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21 killed as choppers bomb Taliban hideouts in Orakzai
 HANGU/PARACHINAR/ KHAR: Helicopter gunships bombed Taliban hideouts in Orakzai Agency on Sunday, killing 21 terrorists and injuring 29 others, while seven hideouts were also destroyed in the airstrikes. Sources said helicopter gunships shelled Taliban hideouts in Kool area of Upper Orakzai, killing eight Taliban and injuring 25 others, while three hideouts were also destroyed. The sources said the helicopters also pounded Taliban hideouts at Ghilju, Ghundaki and Khadezai areas, killing 13 Taliban and injuring four others, as four hideouts were destroyed in the attack. Meanwhile, according to AP news agency, government official Samiullah Khan said the hideouts hit were in the Dabori area and its neighbouring villages of Orakzai. He added the aerial strikes also destroyed six Taliban compounds. Separately, AFP said three fighter jets participated in the attack and destroyed four Taliban hideouts in Orakzai, where Pakistani troops have been pursuing an anti-Taliban offensive since late March, a military spokesman told AFP. “Jets targeted militants in Dabori, Ghiljo and Khadezai towns,' he said. Local administration official Sajjad Ahmed confirmed the casualty numbers and said eight Taliban wounded in the airstrikes had been captured. The toll might rise as other suspected hideouts were also pounded, he added. Posted by: Steve White 2010-05-03 |
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