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Jets bomb Taliban, 60 dead
 Jet fighters and helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts and centres in various parts of Swat and Lower Dir on Thursday, killing 60 Taliban."We have carried out airstrikes today on known centres of militants killing around 60 [Taliban] in Swat and Lower Dir," chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told Daily Times by telephone from Islamabad. Military sources said 12 Taliban were killed in Shamoozai area in Kabal tehsil of Swat and eight others in Malam Jaba. Fourteen Taliban were killed in Matta, Shahdheri and Kooza Cheena. Taliban commander Ibne Aqil was also reported killed in counter-attack by the police when the Taliban attacked Matta police station, military sources said. Nine soldiers: "In 24 hours, we lost nine soldiers and about 10 of them [were] injured," General Abbas told AFP. Seven of the soldiers were killed when Taliban ambushed a convoy at the entrance to Mingora. Two soldiers were killed in the valley north of Matta," the military spokesman told the news agency. In Lower Dir, district administration officials said the Taliban abducted 11 paramilitary troops after attacking the Malakand Levies Fort in Chakdara. They said three soldiers had been killed in the attack. Security forces launched an offensive on April 26 to expel the Taliban from two of Swat's neighbouring districts, Lower Dir and Buner. Security has deteriorated sharply in Swat as armed Taliban started patrol in the restive valley. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that a humanitarian crisis was escalating in the area, AFP reported. It said the government had made preparations for up to half a million displaced from Swat. The Taliban have claimed to control "more than 90 percent" of Swat, it said. Posted by: Fred 2009-05-08 |
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