Army clears militants' last stronghold in NW Pakistan

Army has cleared the last stronghold of militants in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Shawal after a three-month-long operation, Radio Pakistan said Saturday.

Quoting Brigadier Shabbir Narejo, the person in charge of the army carrying out Shawal operation, the radio said the operation was launched on February 24 this year on the directives of army chief Raheel Sharif who ordered the troops to fully secure the valley located in the country's northwest North Waziristan area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The brigadier said there were 2,000 trained militants in the valley, out of whom 120 have been killed, 60 to 80 others wounded and the remaining fled to Afghanistan by crossing the border.

He said the forces have set up around 15 posts on the border to intercept any movement of the militants.

A total of six soldiers including a captain were killed and 26 others including a lieutenant colonel were injured in the operation, he added.

The Shawal operation is the final phase of the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb, which kicked off in June 2014, following a terrorist attack at an airport in the country's southern port city of Karachi.

The operation, which has so far killed more than 2,000 militants, is aimed at wiping out militant bases in North Waziristan Agency and ending the decade-long insurgency in the area.

The brigadier said that after the completion of the final phase of the operation, the army has shifted its focus to the repatriation of internally displaced persons(IDPs).

He said the process will involve repatriation of some 150,000 IDPs to North Waziristan till December this year. Endit