At least 24 Taliban fighters -- including 11 foreigners and one local commander -- were killed in the military operation in Bajaur on Thursday as warplanes pounded Taliban positions in Swat, killing 20 fighters using a school building in Matta area, according to official sources, local residents and AFP. Also, a private TV channel reported on Thursday that security forces have completed the deployment of Frontier Corps (FC) contingents in Mohmand, and a full-scale military operation in the agency is likely after the federal government's approval.
The foreign fighters killed in Bajaur were suspected to be Uzbek nationals, FC sources told Daily Times. They said the Taliban casualties came when security forces targeted fighters in the Darbari, Saparai, Gatki, Bagori and Zorbandar areas of Mamoond and Nawagai tehsils of Bajaur. "We making significant progress against the militants who are on the run," said the FC sources -- with troops headed towards Nawagai. The movement towards Nawagai and Mamoond comes after troops gained control of Loyesam. "Taliban strongholds have been destroyed," an ISPR spokesman said in a press release in Rawalpindi, but went on to mention that "a few pockets of resistance remained". The spokesman also said that 'Operation Sher Dil' was separate from ISAF's 'Operation Lionheart' in Afghanistan.
NATO spokesman: NATO's spokesman in Kabul, Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, said co-ordination with Pakistan had been improving, and the Pakistani military was routinely helping NATO forces direct fire in retaliation to attacks from inside Pakistan, Reuters reported. 'Operation Lionheart' was aimed at co-ordinating operations with Pakistani forces, he added.
Separately, the private TV channel quoted a top security official as saying that the situation in Mohmand Agency was alarming with Taliban holed up in the area. He claimed that the Taliban in Bajaur were getting support from Mohmand Agency. He warned that if the Mohmand-based Taliban were not reined in, "Peshawar and Charsadda would be in grave danger". The channel also quoted military sources as saying that locals in Mohmand Agency were ready to form lashkars against the Taliban.
In Swat, fighter jets pounded Taliban hideouts in Ghat Piocher area of Matta tehsil on Thursday, and ISPR confirmed the bombing. AFP quoted security officials as saying that 20 Taliban fighters were killed in the bombing.
Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, however, said that five houses and a local school were destroyed in the bombing, but there were no casualties. Meanwhile in Khwazakhel tehsil, at least eight civilians -- including six women -- were killed and 33 injured as security forces tried to target Taliban positions in Alam Ganj area, local sources told Daily Times.