hand grenades on the Mansehra-Battagram road on Friday morning, wounding two soldiers.
Malakand curfew: Meanwhile, the local district administration in Malakand declared a 12-hour curfew from Friday night (2am to 2pm). The administration offered no explanation for the move. However, it is largely understood here that such measures are taken to protect troop and military equipment movement from militant attacks.