| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Militants kidnap 10 FC men in NWA |
| 2009-07-31 |
| [The News (Pak) Top Stories] Dozens of Taliban militants attacked the British-era Girdi Rogha Fort on the Esha-Razmak Road in North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday night and kidnapped 10 soldiers. Officials said the Taliban militants affiliated with commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, after hours of fighting, kidnapped 10 personnel of the Shawal Rifles, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC). Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, however claimed that their fighters had kidnapped 20 soldiers.The Pakistan Army spokesman and ISPR Director General Maj Gen Athar Abbas denied the reports. "That is not correct. Had anything happened, I would have the knowledge," he added.Official sources told The News that dozens of Taliban militants attacked the historic fort with heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles. The FC troops retaliated and heavy exchange of fire continued for a few hours.Three soldiers were reportedly injured in the fighting. There were no details about the losses suffered by the militants. An official based in Mirali told The News on condition of anonymity that the militants attacked a post which was established for the protection of the fort. He said the militants had taken away 10 soldiers of the Shawal Rifles and the authorities were clueless about their whereabouts. Tribal sources said security forces Wednesday morning started heavy artillery shelling from Dosali and Razmak military camps on militants' locations. Meanwhile, an FC soldier and two Taliban militants were killed, while two FC men and seven militants sustained injuries in gunfire on the Miramshah-Dattakhel Road in North Waziristan Agency on Thursday. |
| Posted by:Fred |