's Tirah Valley on Saturday resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. There was no let-up in the fighting when this report was filed.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), at least 80 snuffies were eliminated in the operation in Khyber Agency. It said seven soldiers also bit the dust during the operation.
An official said that security forces had suffered casualties in Operation Khyber-II. He said one army major was among the injured.
The bodies of soldiers were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
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A spokesperson for the banned Lashkar-e-Islam
...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It's headed by a former bus driver....
(LI), Salahuddin Ayubi, told journalists on phone that bodies of 11 soldiers were in the custody of his group.
He said the soldiers were killed during a ground offensive launched by security forces to take control of the LI stronghold in Sipah area.
The LI has recently announced merger with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP).
According to sources, at least 20 soldiers were either killed or maimed in the ongoing shootout in Tirah.
They said the fighting was raging between security forces and snuffies for control of an important ridge that overlooked the entire valley and adjacent areas of Afghanistan. Reinforcements have been dispatched to the embattled area.
The ridge had fallen to security forces on Friday, which snuffies claimed in a statement that they had recaptured. They said they had repulsed the offensive of security forces and that the fighting was still going on.
ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said in a twitter message that the Khyber-II operation had been launched to clear areas further ahead, close to Pakistain-Afghan border.
He claimed that security forces had made steady progress.
Maj Gen Bajwa said snuffies suffered heavy losses and they were being dislodged from hideouts. So far, he added, 80 forces of Evil had been killed and approximately 100 others injured.