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Seven Pakistani soldiers, 80 militants die in clashes, says army

Xinhua, March 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Seven Pakistani soldiers and 80 terrorists have been killed during the ongoing operation in the Khyber tribal agency, the military said on Saturday.

The army backed by fighter jets and gunships have stepped up the operation in recent days as the militants had been using some rugged mountainous areas for training of suicide bombers.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban and "Lashkar-e-Islam" groups operate in the agency which borders Afghanistan. The two groups have now merged as they had been under mounting pressure from the army.

Army spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said the terrorists were dislodged from bases in the rugged mountainous Khyber agency.

"So far 80 terrorists were killed and about 100 injured," the spokesman said on his Twitter account.

"Seven soldiers embraced Shahadat (martyrdom) valiantly," he said, adding that the operation will continue with full force till total elimination of terrorists from these areas.

The spokesman said that the operation is making steady progress and has incurred heavy losses to terrorists. The operation will continue to clear areas closer to the Pak-Afghan border.

"The terrorists are now fleeing to border," Bajwa said. Endi