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15 militants killed in forces' ground operation in NW Pakistan

Xinhua, March 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least 15 militants were killed and three soldiers were injured in a ground operation launched by Pakistani army in country's northwest tribal area of Khyber Agency on Saturday, officials said.

In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations, the mouthpiece of Pakistani army, said that on an intelligence tip-off of fleeing of Taliban militants to Afghanistan, the army launched an operation against them in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency, one of the seven militancy-infested tribal areas along Pakistan- Afghanistan border.

A total of 15 militants were killed during the exchange of firing and three soldiers also sustained injuries, said the statement, adding that the militants fled the scene leaving bodies of their 10 accomplices behind.

Identities of the killed militants have not been determined yet, but banned outfits Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have a strong hold in the Tirah Valley.

Earlier in September 2014, Pakistani army announced an armed offensive "Operation Khyber 1" against the militants which successfully came to an end this month.

Now the military is carrying out "Operation Khyber 2" in the area and Friday's ground offensive is the continuation of the operation.

Talking to media earlier on Wednesday, the country's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that ongoing military operations in the tribal area have broken the backbone of the militants. Endi