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Zarb-i-Azb: Army claims 70% of Mirali cleared
[DAWN] After clearance of Miranshah... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... , Boya and Degan areas from terrorists, Pak military on Sunday claimed that 70 per cent of Mirali town along with its neighbouring villages — the second largest stronghold of Death Eaters — has been cleared by the security forces. "Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... continues to achieve its objectives and is progressing well in North  Wazoo," a front man for Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.This information, however, could not be independently verified. Two huge ammunition factories with ammunition stock were recovered as house to house search continues in the area, said the front man. He said that 30 barrels filled with explosives and chemicals used for making IEDs were also recovered from two large underground tunnels during clearance of Mirali. "A massive IED, weighing 5,000 kilos was recovered from Boya, and was diffused by the expert Counter IED team of Army Engineers. Later when detonated, it shook the entire agency and the kaboom was heard as far as settled area," said the ISPR front man. He claimed that a total of 570 holy warriors have been killed since the start of Zarb-e-Azb operation. 98 terrorist hideouts and 30 IED factories, three ammunition making factories and a number of jacket wallah training centres were destroyed during Operation. Huge cache of arms, communication equipment, propaganda literature have also been recovered, said the statement, adding that 34 security forces personnel have embraced shahadat (martyrdom) during the operation in North Waziristan Agency alone. UN agencies agree to provide basic facilities to IDPs Nearly a million people have fled the offensive in North Waziristan, which is aimed at wiping out longstanding hard boy strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of families have left for the town of Bannu, close to North Waziristan, while hundreds more have moved further afield to the towns of Lakki Marwat, Karak and Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... since the Operation Zarb-e-Azb began in mid-June. Posted by: Fred 2014-07-28 |
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