Security forces have killed 19 more pro-Taliban militants in clashes in North Waziristan, bringing the toll from three days of clashes in the tribal region to around 140. The authorities imposed a curfew on Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, as thousands of residents continued to flee the area. “Helicopter gunships have been pounding militant positions around Miranshah,” a resident told Reuters. “There were exchanges of fire throughout the night,” he said. “The firing went on intermittently with both sides using rocket-propelled grenades and missiles.”Sikandar Qayyum, additional secretary for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, told reporters in Peshawar that 140 militants had been killed, including five foreigners. Five paramilitary soldiers have also been killed. One hundred militants were killed in Miranshah, 21 in the Zarmila area in Mir Ali on March 4 and 19 on Sunday, he said. “Forces killed 19 people at the top of a hotel where a person was also captured in wounded condition. He confessed that five of those killed at the scene were foreigners,” Qayyum said.
Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP that it was difficult to give an exact count because some compounds in Miranshah were not yet in the control of security forces. Sultan earlier said that the 19 militants were killed when troops tried to take control of a telephone exchange in Miranshah. Qayyum said the militants also damaged five checks posts each of the Khasadar force in Razmak and Mir Ali on Sunday. He said the curfew would be round-the-clock except for three hours from 1pm to 4pm to enable residents to buy provisions and would last as long as “the security situation requires”.